Catalog Search Results
43) Matteson
The village of Matteson was founded in 1855 and named after the 10th governor of Illinois, Joel Matteson. German immigrants were the area's first settlers, seeking agriculture and business opportunities. The Illinois Central and Michigan Central Railroads provided the stimulus for the growth of one of the first communities to the south of Chicago. The area became popular in the 1890s, when Chicago residents rode special trains to visit the amusement
...44) Battleship Cove
45) Geneva Lake
Geneva Lake was formed by a glacier tens of thousands of years ago. The Oneota left historic footprints with a cultural gift in the form of the shore path, which is accessible for all to walk just as the natives did many centuries earlier. Images of America: Geneva Lake illustrates the early history of the communities surrounding the lake—Lake Geneva, Linn, Fontana, and Williams Bay—through scrapbooks, vintage photographs, and storytelling.
...The Polish Community of Gary is a vibrantly illustrated tale of the history of the Midwest's Steel City and its Polish-Catholic residents. It reveals the journey of hopeful and hard-working Polish immigrants who arrived in the early 1900s, established an ethnic community, and adapted to the American way of life. This fascinating photographic compilation of almost 200 images features various past and present residents of Gary. It examines the city's
...47) Huntley
Huntley was founded in 1851. Its first boom years—the 1850s to 1920s—saw the town prosper thanks to the local dairy industry. Prolific dairy farmers provided milk for the many local condensing plants and cheese factories and sent huge surpluses into Chicago by train each day. It was said that the Huntley area produced more milk per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Businesses, homes, and churches all grew with the population.
...Located on the site of the original Sears Tower, the historic Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog plant is one of the nation's most unique landmarks. Representing American ingenuity at its best, Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald combined technology, commerce, and social science with bricks and mortar to build "the World's Largest Store" on Chicago's West Side. Completed in 1906, the plant housed nearly every conceivable product of the time: clothing,
...50) Daufuskie Island
A paradise for pirates? A strategic military outpost? A holding area for enslaved Africans? A tourist attraction? Daufuskie Island is all of that and more.
Daufuskie, a Muscogee word meaning "sharp feather" or "land with a point," is an island located between Hilton Head and Savannah, and with no bridge to the mainland, the island maintains a distinct allure. Once home to Native American tribes, then an island hideaway for pirates,
...51) Batavia
Brooklyn Navy Yard details the beginnings and history of this significant military site.
Not much larger than a few city blocks (219 acres, plus 72 acres of water), the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of the most historically significant sites in America. It was one of the U.S. Navy's major shipbuilding and repair yards from 1801 to 1966. It produced more than 80 warships and hundreds of smaller vessels. At its height during World War
...Palatine was incorporated as a village at a meeting of voters held April 2, 1866. The town then experienced a slow, steady growth, and the first development on a large scale started around 1920. In 1925 farms were selling for $400 an acre, a sewer system had just been completed, the streets were paved with reinforced concrete, and elaborate street lighting had been installed. Through the years, the Palatine Historical Society has developed an extensive
...Visitors to Starved Rock State Park are often struck by the grandeur of its rustic lodge. They marvel at its massive fireplace and hand-hewn logs. Yet few realize that this structure is a tangible reminder of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which in the 1930s provided work for young men left unemployed by the Great Depression. Starved Rock Lodge was one of the biggest projects of the "CCC boys" along the Illinois and Michigan Canal, but it was
...Waukegan, Illinois has a long history, with a rich and varied heritage. Countless individuals, businesses, and organizations have contributed to that heritage, and continue today to contribute to the legacy of this community. One of Waukegan's most notable citizens was Jack Benny. Throughout his long career he regularly cited his hometown and its influence on him, and he often contributed to the city with his many appearances. But he wasn't the
...The clanging of a streetcar's bell conjures images of a time when street railways were a normal part of life in the city. Historic Canal Street represents the common ground between old and new with buses driving alongside steel rails and electric wires that once guided streetcars.New Orleans was one of the first cities to embrace street railways, and the city's love affair with streetcars has never ceased. New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line
...Farmers from the East found the broad and fertile prairies of McHenry County offered the perfect soil and climate for growing corn, wheat, oats, barley, and rye. This led the way for a flourishing dairy industry that eventually supplied milk to the city of Chicago. The first settlements appeared in 1835 in towns such as Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Harvard, and Cary. Families such as the Walkups, the Crandalls, the Beardsleys, the Stickneys, and the
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