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Lake County's Native American Place Names
It has been over 170 years since the Potawatomi, Chippewa and Ottawa tribes called Lake County home. These Native peoples signed over their last remaining Illinois lands (including Lake County) to the...
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Waukegan Academy 1846-1869
Lake County's first school of higher learning was the Waukegan Academy, a place where many prominent citizens became students. (above) The Academy (left) and Baptist Church are shown on Genesee Street...
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Swedish Christmas Tree - The Ljuskrona
In 1976, Ruth Olsson Dixon (1910-2006), wife of Judge Laverne A. Dixon, donated to the museum a unique expression of her Swedish-American heritage—a ljuskrona. The Olsson Family ljuskrona made in 1922...
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Great Heart - Horse High Jumper at Fort Sheridan
One of the greatest high jumping horses of all times—Great Heart—made an appearance at Fort Sheridan in the 1920s. Photo taken of Great Heart clearing an obstacle set at 8 feet 3 inches at Fort...
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Charlie Chaplin, Max Linder and Essanay Studios
George K. Spoor (1871-1953), founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907 with Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson. The name Essanay was derived from the initials of the men's surnames "S and A." Essanay...
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Lake County's 49ers and the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848 - 1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.U.S. Postal stamp commemorating the sesquicentennial of...
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Joice Family of Ivanhoe - African-American Settlers
In 1862, James Joice (1822 - 1872), a slave from Kentucky, became  the cook and valet for First Lieutenant Addison Partridge (1807 - 1888) of the 96th Illinois Regiment. Joice's service with the Union...
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Franklin McMahon 1921 - 2012
Internationally known artist, Franklin McMahon, passed away on March 3. In his own words, he was an "artist-reporter" always in pursuit of history with his sketch pad and artists' pencils in...
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Lake County's Irish Place Names
St. Patrick's Day postcard, 1911. CTPA G1428.There are at least ten place names in Lake County attributed to the Irish. Some of the earliest Irish place names were surnames given to an area by...
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Elm Theater, Wauconda 1950-1984
The Elm Theater was located at Liberty (Route 176) and Mill Streets in Wauconda. It opened in 1950 with seating for 610 people, and parking for 125 cars. Photo of the Elm Theater taken in 1950, the...
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Titanic's Lake County Passengers
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. On April 15, 1912, 1,514 lives were lost after the steamer hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. Photo postcard of the...
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Zion Movie Theater and the Blue Laws
On New Year's Eve 1947, the Zion movie theater opened after the city council amended laws to permit movies. The city's first theater had opened in 1913, but was raided by police and ordered closed by...
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John Easton Store, Half Day
One of the most enlightening sources for what life was like in early Lake County is the Easton Store Ledger, dating from 1844-1846. The ledger reveals the names of early farmers and the types of...
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Ray Bradbury (1920 - 2012)
Celebrated Waukegan-born author, Ray Bradbury, has passed away. Among Bradbury's most well-known novels are "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles," and "Something Wicked This Way Comes." Author of...
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John Y. Taylor of the 96th Illinois Regiment
Research of an unidentified soldier pictured in a tintype in the museum's collection has revealed the forgotten story of a young Scottish immigrant and Civil War soldier, John Y. Taylor (1842-1863)....
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William B. Lewin, 96th Illinois Regiment
This is the second post on the five men pictured together in a Civil War era tintype in the museum's collection. Like most Lake County men who enlisted to fight in the Civil War, William B. Lewin (1843...
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Girl Scouts of America Turn 100!
Let's celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America by taking a look at Girl Scout items in the museum's collections, dating from circa 1922-1970. This is the earliest Girl Scout photo...
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Edward Murray, 96th Illinois Regiment
"He was an ideal soldier, quiet, manly, religious, and exerted an excellent influence in the Company." Edward Murray as described by Charles A. Partridge, comrade and editor of the 96th Illinois's...
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420 Million Year Old Fossil Rock
The Lake County Discovery Museum's oldest artifact (by a long shot) is a 420 million year old fossil rock. The rock was discovered in May 1957 during the excavation of a new home site on Old Elm Road...
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Apple Orchards
In Lake County, apple orchards were an integral part of the landscape since the arrival of the first settlers in the 1830s. The primary profession was agriculture, and each farmstead had a dwelling...
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