Lake County History

In 1907, Robert H. Aiken (1859 - 1925) of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois invented "tilt-up construction."

Aiken's fast and economical method of building concrete-walled buildings revolutionized construction and is still in use today. The process involves pre-fabricating concrete wall sections and lifting or tilting them into position on a concrete foundation.

Aiken was born in Abingdon, Knox County, Illinois. He came to Lake County, Illinois by 1895, when he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned as the range officer at the new rifle training center at Camp Logan in today's Zion. Camp Logan was an Illinois National Guard training facility established in 1892.

On December 16, 1895, Robert Aiken married Jannette Kellogg (1879 - 1953) of Winthrop Harbor.

Jannette was the daughter of George P. Kellogg and Phoebe F. Landon Kellogg. Jannette was also the granddaughter of Nelson Landon (1807-1884), one of Lake County's most influential and wealthy pioneer settlers. Jannette and Robert resided on her father's farm along the east side of Sheridan Road just south of Kellogg Creek in Winthrop Harbor.

Aiken came up with his idea of constructing buildings using pre-cast concrete walls and raising them into position in early 1907, when he built concrete target walls for use at Camp Logan. Previously, the Camp's targets were made of wood. The new concrete targets kept ordnance from being shot into Lake Michigan and endangering boaters, and allowed the lead to be retrieved and reused.

After filing for a patent on a "method and apparatus for constructing concrete buildings," Aiken built a factory to manufacture the concrete targets and steel target frames, and used his new tilt-up method to construct it. The factory stood on his farm in Benton Township along Sheridan Road and was 80 x 75 feet and 14 feet high.

His next project was an ammunition and gun house at Camp Logan (above), and then a large mess hall at Camp Perry in Ohio. His first commercial store was built near Kenosha and was 30 x 40 feet with a cellar.

On November 14, 1908, Aiken organized the Aiken Cement Home company and incorporated it in the State of Maine (for tax purposes).

In 1909, he made plans to build a residential subdivision on his farm on Sheridan Road, using his tilt-up technique. The houses were to be concrete and two-stories high with six large rooms, front hall, stairways and bathroom. The subdivision was never built.

In February 1909, Aiken had a booth for his Cement Home Company at the 2nd Annual Cement Show held at the Coliseum in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune called him, "the novelty of the show" for demonstrating his invention of building concrete homes by actually constructing one inside the Coliseum.

In 1910, Aiken completed a new church for the Memorial United Methodist at 2935 Sheridan Road in Zion (above).

Detail of the church as it appears today. (above)

By 1910, Aiken had formed a partnership with Frederick H. Sears of Chicago with Sears organizing the Aiken Home Company of Chicago with offices at the Peoples Gas Building. Fred Sears expanded the company across the country, including in Los Angeles. The business was valued at $1,000,000.

It is unclear when and if Aiken and Sears parted ways.

Jannette Kellogg Aiken Black and grandson Hector Aiken, from History of Lake County Illinois 1939.

In 1924, Aiken and his wife, Jannette, and her sister Josephine Kellogg, subdivided the northern portion of their property, south of Kellogg Creek into the "Kellogg's Home Site Subdivision." The site was improved with one and two bedroom concrete, Spanish-style bungalows that were rented on a daily basis to tourists. In addition, there was a campground and sandwich shop on site. This was Robert Aiken's last project using his method of tilt-up construction.

Josephine Kellogg was the proprietor of the tourist camp (above), which she named "Hollyhock Hill." Aiken's concrete bungalows are still visible today on Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor.

Aiken's tilt-up construction remains a dominant form of construction throughout the United States. He is honored each year by the presentation of the Robert Aiken Memorial Award at the annual World of Concrete Convention.

Inventor Robert Aiken's tombstone at the Lake Mound Cemetery, Zion, Illinois.

Special thanks to museum volunteer, Al Westerman, for his extensive research on Robert Aiken.

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America (1912-2012), which were formed in Savanna, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low. To celebrate, let's take a look at Girl Scout items in the museum's collections.

Dorothy Gleiser, circa 1922.
LCDM 93.31.5

Above is the earliest Girl Scout photo in the museum's Lake County collections. This photo of Dorothy Gleiser of the Thistle Troop of Lake Forest was taken at Brae Burn Farm where her father was the farm manager, and her family lived.

This 1926 photo shows Dorothy Gleiser wearing another Girl Scout uniform. The uniform pictured was donated by Dorothy to the museum in 1987. LCDM M-87.3.1

Dorothy Gleiser's 1926 Girl Scout uniform (above). This is a typical button-down-the-front coat dress uniform of the early 1920s. LCDM 87.3.1

"Girl Scouts be Prepared" belt buckle from Gleiser's Girl Scout uniform, 1926. LCDM 87.3.1

Girl Scout pin from Gleiser's uniform, 1926. LCDM 87.3.1

Cover of guide book for Girl Scout leaders dating to 1937. LCDM 96.5.44

Cover of "Games for Girl Scouts: Brownie, Intermediate, Senior" from 1942. The 106-page booklet includes quiz and memory games, and also physical games the Scouts could play. LCDM 96.5.40.

The photo (above) was taken in 1965 at Fort Sheridan. The caption reads: "Sergeant George Stacey of 204th Military Police Company shows members of a Fort Sheridan Girl Scout Troop how to affix reflector-type safety tape to their bicycles."LCDM 92.24.731

Cookies are probably the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of the Girl Scouts. Here, members of the Fort Sheridan Troop sell cookies to an unidentified fireman, 1970. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917 with members baking the cookies themselves. LCDM 92.24.737

"Girl Scouts of Fort Sheridan Troop 157 that received merit badges: (from left sitting in front of table) Jackie DeThorne, Jeana Graham, Pattie Kapp, and Mary Compney, (back row from left) Kim Kusick, Kathy Phillips, Nancy Peddle, Nancy Phillips, Alesia Smith and Donna Marion. Troop 157 is headed by Mrs. Helen Hugger and Mrs. Eunice Elliott." March 24, 1970. LCDM 927.27.729

"Members of Girl Scouts Troop 170, Fort Sheridan, hold a candle light ceremony in honor of Thinking Day, Feb. 22, 1970... Scouts are (from left) Kathy Kob, Beth Reaser, Linda Nunn, Anne Luke, Barbara Sovers, Wendy Ives, Denise Smith, Andrea Simmons, and Janice Kadomstei (center foreground)."LCDM 92.24.712

Each year on February 22 the Girl Scouts celebrate World Thinking Day in which the girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.

(This post was originally posted August 10, 2012)

Silas S. Nichols (1848 - 1945) was Lake County's last surviving Civil War veteran.

Left to right: Civil War veterans Silas S. Nichols (145th Ohio) and Frederick Worth (96th Illinois), photographed by teacher Lee Riley in May 1918. The veterans are standing on the Townline School grounds at the northwest corner of Yorkhouse and Delany Road in Newport Township. (LCDM 2011.0.226)

Silas Nichols was born in Sandusky, Ohio, to Joshaway and Shirley Nichols. He enlisted in the 145th Ohio Infantry, Company I at its organization on May 12, 1864. This Ohio National Guard unit enlisted for 100 days service.

Under Colonel Henry C. Ashwell, the 145th Ohio immediately proceeded to Washington, D.C. where it performed garrison duty. In July 1864, when Confederate General Early threatened Washington, the Regiment was constantly under arms. It mustered out on August 23, 1864.

While in D.C. with the regiment, Nichols saw President Lincoln three times. On one occasion, Nichols and several fellow soldiers called on the President at the White House. Lincoln came to his office door to welcome them and shook Nichols' hand.

In 1873, Nichols married Elizabeth C. Helrick (1857 - 1945) in Milan, Ohio. The couple moved to Lake Villa in 1889 and then to Waukegan in 1892 where Nichols worked for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad as a railroad detective. He remained "special police" for the EJ & E until his retirement in 1920.

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols lived at 506 Poplar Street

in Waukegan from circa 1905 - 1945. The house was built in 1901.

On each Memorial Day from 1925 - 1942, Nichols recited the Gettysburg Address at the service in the Waukegan courthouse square. He continued to attend the memorial service, placing a wreath at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument until 1944. Nichols also participated in the procession of "boys in blue" each year in Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

On Memorial Day 1944, Silas Nichols (right) placed a wreath

at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the courthouse square,

Waukegan. (LCDM 94.34.278)

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols were married for 71 years. They were feted as the longest married couple in Lake County. They credited their happy marriage to "independence for both husband and wife and plenty of give and take."

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols on their 70th wedding anniversary.

Photo from the Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1943.

While Silas was active in the Grand Army of the Republic as commander of the Waukegan post and judge advocate of the Illinois GAR, Elizabeth devoted herself to the GAR's Women's Relief Corps.

Each time a Civil War veteran passed away it made the papers. The Chicago Tribune was one of many area newspapers that covered Nichols' death on January 10, 1945.

In 1953, the last verified combat veteran of the Civil War, James A. Hard (1843 - 1953) died; and drummer boy Albert Woolson (1847 - 1956) was the last veteran of the Civil War. After Woolson's death the Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved, since he was its last member. At least three men died after Woolson claiming to be Confederate veterans, but their status was debunked.

In 1945, the Women's Relief Corps applied for a military headstone for Nichols.

The application (above) was approved by the Adjutant General of Illinois.

Silas Nichols' tombstone at Hickory Union Cemetery,

Edwards Road, Antioch Township, Lake County, IL.

Carved at the bottom of Silas and Elizabeth Nichols' shared tombstone are the words: "He shook the hand of Lincoln."

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon. This bird once numbered in the billions in North America, but in a matter of decades market and recreational hunting drove the bird to extinction.

