Day in McHenry County History

This "Day in McHenry County History" is not all inclusive. Dated material was taken from local history books up through 1994.

January
1^st	1839	First marriage in Dunham Township between Jacob A. Davis and Helen M. Diggins.
	1912	Harvard Odd Fellows formed.
4^th	1915	Woodstock Hospital moves to its longtime location on South Street at the corner of Blakely Street.
5^th	1909	A Christian Science Group hold their first meeting in Woodstock.
	1920	The Crystal Lake Community High School District is formed.
7^th	1839	The first marriage is performed in Alden Township between Timothy Fuller and Esther Disbrow.
	1946	The Cary Lions formed.
8^th	1855	Ridgefield is laid out as a village.
	1868	First Presbyterian Church of Harvard organized.
9^th	1983	Cary is incorporated as a village.
	1914	The Woodstock Hospital is chartered.
10^th	1842	The First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake is organized.
	1874	Crystal Lake is incorporated as a village.
11^th	1979	Low temperature mark of -34^o was recorded equaling 90 year low.
12^th	1920	McHenry Community High School District is formed.
13^th	1973	Prairie Grove voters agree to incorporate the Village.
14^th	1863	Dedication of the Alden Methodist Church.
	1926	Dedication of the Marengo Community High School.
16^th	1836	Illinois State Legislature names new McHenry County after Major William McHenry who fought in the Black Hawk War.
	1959	McHenry County Association for Retarded Children (later Pioneer Center) was formed.
19^th	1934	Fox River Grove American Legion Post 119 formed.
22^nd	1920	McHenry American Legion Post 491 formed.
	1923	First Rotary Club in McHenry County is organized in Harvard.
	1920	McHenry American Legion Post 491 formed.
23^rd	1965	Lake in the Hills Lion Club formed.
25^th	1918	Woodstock Moose Lodge formed.
27^th	1920	Richmond-Burton High School District formed.
29^th	1913	Marengo Eastern Star formed.
30^th	1955	Radio Station WMCW of Harvard goes on the air.


February
1^st	1913	Soil Improvement Association hires the first farm advisor.
2^nd	1957	The U.S.S. Bigelow naval destroyer is named after Medal of Honor recipient, Elmer Bigelow of Hebron. The destroyer was christened and launched at Bath Iron Works, Maine.
3^rd	1835	Major William McHenry, military leader and state legislator for whom McHenry County was named, died on this date.
	1895	St. Johns Evangelical Church is organized in Union.
4^th	1842	First marriage in Hartland between William Fanning and Catherine Donnelly.
	1887	Slocum’s Orchestra entertains at dance at Masonic Hall in Union.
	1895	Permission given to the Harvard Telephone Company to start and maintain a phone service.
	1896	Cary Royal Neighbors of American organized.
	1897	Harvard Eastern Star formed.
6^th	1839	Virginia Presbyterian Church organized near Ridgefield.
8^th	1951	Alden Fire Department started.
9^th	1850	Congregational Church of Algonquin organized.
	1954	Public Library of Fox River Grove established.
	1857	Marengo is incorporated as a town.
14^th	1855	An attempt to move the county seat from Woodstock to Algonquin was defeated by vote.
16^th	1961	First National Bank of Crystal lake receives its charter.
18^th	1900	Fire destroys 1879 structure of St. John the Baptist Church in Johnsburg.
21^st	1921	Algonquin Woman’s Club founds the Algonquin Public Library.
22^nd	1930	First water over the new dam at Wonder Lake.
23^rd	1846	Presbyterians in Dorr Township organizes.
24^th	1844	St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church is organized in Algonquin.
	1857	Amos B. Coon prepares incorporation charter for Marengo Village.
	1907	Harvard Knights of Columbus organized.
25^th	1859	Plat of Carey Station (Cary) filed for record.
	1890	Algonquin incorporated as a village.
27^th	1856	The old Stone Church built in Marengo for the Methodists. It later became the Colonial Theater.
	1858	Closing of the Collegiate Institute of Marengo just 4 months after it opened. The 5-story brick building burned to the ground in the 1860’s.
