Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake, Illinois

On Tuesday, we went to Crystal Lake's Main Beach to see New Odyssey play, part of my Seven Bands in Seven Days effort.  Main Beach was once part of what is called the Dole Mansion, a Crystal Lake landmark that fortunately still stands.

It belonged to Chicago successful businessman Charles S. Dole who bought over 1,000 acres of land by Crystal Lake in the 1860s.  Construction of the mansion cost well over $100,000, a very substantial amount back then.  And, no expense was spared.  Charles was quite the wealthy man and wanted a showcase to show it off to his Chicago friends out in the country.

Charles S. Dole was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade grain market and with his brother James, was a partner in the Chicago-based Armour, Dole & Company.  (I'll write about this company in my Cooter's History Thing blog later today.)  The name Armour makes me wonder.  Was this the Armour of meatpacking fame?

An example of his wealth took place at his daughter's 1883 wedding when he had a railroad spur built to the mansion from Crystal Lake's train station by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad so his guests would not have to take horse and buggies.

He lived there until the 1890s and then sold it to his son-in-law for $1.  In the early 1900s, it was owned by several ice companies who used it for operations in the lake.  In 1922, it became Crysrtal Lake's first country club.

In 1945, it was sold to the Franciscan Order and used as a seminary until closing in 1970.  The city now owns it.

--RpadDog

Reuse Those Old Homes--Don't Tear Them Down

The June 15, 2007 Northwest Herald, serving primarily McHenry County in northeast Illinois, had an article titled "Reusing history: Storied homes rescued to provide shelter for public use" by Regan Foster.

An artist had just moved into an old mansion to set up a studio, and the week before, the McHenry City Council voted to spend $14,900 on architectural studies for a historic homestead. McHenry County is experiencing unprecedented population growth as Chicago continues its march outward. Many historic properties have been destroyed in the name of progress. Now is the time to save as much as possible.

Three private houses have been rescued from destruction and the buildings opened to the public: the Dole Mansion, the Petersen farmstead, and the Labahn-Hain House.

Dole Mansion, Crystal Lake- built 1863 by Charles Sydney Dole, Acres: 10.

It is currently used by the Lakeside Legacy Foundation as an art school and studio space. For the history of it, see my blog of June 18th "Crystal Lake, Il Preservation".


THE PETERSEN FARM, McHenry- built 1842 by Page Colby, Acres: about 100.

This was occupied by the Colby family and their descendants, the Petersens, for 160 years. In 1998, the city bought the property, but permitted Bob Petersen to live there until his death in 2002. Bob Petersen had no children, but did have a vision of historic preservation for the property.

Plans call to open the farm as a historic museum. Bob Hobson, McHenry's assistant administrator, said, "The whole property [could] give people an indication of what farm life was like at the turn of the century ...what our county was built on."

The city spent the $14,900 to restore the house's crumbling foundation, and another $30,000 will be spent to restore the wooden silos, the last of their type in the county.

Silos, by the way were invented by Fred Hatch in Spring Grove, Illinois, where I live.


THE LABAIN-HAHN HOUSE- built circa 1872 by Archibald Stewart, Acres 2.02.

The two-story white farmhouse on the shores of Woods Creek Lake is a popular meeting place, dance hall, banquet facility.

It is rented out and has a 50 person capacity. The view is fantastic. It was built by Archibald Stewart who only lived in it for a few years. He sold it to August Labahn in 1884 who then sold it to Robert Hain in 1948. Hain lived in the house until he died in the 1980s. The village condemned it in 1990 and considered offering it to the local fire department as a practice burn site.

Arden Spooner and a group of preservation-minded volunteers worked to save the house. Volunteers donated $250,000 and the village donated $50,000. It opened in 2000 and has been very busy ever since.


Always good to hear of Preservation Anywhere, but Especially when it's in my Own County. --RoadDog

THIS DATE IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY- 1900- Oliver Lippincott drove the first car to Yosmite National Park. It was a Locomobile Steamer.

Crystal Lake, Il. Preservation

COL. PALMER HOUSE, RAUE HOUSE, DOLE MANSION

I went to the website www.crystallake.org/histpres.htm and found out some more information. A place gets a plaque and is landmarked if it is a "public asset that enriches the community of Crystal Lake by virtue of its architecture and by people and events associated with it."

The Col. Palmer House-1858- is a very impressive combination of Greek Revival and Federal architecture. Col. Gustavus A. Palmer and wife Henrietta were two of the earliest McHenry County settlers, arriving in 1839 after a three-week covered wagon trip from New York state. He had taken part in the The Patriot's War of 1837-1838 (never heard of it) where he received 80 acres of land in Illinois in return for his service.

I looked up the Patriot's War, which essentially was an attempt by various militias in eastern Michigan to take over the southern part of Ontario from Detroit to the Niagara River. They were defeated at the Battle of Windsor and were either jailed or hanged. Col. Palmer was with the US troops sent to put it down.

I have been to a celebration by this small, but intriguing structure.

The Raue House- 1901- was built for $2000 and occupied by the Raue family for 93 years. The family became wealthy by doing business in Crystal Lake, and recently donated over $2 million to purchase and renovate the old El Tovar Theater in the downtown. Today, it is called the Raue Center for the Arts. Two years ago, Liz and I saw Bob Newhart there. This is a great place to see a show. All seats are great.

The Dole Mansion- In the 1860s, Charles S. Dole purchased over 1000 acres overlooking Crystal Lake. He was a successful Chicago businessman and early member of the Chicago Board of Trade.

He had a three story mansion with gardens and stables built and imported European craftsmen to make sure it was a showplace. He spent $100,000 on it, a princely sum at the time.

For his daughter's wedding in 1883, he had a spur line built from the local railroad. Guests coming could go directly to the house, where they found a 750 feet long canopy and carpet walkway.

Later, he built a half-mile racecourse on the property and eventually had quite a stable of racehorses.

This guy really knew how to make and spend money.

During the early 1900s, it was owned and operated by a several ice companies who would ship the ice to Chicago during the summers. The arrival of refrigeration ended that era.

Again, Great Job Crystal Lake. --RoadDog

THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY- 1923- the first Checker Cab produced.

Crystal Lake Is Getting into Preservation

June 10th, the Crystal Lake, Il, Historical Preservation Commission had its 10th Annual Heritage Tour. About 300 people plunked down $10 apiece to board a trolley and had a guided tour of the various historic sites. Proceeds will go to the historic grant program where the commission will match up to $500 worth of an owner's approved improvements.

The commission had recommended that the Dole Mansion be landmarked by the city council on June 7th. This will be the city's 11th landmarked site. In 2002, the Lakeside Legacy Foundation raised $1.6 milion to buy and preserve it. Once landmarked, this protects a structure from demolition, inappropriate changes or neglect. This would be the first step towards a listing on the National Register of Historic Places which presently consists of more than 80,000 sites.

Crystal Lake is about 15 miles from my house.

I did some research on the landmarked places and will report on it tomorrow.

"History at every turn" by Emily Previti--June 11, 2007 Northwest Herald

Keep on Preserving All that You Can...Before It's Gone. --RoadDog