The first non-native settlers to Lake County in the mid-1830s found an abundance of wild game, including quail and passenger pigeons. Thousands of pigeons roosted in the county’s oak trees, eating acorns.

Remembrances of those early days were documented by students across Lake County, who in 1918 asked their elders for their memories of the passenger pigeons: In Newport Township, "Wild pigeons... flew in flocks of hundreds and helped furnish the pantry with delicious meat."

A woodblock engraving of passenger pigeons

in flight in Louisiana, circa 1870

In Ela Township, "There used to be a great many wild pigeons, but they were all shot. They flew in flocks that darkened the sun."

Excerpt from Wauconda School students,

regarding passenger pigeons. LCDM 2003.0.46

In Wauconda Township, "There were flocks of quail, partridges and wild pigeons which were hunted for food, taking the place of chicken and turkey. Great flocks of wild pigeons were common and they were considered a pest by the farmers. They would pick up to small grain almost as fast as the farmers could sow it, for grain at that time was sown by hand. Sometimes men and women were obliged to stay in the field to drive these flocks away."

From 1860 to 1880 there was a catastrophic decline in the passenger pigeons' numbers.

Market hunters with pigeons, 1884. Location unknown.

Telegraph lines and railroads made it possible to share the location of passenger pigeon roosts with a nation-wide audience, including professional hunters. The market hunters, as they were called, brought their shot birds (by the tens of thousands) to major cities in order to sell their feathers and breast meat.

There were also venues that specialized in pigeon shoots. The best known was Dexter Park, on the south side of Chicago. One match in 1877 involved the shooting of 5,000 passenger pigeons. Another match was visited by General Philip Sheridan (Fort Sheridan's namesake).

Henry Kelso Coale, circa 1920

Library of Congress.

In 1879, Henry Kelso Coale (1858 - 1926) of Highland Park, an amateur ornithologist and bird collector, "took specimens" of the pigeons. At the time, the bird's demise was already being talked about by conservationists, but Coale had found them breeding in the woods along the Des Plaines River, west of Lake Forest, and shot several for his collection. (In 1936, the Field Museum in Chicago acquired a great portion of Coale's collection).

In northern Illinois, the species was deemed to be abundant up to 1882. The last passenger pigeon in Lake County was recorded by John Farwell Ferry on August 7, 1895 in Lake Forest.

In 1912, Coale wrote that Lake County was "one of the most favored spots in Illinois for the study of birds," because of the variety. He also noted that the passenger pigeons were "formerly an abundant summer resident but now practically extinct." In fact, they would be extinct two years later.

The last passenger pigeon in the world, named Martha, was born in Hyde Park, Chicago about 1885 and was conveyed to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1902. She died on September 1, 1914.

Martha (c. 1885-1914), the last passenger pigeon,

as photographed at the Cincinnati Zoo, ca. 1914.

To learn more:

"The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction" exhibition explores connections between the human world and looks at some of the work being done to help prevent similar extinctions from occurring. Lake County Discovery Museum through February 2, 2014.

Author and passenger pigeon expert, Joel Greenberg, will speak about the bird's demise and explain how the story of the passenger pigeon is a cautionary tale. The presentation will be based on Greenberg's new book, "Feathered River Across the Sky." Greenbelt Cultural Center, Thursday, February 20, 2014, 7 - 8:30 p.m. Registration and payment required: Register online or telephone 847-968-3321.

Camp Logan in Zion was an Illinois National Guard rifle range. This Guard training facility operated from 1892 to 1974 in what is now the IllinoisBeachState Park.

John Alexander Logan, namesake of Camp Logan, Zion.

Congressional Portrait Collection, Library of Congress

The camp was named for General John Alexander Logan, a politician who raised and commanded the 31st Illinois Volunteer Regiment from southern Illinois in 1861.

The camp was located east of Sheridan Road and adjacent to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad line. It was purchased by the state legislature in 1892 to facilitate National Guard training in the region.

Camp Logan, circa 1900. Private collection.

By 1900, the camp was well established and included a headquarters office, four regimental barracks, range office, mess hall, kitchen and arsenal. From an early date, regular Army marksmen from FortSheridan preferred the rifle range at CampLoganover their own facilities. Naval Militia from the Naval Training Center Great Lakes also utilized this facility.

Firing line, Camp Logan. Date unknown.

The camp's arsenal is visible in the background at right.

Private collection.

U.S. Naval rifle range, Camp Logan. Date unknown. Private collection.

Before World War I, the Illinois National Guard put great emphasis on rifle marksmanship. It was one of the few Guard activities that was judged by strict Army regulations.

Training at the camp included handling of small weapons, tactical maneuvers, and rifle marksmanship. Soldiers performed a variety of marksmanship scenarios on targets located from 100 to 1,000 yards oriented toward Lake Michigan. In 1902, over 6,000 soldiers attended the camp and expended over 640,000 rounds of ammunition.

Two key innovations were incorporated into the Camp Logan range, the echelon target system and Aiken targets. For more on the inventor of the Aiken targets, see my post on Illinois National Guardsman, Robert Aiken.

Corp. Rex Coniglio, Lieut. D.E. Zealand, and Private M. Cherion

using 3-inch trench mortar at Camp Logan.

Circa 1937. (LCDM 2013.18.28)

From 1933 to 1937, Colonel George Marshall was assigned as the senior instructor at the camp. Marshall would become U.S. Secretary of State in 1947 and thereafter develop the Marshall Plan for the economic recovery of Europe after World War II.

After World War II, training became more restrictive due to the development of more powerful weapons and the increasing civilian population around the camp. The camp’s use dwindled until it was closed in 1974.

View of some of the buildings, and more construction underway at Camp Logan.

Circa 1918. (LCDM 99.7.6)

In 2000, the 243-acre Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District, including the remaining 1890s - 1950s buildings and landscape structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. CampLoganwas placed on the list because of its status as the best remaining example of a pre-World War II National Guard training facility in Illinois and the role it played in the evolution of the Illinois National Guard.

One of the remaining structures at the Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District.

Photo courtesy of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The issue of slavery was in the hearts and minds of many prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.

"The Underground Railroad" by Charles T. Webber, 1893
Cincinnati Art Museum

Many citizens of Lake County were active abolitionists, and in 1846 a group organized the Lake County Anti-Slavery Society in Antioch.

Abolitionists throughout the North organized to aid runaway slaves and worked in small, independent groups to maintain secrecy in what was called the Underground Railroad. This informal network of secret routes and safe houses was like an “underground” resistance and used “rail” terminology.

There are a handful of stories of escaped slaves passing through Lake County, and also of former slaves settling here after the Civil War.

One of the few detailed stories of an escaped slave coming to Lake County to took place in the winter of 1858, when Andrew Jackson, a 28-year old slave, arrived from Mississippi at the Deerfield "safe house" of Lyman Wilmot. Because it was winter and travel was difficult, Wilmot found a more permanent residence for Jackson at the Lorenz Ott home where Jackson assisted with chores and even built the family a fence around their log cabin home.

The Caspar Ott cabin (above), where runaway slave Andrew Jackson
wintered in 1858-1859, is preserved by the Deerfield Area Historical Society

When the roads became passable in the spring of 1859, Lorenz Ott, a tailor by trade, made the young man a new suit and gave him boat fare to Canada. Wilmot then took Jackson to Chicago to board a ship to freedom.

Lorenz Ott's tailor sheers believed to have been used
to make a new set of clothes for runaway slave,
Andrew Jackson, circa 1859.
LCDM 64.24.1

It is estimated that at least 30,000 slaves escaped to Canada via Underground Railroad networks throughout the North.

During the Civil War, it was fairly common for escaped male slaves to approach Union troops for refuge and liberation. This was the case for James Joice (1822-1872) who settled in Ivanhoe with his family and was featured in a previous post; Henry McIntosh (1843-1915) of Kentucky who enlisted with the 1st Michigan Colored Infantry 102nd U.S. Colored Troops and settled in Lake Forest in 1871, and worked as a coachman and gardener; and Samuel Dent (ca. 1835 - 1890) who settled in Lake Forest.

Zouaves cadets in their stylish uniforms.

In April 1862, Samuel Dent, attached himself to the ranks of the 19th Illinois Infantry. This Zouave Regiment had several officers and sergeants who had belonged to the original company of Ellsworth Zouaves. (See my post on Ellsworth's Zouaves Cadets).

The regiment had advanced on and captured Decatur and Tuscumbia, Alabama, April 11-14, 1862. Dent, who was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, would have approached the 19th Illinois at this time, seeking freedom and to be of service.

It was also at Tuscumbia that James Davis of Barrington was killed by a sniper. (See my post on the Ghost of the 19th Illinois).

According to a February 1890 article in the Lake Forest College newspaper, The Stentor, Samuel Dent assisted the 19th Illinois' surgeon, Dr. Roswell G. Bogue (1832 - 1893).

Samuel Dent and his livery at the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Depot, Lake Forest.
Courtesy of Lake Forest - Lake Bluff Historical Society.

After the war, Samuel Dent settled in Lake Forest in the 1870s. His decision to come to Lake Forest may have been based on his experiences with soldiers from the regiment who were from northern Illinois. Dent may also have been aware of Lake Forest's growing African-American community, which had begun in the 1850s, and tales of the city's strong abolitionist sentiment.

Chicago and Northwestern Depot, Lake Forest
circa 1914. LCDM M-86.1.525

Dent started his own livery business, picking up passengers at the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad depot in Lake Forest and taking them to area hotels and to their homes. He also worked as a "tour guide." By all accounts he was a charming and generous man.

According to census records, Samuel Dent and his wife Eliza (ca. 1847 - 199) had three children--Emma McElroy (1858 - unknown) Eliza's daughter born in Illinois; Charles (ca September 1879 - May 1880) who died from "cerebral congestion;" and Eliza Jane (1884 - unknown).