28^th	1869	Harvard incorporated as a village.
	1902	Triple murder at Ellsworth home in Woodstock.
29^th	1952	Harvard Grange #1923 formed.


March
1^st	1939	McHenry County splits into Lake and McHenry Counties.
	1871	German Evangelical Lutheran Church is organized in Huntley.
	1876	St. Johns Congregation Lutheran Church of Algonquin organized.
	1900	Harvard gets rural free mail delivery.
	1900	Rural Free Delivery for mail begins in McHenry County.
	1958	Union Lions Club is organized.
3^rd	1920	Huntley Community High School District is formed.
4^th	1946	Woodstock VFW Post 5040 mustered in.
5^th	1953	McHenry Moose Lodge #691 chartered.
	1882	Birth of Egbert Anson Van Alstyne, McHenry County’s most famous song writer who wrote "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," Pretty Baby," and "Drifting and Dreaming."
6^th	1843	Burton Township (smallest of McHenry County’s Townships) first established as Wentworth Precinct.
9^th	1930	Last day of service for the Elgin and Belvidere Trolley.
10^th	1839	First marriage in Algonquin Township between Franklin Wallace and Hannah S. Beardsley, the first teacher in the township in Crystal Lake.
11^th	1911	First service of Cary Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
13^th	1845	Dorr post office established.
	1889	Chemung Modern Woodmen of American organized.
	1937	80^th Anniversary of Woodstock Sentinel.
15^th	1919	McHenry American Legion Post 491 was founded.
	1861	School House in West McHenry burns.
16^th	1836	Mrs. Mary (O.P.) Rogers becomes the first white woman to live in Coral Township.
17^th	1831	McHenry County has its first mixed jury of men and women.
18^th	1874	Algonquin Mutual Fire Insurance Company organized.
	1859	Harvard Masonic Lodge No. 209 was chartered.
19^th	1961	Harvard VFW Post 5504 mustered in.
	1982	County’s worst air disaster – Air National Guard Tanker crashed near Greenwood.
20^th	1810	Birth of William A. McConnell in Pennsylvania who was the first settler of Richmond Township.
	1836	First public religious service held in Pleasant Grove (Marengo) at Calvin Spencer’s house.
21^st	1875	St. John’s United Church of Christ (Harmony) was organized.
		West Harmony Methodist Church organized.
	1895	Summit Camp #53 of the Royal Neighbors of America organized in Nunda Township.
22^nd	1952	Hebron Green Giants take the Illinois State Basketball Championship.
23^rd	1909	A monument is erected in the Woodstock City Square Park dedicated to county soldiers and sailors.
24^th	1811	Birth of Dr. Christy G. Wheeler, the first practicing physician in McHenry County and a first settler of McHenry.
	1927	Marengo organizes the first Kiwanis Club in the county.
25^th	1963	Crystal Lake Rotary forms.
26^th	1894	Richmond Eastern Star formed.
	1840	Bela Tyron commissioned first postmaster of Hebron Township.
27^th	1807	Birth of Thomas Stillwell Huntley, founder of Huntley, IL.
	1840	Bela Tyron commissioned first postmaster of Hebron Township.
	1885	Harvard Modern Woodmen of America organized.
	1955	Marengo Jaycees organized.
28^th	1922	Soil Improvement Association becomes McHenry County Farm Bureau.
	1928	Florence Nursing Home begins operation in Marengo.
29^th	1916	Crystal Lake Rebekahs Lodge #793 forms.
	1920	Hebron Community High School District forms.
30^th	1895	Meeting held to organize a Nunda Chapter of Eastern Star.
	1939	Seneca Grange #1896 organized.


April
1^st	1905	McHenry Eastern Star formed.
	1908	Woodstock Royal Neighbors of America formed.
	1943	Comprehensive WWII rationing begins. Local O.P.A. office located in Woodstock.
	1967	McHenry County College established.
2^nd	1850	First township elections for all townships. Previous to this from 1837 to 1850 this county was organized into precincts (Fox Precinct was the first to be created on June 5, 1837 and comprised "More land than the present McHenry County." At one time this county and Lake County were combined.
