Since the Commission's inception in 1991, and its earning Certified Local Government status from the state in 1993, the McHenry County Historic Preservation Commission has designated twenty-five local historic landmarks. All the landmarks designated by the Commission remain intact with the exception of one – the Allendale Truss Bridge.  This structure was removed due to safety concerns in 2009 and replaced with a modern bridge structure.  The Commission has designated this landmark as "lost," but we still maintain the information relevant to its former landmark status.  

The Commission has jurisdiction over unincorporated areas of McHenry County; although some landmarks have been designated through intergovernmental agreements with municipalities, while a few have come under the jurisdiction of municipal historic commissions after the County had designated them. 

Survey, Landmark Designation, and Honorary Recognition Programs

Scenic Drives

Heritage Groves

Local Landmarks

View descriptions and pictures of the local landmarks (designated by the County) by clicking on a quadrant in the map below, or on the township list below the map. You may also find a brief, one-page Summary Landmark List  a useful overview.

See also: The McHenry County Comprehensive Landmark Listing   (354 Kb), which includes the County's designated landmarks above, as well as other categories of landmarks within the county, such as those on the National Historic Register, sites with Historical Society plaques, and municipal landmarks.   National Historic Register properties can also be found on Wikipedia. 

Northwest: Chemung, Alden, Dunham, and Hartland Townships. 

Northeast: Hebron, Richmond, Burton, Greenwood, and McHenry Townships. 

Southwest: Marengo, Seneca, Riley, and Coral Townships. 

Southeast: Dorr, Nunda, Grafton, and Algonquin Townships. 

The Illinois State Historical Society has also erected (five at the time of this writing) commemorative historical markers in McHenry County. (Find the list and locations here.)

We also have published a Historic Landmark booklet  in cooperation with the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The booklet contains landmark descriptions with pictures, and the latitude/longitude coordinates of the sites. Two versions of the booklet are available to download —

• Booklet style    (1.3 Mb)

To print as a booklet, set to print as Landscape orientation, duplex (2-sided), and open to the left (short side). Fold in half once printed.

• Single page style    (1.4 Mb)

This version views the pages one at a time from beginning to end.

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