When Samuel Dent passed away on June 8, 1890, the citizens of Lake Forest subscribed to and erected a monument at Dent's grave, showing their "esteem for a lovable Christian, devoted citizen and faithful friend."

Detail of Samuel Dent monument at the
Lake Forest Cemetery.

Special thanks to Laurie Stein, Curator at the Lake Forest - Lake Bluff Historical Society.

~ ~ ~ ~

Were all Illinoisans who were against slavery also supportive of the Underground Railroad and of race equality? Join us for an informative and enlightening presentation:

“The Anti-Slavery Moment in Black and White”

Presentation by Illinois Humanities Council Road Scholar, Jeanne Schultz Angel

Lake County Discovery Museum, Wauconda

Thursday, March 20

6 – 8 p.m.

FREE with registration. Call 847-968-3321.

The earliest known discovery of mastodon bones in Lake County occurred in January 1876, as reported by the Waukegan Weekly Gazette: "One morning Mr. M.B. Stone, while digging sand in the pit south of the town branch on Lamar [?] Street, struck with a pick what he supposed to be a stone, but on prying it out found it to be a portion of some mammoth."

Image of Mastodons courtesy of
American Museum of Natural History

The use of the term "mammoth" by the Gazette may have been simply to signify something quite large, but it should be noted that although similar in appearance, mastodons and mammoths are two distinct species. The most important difference was how they ate. Both were herbivores, but mastodons had cone-shaped cusps on their molars to crush leaves, twigs and branches. Mammoths had ridged molars that allowed them to cut through vegetation and graze.

Mastodons began to disappear from LakeCounty at the end of the last Ice Age from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Some scientists believe the herds of American mastodon were possibly greater than the bison herds that later roamed the Great Plains. The mastodon’s extinction was probably caused by several factors, including over-hunting by humans, climate change and habitat loss at the end of the Ice Age, and possibly disease.

The most exciting discovery of a mastodon occurred in the summer of 1925. While dredging a canal on his property in Ingleside, Herman Kaping (1870-1932) brought up the ribs and bones of a mastodon. The skull was also found and hoisted several times, but each time slipped off the dredge's bucket back into the water.

Herman Kaping's resort, Ingleside, near where the
mastodon bones were found.
Postcard circa 1912. LCDM M-86.1.361

The discovery caught the interest of scientists when Kaping sent the 56" rib bone and 10" long vertebra to the Field Museum for identification, and later gifted the bones to the Field. Soon the Field Museum's Professor Elmer S. Riggs (1869-1963), associate curator of paleontology, and Dr. H.W. Nichols, associate curator of geology, arrived to search for more bones.

Herman Kaping (left) and Prof. Riggs of the Field Museum
at site of Mastodon find in Ingleside, 1925.

Professor Riggs was a specialist of fossil mammals, but had been working for the Field Museum in part to secure dinosaurs for exhibition. Riggs is credited with discovering and naming the Brachiosaurus in 1903.

Riggs and Nichols were unable to recover more bones, but Riggs gave an impromptu talk on the size and habits of the mastodon to a crowd of onlookers.

On March 11, 1962, another attempt was made to recover the mastodon skull at Kaping's. The site had come to be known as "Mastodon Isle" for the 1925 find.

Examining a mastodon bone: Ken Bundy (diver),
William Palmer, Harry Kaping and Charles Dussman.
News-Sun, March 13, 1962.

This time the hunt was led by Robert Vogel of the Lake County Museum of History (predecessor to the Lake County Discovery Museum), and Herman Kaping's son, Harry Kaping (1894-1975). Harry had rode the dredging machine when the original find was made.

Robert Vogel (center with paper) discusses the plan
for finding more mastodon bones at Mastodon Isle.
Property owner, Harry Kaping (right wearing fedora)
March 11, 1962. LCDM photo.

Members of the Lake County Scuba Divers cut two four-foot holes in the ice, 200 feet apart. Harry Kaping directed the divers in their search, but they were unable to locate the mastodon's skull.

Mastodon leg bone recovered in 1925 from Kaping's (above)
was donated to Vogel's museum. It is on permanent exhibit
at the Lake County Discovery Museum.

In July 1992, mastodon bones were discovered in Wadsworth. While digging a lake on their property, Van Zelst, Inc. Landscapers excavated mastodon bones, eastern elk bones and remnants of an ancient spruce forest. The find was identified by scientists from the Illinois State Museum, where the majority of the find was donated. One of the spruce logs was donated to and is on exhibit at the Lake County Discovery Museum.

Dr. Russell Graham of the Illinois State Museum
and David Van Zelst, landscape architect and owner of
property examine mastodon bones found while
Van Zelst was digging in Wadsworth, 1992.
Courtesy of David Van Zelst.

Mastodon statue and prairie flowers representing
Lake County's historic flora and fauna greet visitors
to the Lake County Discovery Museum.

Artists, Edith F. Sherman and Lily Tolpo, made significant contributions to two of the county's Civil War monuments—the Soldiers and Sailors monument and Lincoln monument in Waukegan.

Edith Freeman Sherman
circa 1960
News-Sun photo

Edith F. Sherman (1876 – c. 1961), was a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute. Her instructor in the Sculpture Department was American sculptor, writer and educator, Lorado Taft. Sherman was commissioned to create four panels for the sides of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, erected on the courthouse square in 1899.

Edith's skill as a sculptor and her family's connection to the Civil War made her the perfect choice for the commission. Her grandfather was 1st Lt. Addison Partridge, and her uncle was Sgt. Major Charles Partridge both of Company C of the 96th Illinois Regiment. Additionally, uncle Charles was the regiment's historian and chairman of the monument association. (For more info, read my blog post on Addison Partridge).

Soldiers and Sailors Monument,
Waukegan courthouse square.
Dedicated August 1899

The panels Edith created represented dynamic images of the four aspects of military service during the Civil War—infantry, artillery, cavalry and navy. She gave up a summer trip to Europe to do the work, but the commission meant more to her than the vacation.

Ninety-six years later, Lily Tolpo was commissioned for another Civil War monument.

Lily Tolpo, circa 1960.

Lily Tolpo (1917 - ) was the eldest of five children in a Chinese/Polish American family. She learned to play violin and performed as a Vaudeville musician from 1935-39, before becoming a professional artist and sculptor.

Tolpo was commissioned to do a pair of bronze bas relief plaques to complete a project started by her late husband, Carl Tolpo (1901 - 1976).

Lincoln monument by Carl Tolpo (1968),
bronze plaques by Lily Tolpo (1996).
Waukegan courthouse.

In 1968, Lake County commissioned Carl Tolpo to make one of his famous Lincoln monuments. There were to be two plaques on the sides of the pedestal, but funds were not available to complete the project, and the monument remained unfinished for nearly three decades.

Lily Tolpo with clay model of one of the plaques,
illustrating Abraham Lincoln's visit to
Waukegan on April 2, 1860.
Northwestern Illinois Farmer photo.

In 1995, Lily was asked to finish the monument. According to Tolpo, she used her husband's concepts but rendered them "in another style more in keeping with the head [of the monument]." Her relief style captured "life-like reality and action."

Detail from clay model of plaque by Lily Tolpo.
Featured on the plaque are some of Waukegan's
most prominent men: (left to right) Mayor Elisha Ferry,
Samuel Greenleaf and Horace Blodgett.

The scene represented on the plaque above depicts the evening of April 2, 1860 when Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Waukegan. The speech was interrupted by a fire at the Case Warehouse at the North Pier, and tradition has it that Lincoln helped the citizens of Waukegan put out the fire. Lincoln spent the night at the home of Mayor Elisha Ferry. The Ferry home still stands at the northwest corner of Julian and County Streets.

This year, the Lake County Discovery Museum received a donation from ArtbyTolpoartist.com of the molds for Lily Tolpo's bronze plaques, and the model for Carl Tolpo's Lincoln monument.

William Bonner, 1841 - 1863
Courtesy of Bonner Family

William Bonner Jr. was one of thousands of Lake County men to enlist in the Civil War. By the summer of 1862, the war had become synonymous with death and privation, but Bonner heeded President Lincoln's call to preserve the Union.

Bonner was the eldest child of Scottish immigrants William and Margaret Bonner. In 1842, the family settled along Sand Lake Road south of Millburn (now part of Lindenhurst). Their farm is preserved by the Lake County Forest Preserves as the Bonner Heritage Farm. (See my post on the Bonner Heritage Farm)

William Bonner, Jr. grew up in this house.
John Bonner (William's brother) and family, circa 1900.
Courtesy of Bonner Family.

William was born in Canada on the family's trip over from Scotland. He grew up on the Bonner's Avon Township farm (shown above), working as a farmer. He most likely attended the one-room Dodge School (which his father William Sr. built) on the southeast corner of Sand Lake Road and Route 45.

The 21-year old William was recruited by John K. Pollock of Millburn into Company C of the 96th Illinois Regiment. On September 2nd, Bonner went to Waukegan to formally enlist in Pollock's Company. He most likely shared the wagon ride to Waukegan with other neighborhood enlistees, including George C. Dodge, and Henry Bater, a laborer on the Bonner's farm. After several days of training the regiment went by train to Camp Fuller in Rockford, Illinois for more intensive training before heading to the front.