3^rd	1890	First regular Algonquin Village Board meeting held.
	1914	Cary State Bank receives its charter.
4^th	1899	Harvard Mystic Workers of the World organizes.
	1929	Woodstock Lions form.
	1930	Marengo State Bank was founded.
	1995	Barnard Mills and Greenwood vote to incorporate.
5^th	1875	First Woodstock Board of Education elected.
6^th	1914	Algonquin Eastern Star formed.
	1917	U.S. enters WWI; McHenry County supplied 1475 men of which 57 were to lose their lives.
	1971	McHenry County Conservation District created by voter referendum.
7^th	1883	J.B. Manzer G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union Civil War Veterans) organized in Harvard.
	1954	Woodstock Jaycees organized.
	1955	McHenry Rotary formed.
	1960	Huntley Farmside newspaper started.
8^th	1839	First marriage in Seneca Township: John Ackerson to Elizabeth Dickenson.
9^th	1956	Village of Sunnyside is incorporated.
11^th	1965	A tornado struck the Crystal Lake Plaza in Crystal Lake killing six people. A child was also killed in Island Lake.
12^th	1948	Kiwanis Club of Wonder Lake forms – the oldest in McHenry County.
13^th	1971	Ground broken for new courthouse on Route 47 – a $3,229,000. project.
14^th	1950	All passenger service on the Galena Div. Freeport (C & NW) ended.
15^th	1911	Prosperity Lodge of the Mystic Workers of the World forms in McHenry.
16^th	1942	Harvard Women of the Moose chartered.
	1956	A petition was granted for the St. Paul’s Episcopal Mission in McHenry.
	1957	Crystal Lake voters adopt a city manager form of government.
17^th	1884	Death of Richard Simpkins, the first settler of Coral Township.
	1858	Riley Methodist Church organized.
20^th	1965	Frances Kuhn is elected Mayor of Woodstock – the first woman mayor in McHenry County.
21^st	1883	The Nunda G.A.R. Post 226 organized.
	1967	Tornado kills 21 in nearby Boone County before ravaging rural areas of Marengo, Dunham, Hartland, and Greenwood Townships.
22^nd	1964	Algonquin Jaycees organized.
	1965	Marengo Republican News begins 100^th year of publication.
24^th	1952	McHenry Chamber of Commerce incorporates as not-for-profit.
25^th	1880	Zion Lutheran Church was founded in Marengo.
26^th	1898	McHenry County’s contribution of soldiers to the Spanish-American War effort—Co. G, 3^rd Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers mustered up.
	1960	First meeting of McHenry County Chapter of Illinois Retired Teachers.
27^th	1946	Marengo VFW Post 5766 mustered in.
	1967	Killer tornado strikes McHenry County.
28^th	1885	The Crystal Lake Village Board gives Nunda Band permission to erect a bandstand in the Virginia Street Park. It was removed in 1891.
29^th	1921	Harvard Moose Lodge was chartered.
	1952	Woodstock is the first city in the county to adopt the city manager form of government.
30^th	1947	Huntley Lions formed.


May
1^st	1853	German Presbyterians organize in Greenwood Township.
	1876	Richmond Gazette established.
	1901	Huntley’s first bank opens, the Bank of Huntley.
	1932	Woodstock Post Office occupied. This was the only Federally owned building in McHenry County.
	1965	The Crystal lake Chamber of Commerce operates full time.
2^nd	1886	Crystal Lake ordinance notes that saloons must be closed from 10:30 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. and all day Sunday.
4^th	1893	The Baptists are the first religious group to organize in the county. The first Baptist Church was located in Crystal Lake.
	1942	Harvard Lions formed.
5^th	1873	Saint Mary’s Mission (a protestant Episcopal church) organized in Spring Grove.
	1895	Every Crystal Lake male between 25 and 50 had to pay $1.00 poll tax or work on streets one ten-hour day.
7^th	1837	Birth of William Beardsley, the first child born in Crystal Lake.
