Clik here to view.
96th Illinois Captain Blodgett's Roster
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Benton Township Families
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Historic Minto Home, 1857 - 2016
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mother Rudd's Temperance Tavern
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One-Room School Teacher, Fanny Hinkston
A picture is worth a thousand words.In the case of Frances "Fanny" Hinkston, her photo was my starting point for uncovering a forgotten life.Fanny Hinkston Bacon (1831 - 1858)Photo circa 1855....
View ArticleClik here to view.
James T. Bacon (1830 - 1895)
In the early winter of 1834, citizens of the village Hannibal, New York were stirring about the prospect of moving west.James Bacon, who was just a toddler, did not understand the great fuss of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Bain Wagon
For museums, an object's story is essential to preserving and telling a community's history. And sometimes an object has more than one story to tell.Take for instance, "The Bain" wagon donated to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George Shatswell, 15th Illinois Infantry
Caught up in patriotic fervor to preserve the Union, George P. Shatswell enlisted with the 15th Illinois Infantry in May 1861. When Shatswell left Waukegan, he was a strong young farmer, but on his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
1861 Map of Lake County, Illinois
Map of Lake County, Illinois 1861. The Lake County, Illinois map of 1861 was the county's second official map. An earlier map was commissioned by the County in 1841, but no copies are known to exist....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Captain Minskey's Patent Log
In the mid-1800s, Great Lakes shipping was key to the economic boom of the newly settled Midwest. Port cities big and small, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Waukegan and Kenosha thrived from abundant...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rags, Hero Dog of the First Division
On July 14, 1918, a homeless terrier on the streets of Paris, France was rescued by two American soldiers of the First Infantry Division. Named Rags, the dog became a war hero and mascot, and spent two...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Century of Wolf Hunts
The American frontier of northeastern Illinois posed many challenges for settlers leaving behind established communities in the eastern United States and Europe. Here they faced the task of forging a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lake County's Dr. King
Dr. Eugene P. King, M.D. (1893-1961), or "Ole Rex" as he was affectionately known, dedicated himself to the communities of Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion through his medical practice, and sponsorship...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reverend Dodge and the Anti-Slavery Movement
The Reverend William B. Dodge (1783-1869) of the Millburn Congregational Church was an outspoken abolitionist and leader in Lake County's anti-slavery movement. Rev. William B. Dodge (1783-1869), shown...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Historic Logue Log House
Irish immigrants, William Logue and Bridget Collins Logue, brought their young family to Lake County, Illinois in 1844.The Logue home was one of the longest inhabited log structures in Lake County, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sinking into the Grave: the 19th Century's Tuberculosis Epidemic
A French illustration of a young consumptive from Le Journal Illustré, No. 34, October 2-9, 1864. Library of Congress.In the 19th century, waves of epidemics such as cholera, smallpox, and the measles...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Flowers for Hull House
Guest post by Steve Ferrigan, Collections Digitizer for the Dunn MuseumWhen the Dunn Museum staff were told to shelter in place back in March and work remotely, one of the first things collections...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Women's Army Corps at Fort Sheridan
 Women's Army Corps member at Fort Sheridan, circa 1943. Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 92.24.1112In September 1939, Americans were in the tenth year of the Great Depression when war broke out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Private Henry McIntosh, 102nd U.S. Colored Troops
Battle flag of the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops (1st Michigan), presented to the regiment by the Colored Ladies Aid Society on January 5, 1864. Henry McIntosh served in Company G. Image source:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dairy Queen: Grace Garrett Durand
Grace Garrett Durand with her cows. Crab Tree Farm, circa 1910. lflb.passitdown.comGrace Garrett Durand (1867-1948), founder of Crab Tree Farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois, was one of the most forward...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Cavalry to Tanks: George S. Patton Jr.
The most famous cavalry officer to be stationed at Fort Sheridan was George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945). Though the cavalryman-turned-tanker had a relatively brief stay at Fort Sheridan (1909-1911), he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mary Louise Spoor Brand - Children's Book Illustrator
 Mary Spoor Brand's illustration for Bobby and Betty With the Workers by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp, published by Rand McNally & Company, 1923. The Golden Age of American illustration (1880 - 1914)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Legend of the Lotus
Linen postcard of map of the Chain O'Lakes, 1949. Dunn Museum, 2016.1.112/9BH1932.The resort era began in Lake County in the 1870s with people visiting Waukegan's mineral springs to better their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dark Souvenirs of the Civil War
Members of the 19th Illinois Regiment, from The Nineteenth Illinois: a Memoir of a Regiment of Volunteer Infantry Famous in the Civil War, James Henry, 1912. At least eight Lake County men enlisted in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meister Brau's Stallion Hitch
Postcard of the "Original Lowenbrau Brewery Wagon" pulled by Westphalian stallions at the New York World's Fair 1964-1965. Rudi Kurzenberger is holding the team. In 1964, Lowenbrau Brewery of Munich,...
View Article