During a portion of his first year of service, Private Bonner suffered from "camp illness." Soldiers were commonly sick due to poor sanitation, poor nutrition, and being exposed to a multitude of diseases. Several letters from William's comrades in the museum's collections note his ill health:

George C. Dodge wrote: "Wm. Bonner don't seem over well now days his legs trouble him considerably." (Letter to David Minto in Millburn, April 17, 1863, from Camp near Franklin, TN - LCDM 93.45.505.2)

"William Bonner has been unwell but is well now he does duty every day" (Letter of Chase Webb to David Minto, May 12, 1863 - LCDM 93.45.519.2)

"William Bonner [is not very well] though he is on duty," (Letter of Captain John K. Pollock to David Minto, May 17, 1863, Franklin, TN - LCDM 93.45.567.2)

The 96th Illinois' first battle came at Chickamauga, Georgia on September 18 - 20, 1863. This battle claimed the second highest number of casualties of the war after Gettysburg. (See my post on Chickamauga)

The 96th Illinois lost half its men in one day's fighting on September 20. Bonner and his comrades of Company C were given a "terrible blow" while defending the Union's position on Horseshoe Ridge. Of their 35 men sent into battle, 25 were wounded, and the remaining ten had bullet holes through their clothes and accoutrements.

According to the regimental history, William Bonner Jr. "was shot through the body" in the first charge on Horseshoe Ridge. He was "left upon the field, doubtless dying within a few hours." Bonner did not make it to the field hospital at the rear, but even if he had the wound was fatal.

For many months Bonner's friends and family clung to the hope that he was alive and would be heard from. The Bonners watched the road for any sign of their son's return home.

One of William's comrades, William Lewin of Newport Township, wrote on December 11, 1863, nearly three months after the battle: "I have not seen any one that has seen or heard any thing of Wm Bonner since the battle of Chickamauga." (below)

No news ever came.

Excerpt from William Lewin's letter regarding Wm. Bonner
LCDM 93.45.518.2

On the home front, families often never learned the fate of their loved ones. There was no system to identify the dead, notify families, or compensate them for their loss. William Bonner is one of hundreds of thousands of Civil War soldiers who have remained unidentified and their demise unknown.

On Sunday, July 13 at 10 a.m., the Bonner Family will hold a memorial to honor William Bonner, Jr., whose body was never found. The grave marker dedication is open to the public and will be at the Millburn Cemetery on Millburn Road east of Route 45. (map)

For a list of Civil War veterans buried at Millburn Cemetery follow this link to the Historic Millburn Community Association website.

July 26, 2014 marks the 90th anniversary of the grand opening of the Antioch Theatre building in Antioch, Illinois.

Advertisement in the Antioch News
for the Grand Opening of the
Antioch Theatre, July 26, 1924.

The theatre venture was a co-partnership between Lyman B. Grice of Antioch and William C. Bryant of Bristol, Wisconsin. The building, located on the south side of Lake Street, and west of the Opera House, had modern conveniences and seats for 400 patrons. The projected cost of the building was $40,000.

14th Cavalry wagon train postcard, showing businesses
on east side of Main Street, Antioch, circa 1925.
(LCDM 92.24.1177)

Groundbreaking for the new theatre began on Wednesday, September 26, 1923. Soon after construction began, Grice and Bryant sold a 1/2 interest in the venture to James P. Johnson and Albert L. Fell. Johnson was a local proprietor of a resort hotel and the father of Oliver G. Johnson, who was managing the Majestic Theatre in Antioch.

In January 1924, Oliver G. Johnson announced he was moving his motion picture business (Majestic Theatre) into the new theatre building under construction on Lake Street. Johnson had given up his lease with Barney Naber on Main Street, who would be leasing the former movie house to William Ross for a restaurant. The Majestic Threatre had been in Naber's building since April 27, 1919.

The name of the new theatre under construction was originally proposed as the New Majestic Threatre, but that name was dropped in favor of the Antioch Theatre. Oliver G. Johnson brought in his brother Frank Johnson to co-manage the theatre.

The motto of the Antioch Theatre was "The Public is Right." The first feature presentation was Zane Grey's "The Wanderer of the Wasteland."

"Wanderer of the Wasteland"
was the first feature film shown in the Antioch Theatre.

The person who was most associated with the success and improvements of the Antioch Theatre was Fred B. Swanson of Antioch. He began managing the facility by December 1925. He remained as manager until May 21, 1941 when he purchased the building, and become sole owner. He also owned other movie houses in the Midwest.

In October 1947, Swanson announced he had completed the remodeling of the Antioch Theatre. The remodeling gave the theatre an additional 100 seats in the balcony.

October 31, 1957, Swanson sold the Antioch Theatre to William Goeway of Antioch. Goeway took control on November 4. He also owned the nearby Lakes Theatre. Goeway planned a new deluxe concession department and extensive remodeling of the theatre.

On May 31, 1962, Goeway sold the Antioch Theatre to Henry C. Rhyan of the Family Outdoor Theater in Grayslake. Goeway moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he intended to continue in the movie business.

Tim Downey photo, c. 2014

The Antioch Theatre is on the cusp of a new life. With the support of the community and the Village of Antioch, Tim Downey (owner) is leading the redevelopment effort.

Source: Archives.org (Antioch News, 1923 - 1962)

Special thanks to museum volunteer & researcher, Al Westerman.

Local lore in the Gurnee area claims that witches were burned at the stake in the early days of its settlement. Although this is one of the most far flung stories I've ever heard, it intrigued me enough to do some digging.

As it turns out, the untrue tale of a witch hunt in Warren Township hints at a very real connection to the mass hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

During the winter of 1691-1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris (aged 9), Abigail Williams (aged 11), Ann Putnam, Jr. (aged 12), Elizabeth Hubbard (aged 17) and Mercy Lewis (aged 17) became afflicted with fits "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect."

The Samuel Parris house, Salem Mass. (now Danvers,
Mass.) known as the "House where witchcraft started."
Two of the main accusers, Betty Parris and her
cousin Abigail Williams lived here.

At the time, the cause of their symptoms was very clear: witches in league with the devil.

Today, some believe the symptoms were a result of psychological hysteria due to Indian attacks on the colonists. Others have pointed to the possibility of rye bread made from grain infected by a fungus. Historians, however, believe that jealousy and revenge over land disputes motivated the accusations and that the girls were play acting (and enjoying the attention).

Whatever the cause, it resulted in twenty townspeople (14 women and 6 men) being accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging (one man was pressed to death). Among the accused were the three Towne family sisters: Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Cloyce and Mary Easty (Esty), who were targeted by the powerful Putnam family.

Statue of the three Towne sisters accused
during the mass hysteria of the
Salem Witch Trials, 1692

The 71-year old Rebecca Towne Nurse was accused in March 23, 1692, and hanged on July 19. The Nurse family had been in bitter land disputes with the Putnam family, who were her accusers.

Mary Easty's main accusers were also connected to the Putnams: Daughter, Ann Putnam, Jr. and their house servant, Mercy Lewis. At Mary Easty's examination on April 22, 1692, the girls feigned fits. When Easty clasped her hands together, Mercy Lewis imitated the gesture and claimed to be unable to release her hands until Easty released her own.

Depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, 1692.

Easty's convincing manner in court and good standing in the community got her released from jail, but only for a couple of days. While most of Mary's accusers had backed down from their claims, Mercy Lewis fell into violent fits upon Easty's release, claiming that Easty was tormenting her.

A second warrant was issued for Mary Easty and she was again brought before the court. This time with more witnesses against her. She was thrown in jail with her younger sister Sarah Cloyce, and together the two women composed a petition to the magistrates asking for a fair trial. Despite the eloquent petition, Mary was tried and convicted on September 9, 1692. (Sarah Cloyce remained in jail for eight months, but was given a reprieve and escaped execution).

The day of her execution on September 22, Mary made a final statement: "The Lord above knows my innocency... if it be possible, that no more innocent blood be shed..."

She was hung with seven others on Gallows Hill and together they were called the "eight firebrands of Hell."

Bench marker for Mary Easty at the Witch Trials Memorial,
Salem, Massachusetts.
Families of the dead reclaimed their bodies after dark
and buried them in unmarked graves on family property.

In 1706, Ann Putnam, Jr. publicly apologized for her role in the witch trials. "I desire to be humbled before God... I, then being in my childhood... made an instrument of the accusing of several people for grievous crimes... now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons."

In 1711, the Easty family was given 20 pounds in compensation for Mary's wrongful execution.

Fast forward to over a century later, when in 1836 - 1837, Mary Easty's great-great-great grandsons, Avery Esty and Moses Esty left Massachusetts to settle in Warren Township, Lake County, Illinois.

1861 Warren Township plat showing the
Moses Esty property (west of Hunt Club Road and
north of Grand Avenue); and Proctor Putnam property
(Washington Street and Milwaukee Ave).

In 1842, just a few years after the Esty's settled here, Proctor Putnam migrated to Warren Township. He was the g-g-g-grand nephew of Mary Easty's accuser, Ann Putnam, Jr.

Once again, the Towne/Esty and Putnam families lived within a few miles of each other. This time much more peaceably.

Though a thousand miles from their ancestors' painful pasts, it seems the families roles in the Salem Witch Trials came to light. Over the decades, the truth of those distant events morphed into witches run amuck in Gurnee.

Perhaps we can blame it on a bit of tainted rye bread.

Among the oldest items in the museum's archival collections is a diary kept by Hannah Gwinn Loring (1791 - 1847) written between 1804 - 1807. Hannah kept the diary when she was living in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts with her parents, Thaddeus and Mercy Gwinn.

Although the fragile pages of the diary have not been transcribed, we know that it was first required as a school exercise when Hannah was twelve years old, and later she continued to write in it voluntarily. The diary covers every day matters, especially focusing on community gatherings and church meetings.

One of the first entries in Hannah Gwinn's 1804 diary:
"I am again assembled with my young mates
and hope to pass my time agreeably."
LCDM 93.45.349

In September 1807, Hannah wrote: "I left school with regret. My parents think it is time for me to commence assisting in domestic affairs for they think it very essential for a female to be well skilled in all the active comings of life."