	1886	Hebron Modern Woodmen of America formed.
9^th	1888	Ringwood Modern Woodmen of America formed.
	1921	Pioneer flyer, Ralph Clayton Diggins of Harvard, flew the first air express between New York and Chicago.
	1934	First National Bank of Woodstock is founded.
10^th	1823	Birth date of Henry W. Mead – he platted the Village of Hebron.
	1837	State Legislature establishes Village of McHenry as the county seat.
		First term of the McHenry County Circuit Court convenes in McHenry.
11^th	1933	First of a series of milk strikes in the county.
12th	1847	Baptists organize in Dorr Township.
13^th	1839	First marriage in Dorr Township: Oscar H. Douglass to Sarah Gaff.
14^th	1861	McHenry County Board of Supervisors met in Woodstock to form the general outline of county volunteer Civil War units (Companies).
15^th	1951	Crystal Lake Jaycees organized.
17^th	1909	Delos F. Diggins Library in Harvard dedicated.
18^th	1883	Cyclone strikes in Alden and Chemung.
23^rd	1895	Assessor’s plat for Greenwood Village recorded.
	1906	The typewriter replaces longhand records of McHenry County government.
26^th	1978	Clarence M. Siems dies; Siems Memorial Park established near Union.
27^th	1837	First post office established in McHenry County at Crystal Lake.
28^th	1966	Formal opening of the Illinois Railway Museum in Union.
29^th	1957	Crystal Lake News and McHenry County Guide started.
30^th	1953	Johnsburg Public School ceased the practice of hiring Catholic nuns as staff. A parochial school was then started.
	1978	Ambutal of Crystal Lake opens.
31^st	1939	Last day of service on the Kenosha Division Railroad through Hebron.
	1957	Illinois Bell Telephone closes switchboard operations in Marengo.


June
1^st	1909	First State Bank of Harvard chartered. Original of this bank started in 1866 and is the oldest continuous bank in McHenry County.
	1954	St. Margaret Mary Church of Algonquin erected.
	1960	Lock added to the 1939 McHenry Dam on the Fox River to accommodate increased recreational use of the river.
	1967	McHenry County college becomes a reality.
2^nd	1881	Petition to the Crystal Lake Board to have hog pens and cow yards abutting sidewalks in corporate limits removed to a reasonable distance.
	1885	Handcuffs purchased for the use of Crystal Lake police.
3^rd	1845	Commissioners Court names Woodstock Precinct before the townships were set up in 1850.
	1948	Alden Community Club organized.
4^th	1895	Crystal Lake passes an ordinance granting Nunda Electric Light Company a franchise.
5^th	1837	First Court was held in McHenry, the county seat.
	1883	The Chicago Telephone Co. was given the right of way to place poles on public streets provided they did not interfere with travel or drainage.
7^th	1904	Crystal Lake passes an ordinance regulating speed of autos to 8 mph.
	1912	Crystal Lake passes an ordinance that the merry-go-round must shut music at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday.
	1917	American Red Cross chapter organized in the county. The charter was signed by Woodrow Wilson.
10^th	1919	Between 15,000 and 20,000 welcome WWI McHenry County soldiers home at a celebration in the Woodstock Public Square.
	1920	Huntley School Dist. 158, the first consolidated district in McHenry county, was formed.
	1921	Union American Legion Henry F. Miller Post 482 formed.
11th	1883	Cyclone strikes in Dunham Township.
	1905	St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Harvard formed.
12^th	1914	Crystal Lake Odd Fellows formed.
18^th	1939	Dedication of Johnsburg cement bridge.
	1942	Harvard holds first Harvard Milk Day.
19^th	1936	Community Methodist Church of Fox River Grove organized.
20^th	1913	Boy Scout master’s certificate to Dr. J.A. Steele, a Marengo Dentist. Marengo had the first Boy Scout troop in McHenry County.
