Ford Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,763 at the 2010 census, down from 3,456 in 2000. It is located approximately south of downtown Chicago and is part of the Chicago - Naperville - Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.GeographyFord Heights is located at.According to the 2010 census, Ford Heights has a total area of 1.95sqmi, all land. The village lies on the edge of the Tinley Moraine.HistoryThe area that would eventually become Ford Heights was first settled in the late 1840s. It served as a stopping point on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves fleeing to freedom. By the early 20th century, the area had developed into an agricultural community of farms operated mostly by Poles, Lithuanians, and Italians. After World War I, African Americans from the Southern U.S. migrated to the area and worked on the farms.