Within two years, Hannah found a suitor in Samuel Loring, a ship's captain in Salem's profitable commercial shipping trade. As it turned out, Samuel was a bit of a romantic.

Samuel Loring (1785 - 1843). This carte-de-visite
photo was made from a painting of Loring.
LCDM 93.45.349.5

On Christmas Day, December 25, 1809 Samuel wrote a poem to Hannah while "on Board the Jennifer at sea near Bermuda" over 700 miles away.

Good night good night and is it so
and must I from my Hannah go
Oh Hannah say good night once more
And I'll repeat it o'er & o'er
Till the first glance of Dawning light
Shall find us still saying good night
And still good night my Hannah say
But whisper still a minutes stay
and I will stay & every minute
Shall have an age of Rapture in it
xxx talk & speak in quick Delight
And murmur while we kiss good night
Good night you murmur with a sigh
And tell me it is time to fly
And I will now to kiss no more
Yet kiss you closer than before
xxxxxx
And then Dear Girl once more good night

Samuel Loring's poem to his sweetheart Hannah Gwinn.
Composed December 25, 1809. (LCDM 93.45.349.4)

Hannah and Samuel married two years later on Christmas Day, 1811. At the time, Christmas was not celebrated as it is today, and the families that did make note of it simply went to church or shared a special meal together. Hannah's marriage to Samuel made this a Christmas to remember.

The Lorings had six children: Samuel, Jr., Spencer, Mercy, Frank, Thaddeus and William.

In 1819, Samuel Loring took Hannah's diary with him to sea. He used the blank pages at the back of the diary for his ship master's log from December 28, 1819 - August 30, 1820. The log's entries detail his travels from his home port of Salem, Massachusetts to Baltimore, Superior, the West Indies, Curocoa (island in Carribean), and St. Lucia.

I like to believe that Samuel didn't take Hannah's diary just for the use of its blank pages, but wanted a sweet reminder of his wife while they were separated for weeks at a time.

Tragically, in 1843, Samuel Loring died at sea. The loss meant that Hannah would never see her beloved Samuel again, since his body was buried at sea.

Hannah and Samuel's only daughter, Mercy, invited her widowed mother to come live with her. Mercy Loring had married George E. Smith a pianoforte maker (from a long line of mariners and cabinet makers in Salem). The young couple had settled in Millburn, Lake County, Illinois with their two-year old daughter Susannah. ("Susie" married David J. Minto in 1869).

Hannah Loring made the long trek to Illinois to live with her daughter's family, bringing her childhood diary/Samuel's ship's log, and poems.

On September 18, 1847, Hannah passed away with her daughter and grandchildren around her. She is buried at Home Oaks Cemetery on Deep Lake Road in Lake Villa.

Grave marker for George Smith's and Mercy Loring Smith's
mothers who lived with them:
Hannah Gwinn Loring and Mary Ford Smith.

The few mementos that Hannah brought with her from Salem were treasured by her descendants, who spent long hours re-reading Hannah's diary and Samuel's ship's log.

In 1993, Hannah's great-great granddaughters, Lura Johaningsmeir and Katherine Minto, donated these items, along with other Smith and Minto family heirlooms to the Lake County Discovery Museum.

This handsome portrait of Levi H. Mead, from the collections of the Lake County Discovery Museum, prompted me to research his life in Newport Township, Lake County, Illinois and his service with the 65th Illinois during the Civil War.

Levi H. Mead (1839 - 1864), circa 1862

(LCDM Collections)

Levi's roots in Lake County began about 1840 when he was just a baby. His family came to Lake County from Ohio. They first settled in Benton Township and then in Newport Township on the west side of Greenbay Road just south of today's 21st Street.

In 1850, the Mead family consisted of patriarch Edward Mead, who had served in the War of 1812, wife Ellen, and children: Sarah, Martha, Amanda, John, Edward, Margaret, Levi, and George. All the children (except for the youngest) were born in Ohio where the family had spent many years.

In the summer of 1862, with the Civil War still raging, President Lincoln called for 600,000 more troops. In Lake County, James S. Putnam (1829 - 1869) of Waukegan was elected a captain in the 65th Illinois "Scotch Regiment" and set about recruiting men for Company F.

The 6' 1" farmer, Levi Mead, was one of the first to add his name to the company's rolls, joining on February 28, 1862. Levi's older brother John, joined on April 1st, and together they mustered in at Camp Douglas in Chicago on April 26.

The regiment was ordered to Martinsburg, Virginia and was among 14,000 troops under the command of Colonel Dixon S. Miles to hold Harpers Ferry. Unfortunately, General Robert E. Lee's forces were too much for them and on September 15, the Federals surrendered, the 65th Illinois among the prisoners.

The following day, the 65th Illinois was paroled and sent to Chicago.

During this "furlough," Levi married his sweetheart Amelia J. Wells. Amelia was the daughter of English immigrant John Wells. The Wells family had settled in Newport Township in 1843.

The Mead and Wells children were school mates at the Biddlecome School (later known as Lone Oak School), on 21st Street east of Kilbourn Road. It was a log school until 1857, when a new wood frame schoolhouse was built and the old school was moved onto the Shea farm where it was used as a barn. (Source: Biddlecome School History, LCDM)

On the afternoon of December 24, 1862, Levi and Amelia went to Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha, Wisconsin and were married in a "common" ceremony by Samuel H. Thompson, a minister of the Gospel.

It's unknown how long Levi was able to remain at home with his new bride, but in April 1863, the 65th was sent back the front.

By May, the regiment was serving in campaigns in East Tennessee, taking part in the battles around Chattanooga and in the defense of Knoxville. After a severe winter campaign over 1863 - 1864, the regiment reenlisted as a veteran organization.

On April 7, 1864, Mead mustered in as a veteran at Louisville, Kentucky. Afterwards, he and 400 comrades were given veterans furloughs and went home for an extended period.

When the 65th Illinois returned to the field, it joined General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign as part of the XXIII Corps.

"Map of the environs of Pine Mountain, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain,

and Little Kenesaw Mountain" by G.H. Blakeslee 1864.

(Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington D.C.)

On June 15, after over a week of steady rain, the regiment was brought into a fierce engagement with the Confederates between Kennesaw and Lost Mountains near Marietta, Georgia.

The Rebels fell back and on June 16, the 65th Illinois occupied their works. Over the course of the next few days from June 17 - 19, the regiment engaged the enemy in lively skirmishing.

While on the skirmish line on Friday, June 17, Levi Mead was struck by a musket ball in the throat and killed at Lost Mountain.

U.S. Register of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865.
Levi H. Mead's record is highlighted in red.

On the 20th, the advance was checked by a deep and almost impassable creek - the enemy defending the bridge with artillery and infantry. Volunteers being called for, about 50 men of the 65th Illinois stepped forward and charged across the bridge, driving back the enemy, and holding the position until the remainder of the Regiment crossed.

Description of locality where Levi H. Mead was first buried
"around Kennesaw" Mountain "under a Chestnut tree."
More than likely, Levi's brother John helped to bury him.

(From US Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries records, 1862-1960, Ancestry.com).

On June 30, Orson V. Young of the 96th Illinois wrote home to his parents in Newport Township: "I saw Levi and John a few days before Levi was killed. I suppose his folks have heard all about it by this time."(LCDM 92.33.70)

Just twenty-three years old, Amelia Wells Mead was now a grieving widow with no children and no income. She set about making a widow's pension claim to the U.S. Government. This process included getting a certified copy of the public record of her marriage; testimony of her "widowhood" and good character from witnesses Azro D. Hutchins and Elijah Eddy; power of attorney given to Francis E. Clarke (brother of the late Lt. Col. Isaac Clarke of the 96th Illinois); and service and death record of her husband Levi H. Mead.

She further had to declare that she never "engaged in or aided and abetted the existing Rebellion."

In 1866, a program began to re-bury over 10,000 Union dead (including Levi Mead) from Sherman's Atlanta Campaign at the new Marietta National Cemetery.

Entrance to the Marietta National Cemetery.

"Here rest the remains of 10,312 Officers and Soldiers
who died in defense of the Union, 1861 - 1865."

Record of Levi Mead's interment at the National Cemetery.

Levi H. Mead's grave marker,
Marietta National Cemetery.
Image credit: Findagrave.com


Levi H. Mead's grave marker, Marietta National Cemetery. Image: Findagrave.com

Levi's brother John, also with the 65th Illinois, mustered out as a sergeant in Chicago on April 25, 1865. Three years later, John married his brother's widow.

John and Amelia had one child, Earnest E. Mead, born in November 1877. The family lived in Shelby County, Iowa; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and finally in Avon Township, Lake County, Illinois.

Reunion of the 65th Illinois, circa 1885, location unknown. John Mead is second from left.

Image credit: http://civilwar.illinoisgenweb.org/scrapbk/65threunion.html

Amelia Wells Mead died in 1920, and John Mead in 1924. They are buried at Avon Centre Cemetery in Grayslake, Illinois.

Image credit: Findagrave.com

~ ~ ~

Grateful appreciation to Patricia Harold for providing confirmation of Amelia J. Wells' marriage to Levi H. Mead, and sharing copies of documents found on Fold3.com. Her connection to these events is through her stepmother, Marge Wells Copley, a g-g-grand niece of Amelia Wells Mead.

The running and fitness craze of the 1970s, and the popularity of Olympic champion Bruce Jenner, led to the creation of the "Bruce Jenner Physical Fitness Trail" at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda.

Named in honor of Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, the trail was dedicated on Wednesday, October 5, 1977. Jenner was on hand to cut the ribbon.

Bruce Jenner with his gold medal for
winning the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics
US Magazine photo.