	1994	Construction of Motorola plant begins in Harvard.
21^st	1836	Birth of Dr. S. Fillmore Bennett, author of "In the Sweet Bye and Bye." He is buried in Cedar Vale Cemetery, Solon Mills.
22^nd	1852	Woodstock incorporated as a village.
	1902	Hebron has its first automobile owner.
23^rd	1952	Alden Hebron garage started.
24^th	1903	First recorded bank robbery in the county takes place at the Cary Exchange Bank and nets $3500.
25^th	1887	Hebron’s first high school commencement.
	1952	Village of Island Lake incorporated.
26^th	1920	Marengo Community High School District is formed.
29^th	1895	In Harvard the birth of Paul V. Galvin the founder of Motorola.
30^th	1930	Harvard Chamber of Commerce organizes.
	1960	Hebron Rescue Squad receives its not-for-profit charter.
July
1^st	1915	Dr. Miriam Yampolsky, first woman doctor in county, sets up practice in Crystal Lake.
	1952	County Board of School trustees created.
2^nd	1922	McHenry Golf Course opens with 9 holes. The second 9 holes were added in 1926.
3^rd	1837	The first election in the Fox precinct which incorporated all McHenry County west and two miles east of the Fox River.
4^th	1939	The first child born in Richmond Township to John and Pamelia Purdy. Baby’s name is Sarah.
	1855	The first courthouse in Woodstock burns.
	1890	GAR monument dedicated in Greenwood Cemetery. 1000 in attendance.
	1891	The cornerstone of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Harvard is laid.
	1899	The first trip on the electric road from Harvard to Fontana on the Chicago, Harvard, and Lake Geneva line.
	1976	Opening ceremony for the McHenry County Historical Society Museum in Union.
6^th	1837	First post office between Galena and Chicago established at Coral.
7^th	1896	Crystal Lake paid A.B. Conover 50¢ to bury a cat.
8^th	1933	The Village of Lakewood was born.
	1952	Harvard Kiwanis forms.
10^th	1919	First meeting of the Christian Science Society of Crystal Lake.
	1940	Burton-Richmond Fire District formed.
	1951	Crystal Lake Kiwanis forms
12^th	1920	WWII Congressional medal of Honor recipient and namesake for the destroyer U.S.S. Bigelow, Elmer C. Bigelow was born in Hebron.
13^th	1988	Hebron Township Committee on Youth created. Hebron is the most sparsely populated township in Illinois with such a committee.
17^th	1920	Algonquin American Legion Post 670 formed.
	1943	The closing of the Chemung Post Office.
19^th	1969	Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 was formed.
20^th	1871	The first bank in Marengo opens – the First National Bank.
22^nd	1840	Richmond founder, William McConnell, was appointed first postmaster.
24^th	1852	McHenry County Medical Society organized.
	1962	English Prairie School District 9, last one room school in McHenry County, was annexed to Richmond Elementary District.
28^th	1787	Birth of Prescott Whittemore who named Grafton Township after Grafton Township, New Hampshire.
29^th	1949	July 29^th –31^st, first McHenry County Fair held since 1924.


August
1^st	1920	Hebron American Legion Eugene Drill Post 606 formed.
2^nd	1841	First Germans arrive in Johnsburg – at first an exclusively German Catholic center.
4^th	1875	First issue of the McHenry Plaindealer
	1931	Crystal Lake Lions form.
5^th	1840	First session of the county commissioners held in the new McHenry courthouse and jail located on the public square on Pearl Street in McHenry. (County seat moved to Centerville -- Woodstock – in September, 1844.
	1903	First Major League baseball team to play in McHenry County: Cubs vs. Oliver Typewriter Team in Woodstock.
6^th	1862	Nancy Joyce Fischer born in McHenry.
	1920	Huntley American Legion Post was chartered.
	1931	Riley Grange organized with 25 charger members—first in county.
	1936	90 page Centennial edition of the Crystal Lake Herald comes out loaded with historical information on Crystal Lake.
9^th	1954	Richmond Rotary formed.
11^th	1958	Village of Oakwood Hills organized.
