News and Events
You have the power to save small businesses, large silos
This has been a year of economic body blows, especially in Illinois, where ongoing budget and debt issues have kept us down on the mat more often than not.
And our reliance on property taxes to fund everything from schools to street repairs, and government pensions to child welfare caseworkers, hasn’t helped. History tells us that as industry moves and retailers shutter locations, the burden of funding all this falls on homeowners.
New exhibits recount seminal moments in county's past
The COVID-19 outbreak has wrecked havoc with the McHenry County HIstorical Museum operations and prompted its closure, effective Nov. 1. We are hopeful the pandemic will wane by spring and enable visitors to return inside for programs and to view the museum's newest exhibits:
Marshall Field's and Chicago
Two fires and three sales – first to B.A.T. Industries in 1982, then to Dayton Hudson Corp. in 1990 and the finally to Federated Department Stores in 2005 – have done little to diminish Marshall Field & Company’s cachet.
Finding a house to call home easier said than done
In 1991, McHenry was the fastest growing county in Illinois. At the time a record 183,241 people called his place home – up 24 percent from a decade earlier.
But since those development-driven days of soaring land prices, easy financing and burgeoning employment opportunities, the pace has slowed. In July 2004 McHenry County was the 75th fastest-growing county in the nation; by 2006 it had fallen to 86th. Today we are a statistical blip in a destination landscape dominated by the Sunbelt, as well as by states such as Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Colorado.
Learn what it is to Native American
Traditional Ojibwa Lullaby
Hey, hey, watenay -- trans: Sleep, sleep, little one
Hey, hey, watenay
Hey, hey, watenay
Kay-o-kay-nah -- trans: Now go to sleep
Kay-o-kay- nah
Kim McIver Sigafus may be half Native American, but she is completely obsessed with learning all she can about her native roots.
Museum opening, craft beer tasting
More than 200 people helped the McHenry County Historical Society kick off is newest exhibit: "Prairie Trails to Strange Tales: McHenry County’s Earliest Years" on May 3 at county history museum, 6422 Main St. in Union.
School program
Native American Program
Time: 1 hour
Age: 1st – 3rd grades (Can be played with to make it more age appropriate for older or younger grades)
Native American Tribes in McHenry County:
Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Illini, Sac, Fox and the Potawatomi. But, even before these tribes existed there were a lot of Paleo- Indians (Tribes that were around Pre-History/ Pre Written Word) So we don’t know the names of these tribes but know that they existed because we have found artifacts.
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Waste and our environmental response
After six frustrating years, Waste Management Corp. in 1989 abandoned plans to build a landfill in McHenry County. They and other companies proposed numerous sites – which included 214 acres at the intersection of Routes 47 and 176, 113 acres near Huntley and 118 acres at McCue Road and Route 176. All were rejected after numerous hearings and public outcry.
Repurpose factory for a train depot
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is advocating for a “fast-track initiative” that would create a network of reliable passenger trains branching out from Chicago and traveling in excess of 200 mph. It estimates that $233 million will be needed to extend service through Elgin and Huntley to Rockford by rebuilding the Union Pacific tracks and connecting it with the Metra Milwaukee West tracks at the Big Timber Road station.
Huntley already has spent money on design plans for a train depot and parking lot on village-owned property at Main and Church streets.
Aububon visits Union
Celebrated painter, naturalist and explorer, John James Audubon, was many things before he came to symbolize the modern conservation movement.
He ran a gristmill, a lead mine and a general store. The store ultimately failed and resulted in his brief jailing for unpaid debts. After moving to Kentucky, and then Louisiana, Audubon became progressively more interested in nature.
Trip to American Terra Cotta Museum
The Joint Council of HIstoric Groups toured the American Terra Cotta Museum March 20 in Crystal Lake.
The 576-square-foot museum, is located at 3703 S. Route 31 in Crystal Lake.shares the story of the people, processes and production of architectural terra cotta and Teco pottery by the American Terra Cotta & Ceramic Company, is available by appointment only. For information, email info@amtecomuseum.com.
2019 Quilt Raffle
Sue Neuman of McHenry never thought she had no more chance of winning the Heritage Quilters’ raffle quilt this year, than finding a needle in a sewing box.
She was - quite happily – wrong.
The first-time buyer of a McHenry County Historical Society quilt raffle ticket, Neuman fell in love with the nine-patch “Honoring Adelia” at Countryside Nursery’s September quilt show.
“I buy a lot of quilts,” Neuman said. “I had to build a ladder in my bedroom to display all of them.”
History remains a mystery for far too many Americans
A recent article in “The Federalist” underscored a disturbing educational trend: Students are increasingly ignorant about U.S. history.
The sobering statistics disclosed include:
• 24 percent of Americans older than 18 visited a historic site in 2012 – a 13 percent drop from 1982.
• Only 20.5 percent of Americans between ages 18 and 24 visited a historic site in 2012 – down 8 percent compared with a decade before.
Graff digs White City history
About 135 people attended the March 11 opening of this year's Sampler Lecture Series at the McHenry County Historical Musuem in Union, presented by Rebecca Graff, assistant professor of anthropology and chair of the American studies at Lake Forest College.
Yearn to learn about your potential railroad future and prehistoric past
As Illinois politicians struggle to somehow replicate a fiscal miracle – using a proverbial five baskets of cash to try to quench the thirst of tax-weary multitudes – one wonders who will be among the haves and who will get nothing.
The fact remains that this state last passed an infrastructure bill in 2009. It’s no wonder the American Society of Civil Engineers awarded Illinois a grade of C minus.
7th Annual Antique Appraisal Day
Antique Assembly
The weather cooperated - mostly - Saturday mand large crowd turned out at the McHenry County Historical Museum for our Seventh Annual Antique Appraisal Day in Union. See you next February!
Special thanks to our volunteer appraisers David Krieg, Harvard; Brett Dougherty, Woodstock; Ben Petersen and Yvonne Wheeler, Richmond; Ken Paula, Rockford; Debbie and Jim McArdle, Crystal Lake; Scott Teasdale, Crystal Lake; Kurt Gippert and Michael Osacky, Chicago; Barb Peterson, McHenry; and Lynne Eltrevoog, Union.
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