The trail was designed by the Lake County Forest Preserves' landscape architect, Janie Brown, and built in part by the Youth Conservation Corps and CETA. It consisted of 20 exercise stations along a one-mile wooded, jogging trail off Shelter E road at Lakewood Forest Preserve.

Trail map, 1977.

The Forest Preserve District was following a growing trend across the country for "proper physical conditioning." It was felt that the Preserves' land and the "great beauty of the Illinois landscape" was ideally suited for "low-keyed, individualistic forms of recreation."

The "running boom" of the 1970s is credited to the excitement of the 1972 gold medal win of American marathon runner, Frank Shorter. At the time, marathons weren't as well known or understood by the public, but Shorter's dramatic finish sparked a sensation for marathons and fitness that has continued to grow.

The Forest Preserves' jogging and exercise trail was developed to be adaptable to various ages and physical conditions, and provided both "physical conditioning and enjoyment of the out-of-doors."

Although "The Herald" newspaper reported that the appearance of the exercise stations "looks a little like a medieval torture chamber, with its chains, ropes and strange-looking apparatus," the fitness trail proved to be quite popular with folks from around the county.

Photo by Scott Sanders, The Herald, June 7, 1978

A wood-chip path winding through a hilly wooded area led joggers to stations that in some cases resembled a playground or obstacle course. Included in the activities: a tire run, rope ladder, climbing wall, and balance beam.

Bruce Jenner was scheduled to speak at the College of Lake County about his Olympic training regimen and the 1976 Olympic competition. Following his gold medal win, Jenner began a new career covering sports for ABC with appearances on "Good Morning America."

Poster promoting Jenner's appearance as the
"Grand Opening Speaker" for the physical fitness trail.

Jenner, who was much admired as an all-around athlete and extremely well-liked, became a sought after motivational speaker. He was also very accommodating to the many requests he received for personal appearances. Since he would be in the area to speak at CLC, the trail opening was arranged for the same day, and Jenner graciously agreed to be on hand.

In 1978, the Forest Preserves received a special award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the design of the trail.

In recent years, the fitness trail apparatus have been removed.

Sources:

Press releases, memos, brochure from the Lake County Forest Preserves'"Bruce Jenner Physical Fitness Trail" reference file.
"Decathlon Champion to Speak at CLC,"News-Sun, September 13, 1977.
"Olympic Champion to Dedicate Forest Preserve Jogging Trail,"News-Sun, September 21, 1977.
"Jenner to Open Fitness Trail,"Barrington Courier, September 29, 1977.
"Bruce Jnner Opens Fitness Trail,"Lake County Papers, September 29, 1977.
"Shaping Up in the Woods," The Herald, June 7, 1978.

John Hobart Jansen (1861 - 1908) was the first member of the Waukegan Fire Department to die in the line of duty.

The son of Prussian immigrants, John was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked on his family's farm. When he was about 23 years old, he left the farm to work as a lineman for the Milwaukee phone company, and two years later became a fireman with the Milwaukee Fire Department as a "truckman" on hook and ladder #2.

In 1892, John married Jenny Van Arnam. About 1902, John and Jenny and their four children moved to Waukegan. John took a job as the manager of the the Chicago Telephone Company's Waukegan branch. While working for the phone company, he also volunteered as a fireman for the Waukegan Fire Department.

Waukegan Fire Department Time Log Book, with last
listing for "Jansen" on April 19, 1908, LCDM.

At 11 p.m. on April 22, 1908, while heading from his job at the phone company, Jansen heard the alarm for a fire at the North Shore Electric Company. Instead of continuing home, Jansen turned around to assist his fellow firemen.

When the firemen arrived at the plant on Spring Street they found that "the belt on the big fly wheel was burning, that the interior of the plant had caught fire, and that the fly wheel was running wild."

Jansen was "aiding in bringing more hose to the firemen fighting the flames" when the drive wheel burst. "Jansen was picked up bodily by a huge fragment and carried through both walls of the Waukegan Ice Company building where his body was picked up bleeding and terribly mangled." He was rushed toward the Jane McAlister Hospital on North Avenue, but died en route.

Damaged buildings on Spring Street in Waukegan after fire in which
Fireman John Hobart Jansen was struck down about 11:30 p.m., April 22, 1908.
Image courtesy private collection.

Also killed was merchant policeman, Joseph Paddock (1879 - 1908). Paddock had been "standing with his back up against the wall of the Phil Sheridan saloon when one of the monstrous spokes of the giant wheel came crashing through both walls of the Waukegan Ice Company plant and felled him."

According to the papers, scores of locals gathered to watch the fire even though they were warned of the danger. "Fragments of the flying iron and steel filled the air and littered the ground."

On Saturday, April 25, the funeral service for Jansen was held at his residence on North Avenue. The house was packed with mourners, including family, friends, members of the Waukegan Fire Department and other area fire departments, mayor and city councilmen, and Odd Fellows. The city had never seen such a large procession, despite the downpour of rain.

Fireman John H. Jansen, circa 1889.

In 1908, efforts were made to raise funds to create a monument to Jansen, but it would take nearly 100 years before a memorial was made. On a sunny day in May 2005, the Waukegan Fire Department honored John Hobart Jansen with a memorial plaque.

Jansen memorial plaque dedication, May 2005
Fireman's Park on Dover Street, Waukegan.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Jansen.

Special thanks to Thomas and Kenneth Jansen for generously sharing the family's history and research.

Harness racing at McKay's race track, Waukegan, Illinois, circa 1878.

(LCDM Glass Negatives Collection)

Horse racing, specifically harness racing, was a wildly popular past-time in Lake County from the 1850s to the 1910s. The "farmer's sport" of harness racing became popular nationally in the 1700s, and by the early 1800s the first harness racing tracks were established.

In Lake County, there were three harness racing tracks: McKay's in Waukegan, the Libertyville Trotting Association, and the Lake County Fair in Libertyville.

James McKay's racetrack was built about 1852 and located where the Karcher Hotel building still stands on Washington Street in Waukegan. It was used for "trotting matches" and as the site of the first Lake County Fair.

McKay's racetrack, Waukegan, circa 1878. Note the county courthouse in the distance at center.

(LCDM Glass Negative Collection)

Chicago Tribune column on 4th of July activities at Waukegan

in 1860, including "trotting matches" at McKay's track.

Black Weasel, owned by Mr. Arnold, won $50 in the mile heat.

It was a given that county fairs needed a racetrack to draw crowds, and harness racing was a featured attraction. When the Lake County Fair moved to Libetyville the new fairgrounds included a racetrack.

From 1858 - 1881, the Lake County Fairgrounds were located at Milwaukee Avenue and Winchester Road (now Winchester House), and then at Appley Avenue (now Lake Minear) from 1882 - 1925.

Lake County Fairgrounds and racetrack on the site of today's Lake Minear,

Libertyville, circa 1907 (LCDM M-86.1.655)

Another view of the Lake County Fairgrounds racetrack with harness racers coming around the turn,

about 1910. (LCDM M-86.1.646)

In 1904, a new racetrack opened called the Libertyville Trotting Association Track. It was located on 100 acres west of Garfield Avenue and south of Route 176. Locals often refer to this track as the "one-mile track," although all harness racetracks are required to be one-mile.

Libertyville Trotting Association Track in use from 1904 - 1918. This colorized postcard is from about 1914 and shows the track during its motorized race days. (LCDM M-86.1.658)

For the first several years, the Trotting Association Track featured harness racing, and then was used as a training track for harness races. By the 1910s, the popularity of automobile and motorcycle races monopolized the Libertyville track, and harness racing's popularity began to wane. In 1918, Samuel Insull purchased the property and closed the track.

One of the regionally known trotters was King Heyday (1891 - 1919), owned by Edward and Charlotte DeWolf of Waukegan. (pictured below)

Edward Dewolf with his prize trotter, King Heyday, circa 1910.
King Heyday was foaled on August 18, 1891. (LCDM DeWolf Collection)

Edward DeWolf (1848 - 1927) was an influential businessman in Waukegan, a promoter of the Electric Railroad line, and a mayor of Waukegan (1895-97). He was a lover of history, historical preservation, nature, and a keen horseman. He and his wife, Charlotte, owned several trotting horses, but King Heyday was their favorite.

Edward P. DeWolf (1848 - 1927)

King Heyday, was bred at the J.W. Swanbrough Stock Farm on Sheridan Road in Waukegan Township. King Heyday's sire was Prairie King (pictured below) and dam Mabel H.

Prairie King (King Heyday's sire), photographed in 1890
at the Swanbrough Stock Farm. (LCDM DeWolf Collection)

The stock farm was owned and operated by John W. Swanbrough (1843 - 1924), who fought with the 96th Illinois in the Civil War. Swanbrough was a member of the Illinois Association of Horse Breeders, and served as Lake County Sheriff (1876-1886).

With the popularity of harness racing came the need to breed trotters or "standardbreds." The term appeared in 1879 based on the racing standard of a one-mile track and standard time of 2.5 minutes maximum. A horse bred to these standards was "standardbred."

Swanbrough Stock Farm catalogue, 1891

(Steenbock Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

King Heyday with Charles Heydecker, circa 1905.

Heydecker bred and owned King Heyday's dam, Mabel H.

(LCDM DeWolf Collection)

Edward DeWolf called King Heyday: "the handsomest horse that I had ever seen" and "a horse with remarkable speed."

King Heyday took his record of 2.17 at the Milwaukee Mile. DeWolf boasted: "his mile really being in 2.13." The Milwaukee Mile was a private horse racing track established by 1876. In 1891, the property became the permanent home of the Wisconsin State Fair.