	1975	Chicago & Northwestern Railroad terminates its commuter operations to Lake Geneva. All runs end at Richmond until 1980 when McHenry becomes the end of the line.
13^th	1919	Death at 90 of Richard Gillilan the youngest son of McHenry County’s first settlers Samuel and Margaret Gillilan.
15^th	1894	St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (McHenry) offered first mass.
	1937	St. Patrick’s Church in Harland Township celebrates 100^th anniversary.
16^th	1916	Death of Eman Opatrny, the first developer of Fox River Grove and the builder of the Castle Pavilion.
19^th	1841	Probably the first marriage in Riley Township between Caroline E. Cobb, a first McHenry County teacher, and Spencer Flanders.
	1950	Egbert Anson Van Alstyne, Marengo pianist and songwriter, honored in Chicago for his contributions to music with such songs as "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," "Pretty Baby," "Drifting and Dreaming."
	1956	New Harvard Hospital opens.
21^st	1886	Marengo Odd Fellows formed.
	1919	Incorporation of Fox River Grove as village.
23^rd	1877	First Harvest Festival held in Greenwood Township—Queen Anne Prairie.
	1921	Woodstock Sentinel becomes the county’s first daily newspaper.
24^th	1881	Woodstock G.A.R. Post 108 formed.
25^th	1839	First marriage in Coral Township: Samuel H. Bullard to Samantha Dunham
	1875	Orin and Lucas Disbrow sell two acres of land to the town of Alden for a cemetery.
26^th	1835	First death is Deida Gillilan. Daughter of first county settlers Samuel and Margaret Gillilan in Algonquin Township.
27^th	1872	Buildings on the east side of the Woodstock Square burn down.
28^th	1852	Marengo Baptist Church organized.
	1962	Kishwaukee Trail chapter organized.
30^th	1952	Nativity Lutheran Church in Wonder Lake organized.
	1959	Phone service in Woodstock changes from manual to dial.


September
1^st	1847	Lewis Boon plats Troy in Greenwood Township north of Thompson Rd.
	1890	Hebron Tribune newspaper started.
2^nd	1844	First marriage in Grafton Township: Sanford Haight to Mary A. Sprague.
	1872	Village of Richmond incorporated.
	1950	Lake-in-the-Hills Property Owners Association organized.
3^rd	1842	Montelona Baptist Church organized in Richmond.
	1945	Dedication of St. Mary Minor Seminary in Crystal Lake.
4^th	1837	First road plans begun by the Commissioner’s Court to build a road north from McHenry to the state line—probably the route that State 31 now follows.
	1956	First McHenry Hospital opens below the McHenry Medical Group building on Green Street.
5^th	1965	Last run of Chicago to Madison (C&NW) mail and passenger trains west of Harvard.
7^th	1840	First marriage in Hebron Township: George C. Hopkins to Rebecca Tuttle.
8^th	1869	First meeting in McHenry County of the Old Settler’s Association.
10^th	1906	McHenry State Bank has its start as West McHenry State Bank.
11^th	1852	Huntley congregational Church organized.
	1887	St. John’s Lutheran Church organized in Union.
	1914	Electric Street lights for Marengo’s State Street.
	1953	Ridgefield Grange organized.
12^th	1935	Marengo Republican-News Centennial edition comes out.
13^th	1851	Fox River Courier announces the first passenger run to Huntley of the Galena, Chicago and Union Railroad.
14^th	1835	Arrival of Calvin Spencer of Virginia, the first settler of Marengo which was first called Pleasant Grove.
	1844	Meeting held to organize the Presbyterian Church to serve Alden and Hebron.
	1893	Marengo incorporated as a city.
15^th	1886	The Chicago phone book first lists telephone toll stations in McHenry County.
	1964	Hebron Jaycees organized.
		Harvard Herald goes semi-weekly – first in the county.
16^th	1957	Marengo Lions formed.
17^th	1874	Alden Mutual Fire Insurance Company formed.
	1967	McHenry County Historical Society dedicates a marker to the Gillilan family of Algonquin, the first settlers of McHenry County.
18^th	1925	Crystal Lake Moose Lodge formed.