Charlotte DeWolf loved "driving" King Heyday, whom she nicknamed "Punch." She took him out every day, except Sundays, for a drive in a carriage or sleigh. (pictured below)

Charlotte DeWolf being pulled in a sleigh by her beloved King Heyday, nicknamed "Punch."
The DeWolf's setter, Laddie, is barely visible at left. (LCDM DeWolf Collection)

According to DeWolf, King Heyday was "Charlotte's pet, and he seemed to understand and return the love she had for him."

Charlotte DeWolf with King Heyday and Laddie, circa 1915. (LCDM DeWolf Collection)

King Heyday died on December 10, 1919, and Charlotte DeWolf passed away eight days later.

~ ~ ~

Special thanks to museum collections volunteer, Cynthia Kolanko, for her dedication to processing the Edward DeWolf Collection, and bringing King Heyday's story to light.

Asiel Z. Blodgett of Waukegan understood the importance of being a good leader. During the Civil War, he served as the main recruiter and Captain of Company D, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He prided himself on knowing each of the men in his command.

Asiel Z. Blodgett, print from a glass negative taken in Waukegan, circa 1875. (LCDM 2011.0.86)

While at Wartrace, Tennessee in the summer of 1863, he was given a challenge. An officer from another company asked, "Captain Blodgett, I am curious to know whether or not you have memorized your roster."

Blodgett replied, "I am of the opinion that I have memorized it."

The officer bet Blodgett that he could not "call it correctly."

That day, Captain Blodgett was sitting in front of his tent, using the drummer boy's drum as a writing surface to make out his reports. He had set the drum on top of a camp stool, and with the challenge made, brushed aside his reports.

He wrote directly on the drum head from left to right, carefully listing every man's name from memory. All 98 men of Company D, plus the eight men who had died in the company's first year of service. Blodgett won the bet.

At the request of Lake County Historian, Bess Bower Dunn, Blodgett's son sent a copy of the "drum head roster." (above)

Shortly after making the roster, the 96th Illinois fought in the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18 - 20, 1863. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the Civil War, and had the second highest number of casualties in the war following the Battle of Gettysburg two months earlier.

The 96th's Company D lost five men (killed) and 18 wounded. Among the injured was Blodgett, who was shot in the shoulder on September 18, and though the wound hurt him greatly, he remained with the command.

Hill Two from the Vittetoe Road. Chickamauga after the battle. (Signal Corps U. S. Army)

On Sunday afternoon, September 20th, Blodgett was "thrown to the ground by the fall of a heavy tree-top which, striking his head and back, rendered him unconscious." This happened in the midst of the battle, leaving Blodgett temporarily within Rebel lines. "When the Union lines advanced in a second charge" the men removed the tree and "he was released from his perilous position."

In the confusion of battle, the drum was lost, and eventually turned over to the Quartermaster.

Blodgett recovered partially from his injuries, but reluctantly had to resign his position in August 1864. Years later, he received an official package from the U.S. War Department, and opening it found the drum head on which he had written the names of his men.

In 1939, Lake County Historian, Bess Bower Dunn, contacted one of Blodgett's sons about the story. John H. Blodgett replied with a copy of the "drum head roster" and the full account.

Blodgett's son wrote: "It occurred to me that possibly some of the relatives of the men who were with Dad are still around and if so might be interested in looking it over. If Frank Justice [sic] cares to say anything about it in his paper I would like to have you send me a copy."

Indeed, Frank Just, the editor of the Waukegan Daily Sun was very interested and ran a long article on Blodgett and the 96th Illinois.

Excerpt of article written by Athlyn Deshais on Blodgett and the 96th Illinois, Waukegan Daily Sun, 1939.

As Ms. Deshais wrote for the Daily Sun: "They are gone now, those gallant soldiers who marched and fought beneath the banner on which was inscribed the magic figures, 96.... The day of the eye-witness reminiscences belongs to the past."

For more on the life of Asiel Z. Blodgett read my April 29, 2011 post, and the 96th Illinois at the Battle of Chickamauga read my September 19, 2013 post.

Sources:
"History of the 96th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry," Charles A. Partridge, editor, 1887.
Letters of John H. Blodgett to Bess Bower Dunn, 1939. Bess Dunn Collection, LCDM.
"Capt. Blodgett Honored by His Brave Soldiers," by Athlyn Deshais, Waukegan Daily Sun, 1939.

When Samuel S. Cole and Grace B. Baird married on May 27, 1859, they united two families, who were early immigrants to Lake County, Illinois and Benton Township.

James Cole and Nancy Swetnum Cole left Ireland to emigrate with their children to America in 1837. They landed at Quebec, Canada and proceeded to Rochester, New York where they remained for two months before moving to Chicago.

The Cole's son, Samuel S. Cole,
was born in County Cork, Ireland on July 25, 1820.
Photographed circa 1880, LCDM 62.62.4.7

Among the items the Coles brought with them to America was a wooden couch. The reason for bringing such a large piece of furniture across the Atlantic with them from Ireland is unknown, but it is remarkable that it stayed in the family until it was donated to the Lake County Discovery Museum in 1963.

Partial view of 8-foot long wooden couch
brought from Ireland by the Cole Family in 1837.
LCDM 63.22.

About 1840, James Cole sold his land in Chicago and moved the family to Lake County, Illinois, settling in Shields Township along Greenbay Road.

Another unusual artifact that came down through the generations—
a bear trap used by the Coles while living in Shields Township, circa 1840.
LCDM 62.62.15

In April 1856, Samuel Cole and his father sold their combined farms (201 acres) to the Lake Forest Association. This organization was created by Chicago Presbyterians to establish a Presbyterian college, which today is known as Lake Forest College.

The Coles took their profits from the sale and moved to Benton Township. Samuel purchased land on the west side of Sheridan Road at the intersection of today's Shiloh Boulevard in Zion.

In Benton Township, the Coles became acquainted with the Baird family, who had settled there several years previously.

John Baird and Jean Wilson Baird immigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to the United States with their three children, traveling on the Commodore, and arriving at New York on July 3, 1849.

Passenger list for the Commodore showing the Baird family.
Source: Ancestry.com New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 (online)

From New York, the Bairds most likely traveled via the Erie Canal before taking a ship around the Great Lakes to Southport (now Kenosha) Wisconsin, and settling in Lake County, Illinois. Like many Scottish immigrants before him, John Baird had worked in the textile industry, but chose to take up the plow in America.

The Baird farm was near today's Galilee Avenue and 33rd Street in Zion.

Scottish immigrant, Jean Wilson Baird (1810-1896)
Photographed circa 1893. LCDM 62.62.4.3

The Baird's daughter, Grace Baird Cole, who was
born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 22, 1837.
Photographed circa 1880, LCDM 62.62.4.1

Shortly after settling in Benton Township, John Baird sent a letter to his brother-in-law Thomas Wilson, who was living in New York City. Baird was trying to encourage Wilson to settle in Lake County.

In a letter dated November 19, 1849, Baird regales about the quality of farm land and the loveliness of Benton Township: "I am very well pleased with this district of country it is so hilly... the water is good & plenty... to dig down for it if you dig in low ground you will get it in a few feet & if you dig in higher ground you have to go farther down but then the water is colder & purer." (Original letter in the collections of the Chicago History Museum). Thomas Wilson did re-settle his family in Benton Township not long thereafter.

With the Cole and Baird properties relatively close to one another, Samuel Cole and Grace Braid found opportunities to meet through farming activities and Methodist meetings. Within three years of the Coles arriving in the neighborhood, Samuel and Grace were married.

Samuel and Grace had six children: Mary Jane Ferguson (Robert Ferguson), James S. Cole who died in infancy, Samuel N. Cole, Grace N. Ferry (Hiram W. Ferry), Eva E. Carman (Owen Carman), and John J. Cole who died at the age of 26.

Samuel and Grace Cole's residence as photographed in 1881.
The house was located on the west side of Sheridan Road at today's
Shiloh Boulevard in Zion. LCDM 62.62.

The Cole farm consisted of 220 acres, a beautiful brick house on Sheridan Road and out buildings. According to Cole's biographical sketch: "All of the surroundings plainly indicate the thrift of the owner, who is regarded as one of the enterprising, public-spirited and representative men of the community."

Samuel died in July 1895, and left portions of his property to each of his children. Grace died in 1915. Both Samuel and Grace are buried at Lake Mound Cemetery in Zion.

Samuel and Grace's granddaughter, Elsie Ferguson Bairstow, donated the photographs and objects featured in this post (and other items) to the Lake County Discovery Museum in the early 1960s to ensure that her family's immigrant history would be preserved and shared with future generations.

Nearly everyday I drive past the Minto homestead on Deep Lake Road in Antioch Township. I have spent years researching and acquainting myself with this historic family of Scottish immigrants through the letters, diaries and objects preserved by the Lake County Discovery Museum.

The Minto home on Deep Lake Road with original 1857 house (center two-story structure)

and additions. (LCDM 93.45.44).

The Minto family were some of the earliest Scottish settlers to Lake County, Illinois.

In the spring of 1840, David Minto, Jane Johnstone Minto, their sons William, John and Robert, and Jane's sister Margaret Johnstone, left Scotland for the United States. They sailed out of Liverpool, England on the ship Fairfield, arriving in New York on May 16th.

David Minto and family, including Margaret Johnstone, on Fairfield's manifest.

Note the signature of the ship's master William L. Lyons at bottom right.

(Ancestry.com New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, "David Minto,"[database on-line])

The family lived for three years in a Quaker settlement in Canandaigua, New York, where son, David J. Minto was born in 1841. That same year, cousin George White of Annan, Scotland joined them, and in September married Margaret.

In the spring of 1843, the Mintos headed west. (George and Margaret would remain in New York an additional year). The Mintos traveled via the Great Lakes, landing at Southport (now Kenosha), and continuing to Lake County, Illinois by ox cart. There, David Minto purchased land east of Loon Lake along today's Deep Lake Road in Antioch Township.

The land was heavily forested, affording David plenty of timber to build a log house and barn. These structures were built on the west side of Deep Lake Road, north of Grass Lake Road. David and Jane's daughter, Jannet, was born in this log house in 1844.

Jane Johnstone Minto with her children, Robert, William, Jannet and David,

circa 1855 (LCDM 93.45.75).

On March 31, 1844, cousin Andrew White (also living near Loon Lake) wrote to his brother George White (still in New York), and mentioned "David Minto has been rather poorly, but is better again."

David's health did not improve, and just six years after settling in Lake County, David Minto died on March 17, 1849, aged 45. He left a widow and five children (the oldest being twelve).

With her sister and cousins living nearby, Jane was supported in this tragic loss.

Deed for 40 acres purchased by Jane Minto, September 1, 1849. (LCDM 93.45.113).

By 1857, Jane Minto built her family a new home a short distance from the original log house, which they then used as a granary.

Floor plan of the Minto home showing the original house outlined in red and its additions.

By Katherine V. Minto, 1964. (LCDM 93.45).

In 1869, Jane's son, Civil War veteran David J. Minto, married Susannah Dale Smith from neighboring Millburn. The newlyweds settled into the home with Jane.

David Minto and Susie Smith were married on May 20, 1869,
and lived in the Minto home. (LCDM 93.45.52 and Private Collection).

The first addition was made for the newlyweds by taking part of another home from the neighborhood and adding it to the north side of the house (Dining room, Bedroom, Kitchen and Back Room as shown on floor plan).

In 1905, when David and Susie's son, David Harold Minto (known as Harold) married Mildred Holloway, a bedroom was added on the south side of the house.

Eventually, Harold and Mildred lived in the north half of the house, while David and Susie, their daughter Una Jean, and Hannah Smith (Susie's sister) lived in the south portion of the home.

David J. and son were partners in the family farm. They raised sheep, purebred Shorthorn cattle and Clydesdale horses.

Susie Smith Minto's garden at the southeast corner of the house, circa 1905. (LCDM 93.45.77)

Minto family pictured at their home in 1898. Seated: Susie and David,

standing Harold and Una Jean and kittens. (LCDM 93.45.91).

Susie Minto died in 1914 and David in 1915. In 1920, Una Jean left to become a missionary in Angola, West Africa.

David Harold and his daughter Ruth, were the last Mintos to live in the home. Harold died in 1963, and the old home was vacated, and property sold.

Sadly, in the early morning hours of Friday, March 4, 2016, the Minto home (undergoing renovations, but unoccupied) was destroyed by fire. I was heartbroken when I drove past that morning to find the ashes of the Minto's home.

Remains of the Minto Home after the fire, May 4, 2016. (D. Dretske)

The Minto family lived on the property for 120 years from 1843 to 1963. It was remarkable that the 1857 home remained intact for so many years after the family's departure.

Thankfully, the stories of this Scottish-American family will continue to be told, because of the foresight of David and Susie's granddaughters, Katherine Vida Minto and Lura Jean Minto Johaningsmeier, who donated the family's personal belongings to the Lake County Discovery Museum.

For more on this family, check out my previous post Susie Smith's Romance with Richard Thain and the Illinois Digital Archives where the Lake County Discovery Museum's photos and letters from the Minto Family Papers are hosted.

The historic Mother Rudd House stands on the corner of Old Grand Avenue and Kilbourne Road in Gurnee. The building is a testament to Lake County's settlement period and the county's role in the national Temperance Movement.

Mother Rudd House, Gurnee, Illinois. Built in 1843.
Photo courtesy of Warren Township Historical Society.

Wealthy Buell Harvey Rudd (1793 - 1880), endearingly known as "Mother Rudd," was Lake County's first woman innkeeper, a temperance supporter, and one of the county's best known citizens. She founded the O'Plain House (today's Mother Rudd House), as a temperance tavern in 1843.

Temperance taverns developed in the 19th century out of the Temperance Movement, which initially railed against hard liquor, but soon advocated abstinence from all alcohol.

This social movement was mostly made up of women, who saw the ills of menfolk drinking whiskey, rum and hard cider at all hours of the day. Drinking hard liquor was culturally accepted and widespread, but by the late 1830s, temperance taverns were established as an alternative to public bars where alcohol was served.

The Temperance Movement, which had its start in New England in the early 1800s, was transplanted to the Midwest by settlers. Among those newly settled Lake Countians were Wealthy and Jonathan Harvey.

Wealthy and Jonathan had married in 1813 in the prosperous whaling port of New London, Connecticut. They lived in Litchfield, Herkimer County, New York, and later in Summit County, Ohio before coming to O'Plain (now Gurnee) with their 10 surviving children, aged 6 to 29.

It is generally believed that Jonathan and Wealthy Harvey arrived in O'Plain around 1842, following Wealthy's brothers, Horatio and Abel Buell.

The settlement of O'Plain was appealing due to its location at the intersection of the Milwaukee Road, and the Fox Lake and Little Fort Road (now Grand Avenue). Innkeepers, grocers, and blacksmiths converged at this point to provide services to travelers and the influx of settlers.

Milwaukee Road and Grand Avenue intersecting at the iron bridge
over the Des Plaines River, circa 1900. Mother Rudd House in distance.

In 1843, the Harveys purchased 77 acres from Isaiah Marsh at today's Kilbourne Road and Old Grand Avenue. (Kilbourne Road had originally been part of the Milwaukee Road). Along with having acreage to farm, the property included a settlement house built by the New York Land Company, which provided temporary housing to settlers.

Shortly after their arrival, Wealthy and Jonathan set about building a new home for their family with accommodations for travelers, across the road from the settlement house. It is probable that part of the original settlement house was used in the new structure.

When planning the new frame structure, a carpenter offered to build it for free if the couple paid for the doors at a rate of $1 for the first door, $2 for the second door, $4 for the third door, and so on. Initially, the Harveys thought this was a good deal until a friend calculated that the last door (there would be 22) would cost them $2,097,152!

O'Plain was not a dry community, and Wealthy took a stand against her alcohol-serving tavern neighbors, by opening her temperance tavern—the O'Plain House. A nearby public bar with one of the worst reputations was Barney Hick's "California Exchange." Hick's place was so raucous that the one-room school situated across the street had to be re-located because "people resented having their children forced to see the drunken men who frequented the tavern."

"Woman's Holy War" an allegorical political cartoon representing the Temperance Movement.The Saint Joan of Arc-styled leader is part of a group of "holy women" destroying barrels of alcohol. (Published by Currier & Ives, New York, 1874. Library of Congress online)

Sadly, on January 22, 1845, Jonathan Harvey passed away. He was 55 years old. After her husband's death, Wealthy dressed in black as was the custom, and after two years of mourning, she could've added a touch of color.

On November 14, 1856, Wealthy married Erastus Rudd. Rudd farmed the land while Wealthy ran the Temperance tavern, which became known as "Mother Rudd's."

From the start, Mother Rudd's O'Plain Tavern was a place for the community to come together, and was used as a Town Hall for local elections and meetings. At Christmas, Wealthy offered customers elaborate dinners that included oysters and pastries, and entertainment such as sleighing parties.

Intersection of the old Milwaukee Road/today's Kilbourne Road (left)
and Grand Avenue, showing Mother Rudd House at right. Circa 1910.
Courtesy of Warren Township Historical Society.

During the Civil War, the Rudd's were strong Union supporters. Local legend states that the Rudd's barn, and possibly the tavern's basement, were used to hide runaway slaves.

In June 1870, Erastus Rudd died of dropsy (edema). After her second husband's death, Wealthy dressed in black for the rest of her life, adding a white lace cap on her head after an appropriate length of mourning.

Now in her late seventies, Wealthy discontinued operating her home as a tavern. She lived there until her own death on August 8, 1880.

Wealthy's daughter, Nancy Harvey Mutaw, re-opened the house as an inn, continuing her mother's legacy. According to the Warren Township Historical Society, Nancy operated the inn until about 1894. She died in 1915.

Nancy Harvey Mutaw (1830 - 1915),
daughter of "Mother Rudd," circa 1890. Findagrave.com online

After Nancy's death, the property was sold to the McCann family, who for a time, had a candy store on the front porch.

After a series of owners, in 1984, the Village of Gurnee purchased the historic building and three acres. An agreement was made to partner with the Warren Township Historical Society in the restoration and operation of the house. For over 30 years, the Society has exhibited its historical collections and given tours and programs at the Mother Rudd House, while the Village continues to maintain the building and grounds.

For more information on touring the Mother Rudd House contact the Warren Township Historical Society info@motherrudd.org.

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Sources:

A History of Lake County, Illinois, John J. Halsey, 1912.
A History of Warren Township, Edward S. Lawson, 1974.
Warren Township Historical Society, Gurnee, Illinois.

Robert H. Aiken, Tilt-Up Construction Inventor

Girl Scouts of America

Silas Nichols: Last Civil War Veteran

Passenger Pigeons in Lake County

Illinois National Guard, Camp Logan

Slaves Found Freedom in Lake County

Mastodons in Lake County

Women Artists and the Civil War

Civil War Veteran - William Bonner

Antioch Theatre (1924 - )

Gurnee and the Salem Witch Trials

Gwinn-Loring Christmas Romance

Portrait of Levi H. Mead, 65th Illinois

Bruce Jenner Physical Fitness Trail

John Hobart Jansen - First Waukegan Fireman to Die in Line of Duty

The Harness Horse Racing Craze

96th Illinois Captain Blodgett's Roster

Benton Township Families

Historic Minto Home, 1857 - 2016

Mother Rudd's Temperance Tavern