	1939	Algonquin Lions formed.
19^th	1898	Birth of Rev. Joel E. Wheeler, the first minister of McHenry County. He located in McHenry.
20^th	1838	Frist birth in McHenry Township: Ellen Augusta Wheeler to the Christy Wheelers.
	1847	St. Mark’s Lodge #63 Free Masons organized in Woodstock.
	1965	McHenry’s Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church founded.
23^rd	1844	Courthouse moved form McHenry to Centerville (Woodstock) which was more centrally located.
	1914	Crystal Lake becomes a city.
24^th	1850	Birth of Henry L. Ferris in a log cabin east of Alden. He was the inventor of numerous labor saving devices including a hay carrier.
	1919	Marengo American Legion Kishwaukee Post 192 formed.
27^th	1919	Woodstock American Legion Post 412 formed.
		Harvard American Legion Post 265 formed.
29^th	1954	Harvard Jaycees organized.
30^th	1857	Marengo collegiate Institute (private school) officially opened in a five story brick building on W. Prairie Street.


October
1^st	1857	Scheduled the completion date of the Woodstock Court House on the Square – it was destroyed by fire the following year.
	1875	Crystal Lake’s firs paper, the Nunda Advertiser, was established.
	1929	First phone exchange in county (1895) Harvard sells out to Illinois Bell.
	1931	Riley Grange #1858 formed.
2^nd	1854	Richmond Masonic Lodge 143 chartered.
	1980	Melvin Stuessy, Woodstock Educator/Mayor, died.
3^rd	1854	McHenry Masonic Lodge 158 chartered.
	1907	Leader Stove factory in Marengo burns to ground.
4^th	1848	Masonic Lodge 63 in Woodstock chartered.
	1942	St. John’s Lutheran Church of Island Lake organized
	1979	County Board adopts Year 2000 Land Use Plan to guide development.
5^th	1853	Marengo Masonic Lodge 138 chartered.
	1855	Nunda Masonic Lodge 169 chartered.
	1859	Harvard Masonic Lodge 309 chartered.
	1913	Algonquin Masonic Lodge 960 chartered.
6^th	1807	Birth of Calvin Spencer, first settler of Marengo.
	1858	Hebron Masonic Lodge 604 chartered.
	1902	Spring Grove was incorporated.
	1919	Greenwood community High School District formed although no school was ever held.
7^th	1977	Moraine Hills State Park merged with McHenry Dam State Park and opened.
8^th	1962	Chuck Hiller of Johnsburg hit a grand slam homer (first in World Series History for a National League player) for Giants against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.
11^th	1927	Cary-Grove Masonic Lodge chartered.
13^th	1966	McHenry Lions Club formed.
14^th	1909	Marengo-Kishwaukee Lodge Knights of Pythias formed.
	1982	Harvard Historical Society museum opens in old St. Paul Lutheran Church building.
15^th	1889	Hebron Odd Fellows formed.
	1914	Crystal Lake Rebekahs Lodge 784 formed.
	1945	Fox River Post 4600 of the VFW formed – oldest in McHenry County.
	1953	Kiwanis Club of Woodstock forms.
	1992	Expanded Government Center (courthouse) and correctional facility dedicated.
16^th	1960	Church of the Nazarene chartered in Crystal Lake.
17^th	1869	Immanuel Lutheran Church of Crystal Lake conducts first service.
18^th	1955	First meeting of the Crystal Lake Area Senior Citizens.
19^th	1850	Presbyterian Church organizes in Marengo.
	1891	Harvard Women’s Club founded.
24^th	1865	First Congregational Church in Dorr Township established.
	1906	Woodstock Elks formed.
27^th	1919	Alden Community High School District formed.
28^th	1962	Dedication of Spring Grove Grade School.
31^st	1873	First telegraph message sent from McHenry.


November
1^st	1848	Birth of Fred Hatch, inventor of first upright silo in 1873 east of Spring Grove. Historical Society plaqued the site in 1980.
	1886	J.H. Patterson Lumber Company started in Marengo.
	1887	Village of Crystal Lake gets oil burning street lights.
2^nd	1898	Dunham Woman’s Club organized.
3^rd	1838	Methodist Episcopal Church organized in Richmond.
4^th	1957	Fox River Grove-Cary Kiwanis forms.
	1986	Voters approve creation of Marengo-Union consolidated School District. 165 from former Union District 8, Marengo District 140, and Hawthorne District 17.
6^th	1849	McHenry County citizens by vote change from a precinct form of government and adopt the township system of government. Precincts lasted from 1837 to 1850.
		Dorr Township organized.
	1888	Ridgefield Modern Woodmen of America formed.
8^th	1994	Community of Ringwood voted to incorporate.
9^th	1949	First Annual meeting of the 4-H Town which was organized in part to lease the fairgrounds on behalf of the 4-H organization.
10^th	1839	First marriage in McHenry Township: Joseph Fellows to Christiana Robinault.
13^th	1992	Johnsburg was annexed by the incorporated Village of Sunnyside, but the name of the new municipality was then legally changed to Johnsburg.
18^th	1739	Birth of Major Watson (1739-1840), the only Revolutionary soldier buried in McHenry County. Watson (Major was just a first name) is buried in the Linn-Hebron cemetery in Hebron.
	1834	First recognized McHenry County settlers, Samuel and Margaret Gillilan reach the west bank of the Fox River at present day Algonquin. A stone marker placed by the McHenry county Historical society marks the spot at the corner of Route 31 and Cary Road.
18^th	1987	Huntley Odd Fellows formed.
23^rd	1895	Village of Hebron was incorporated.
	1912	County Soil Improvement Association, the forerunner of the Farm Bureau, was formed.
	1974	Name of Sunrise Ridge, incorporated in 1974, was changed to Wonder Lake by 1980.
24^th	1919	Woodstock Community High School District formed.
		Marengo Community High School District formed.
26^th	1886	Richmond Modern Woodmen of America formed.
	1899	St. Joseph Catholic Church building in Richmond was dedicated.
	1946	Bull Valley Garden Club organized.
	1963	McHenry County Historical Society chartered.
27^th	1919	Harvard Community High School District formed.
	1961	Cary Jaycees organized.
28^th	1905	Norge Ski club leases hill near Cary for ski jumping events.
	1955	Kiwanis Club of McHenry forms.
29^th	1889	State Bank of Woodstock chartered.
30^th	1837	First marriage in Burton Township: Jonathan Imeson and Mary Wray.
	1965	Death of first McHenry County man in Vietnam War: PFC Lester Erwin Becker of Harvard in Dunham Township.


December
2^nd	1919	Large old school on South Street in Woodstock burns down.
3^rd	1926	Crystal Lake Library receives charter to operate.
5^th	1843	Commissioner’s Court makes Algonquin part of Fox precinct prior to townships.
6^th	1959	Dedication of Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock.
7th	1941	Joe Nelles (Army) and Tom Lounsbury (Navy) killed at bombing of Pearl Harbor. First county natives to lose lives in WWII.
9^th	1911	Lotus Country Woman’s Club forms in Spring Grove.
10^th	1877	Woodstock Literary and Library Association forms.
12^th	1980	Melvin Aavang, first licensed pilot in McHenry County died.
13^th	1924	Dedication of McHenry Community High School, now East Campus High School, in McHenry.
17^th	1844	Algonquin Village plat accepted and adopted.
18^th	1843	Congregational Church of Richmond organizes.
20^th	1900	Crystal Lake Mystic Workers of the World organize.
	1920	Illinois Bell takes over phone exchanges in McHenry, Union, and Crystal Lake.
24^th	1902	Richmond’s worst fire destroys Main Street.
26^th	1870	Immanuel Lutheran Church organized in Crystal Lake.
29^th	1882	Harley Wayne G.A.R. made up of Union Army soldiers Post 169 organized in Marengo.
31^st	1885	West McHenry Modern Woodmen of American organizes.

Research [1]

Local History [2]