John B. Walkup was an early settler to the area and the founder of the town of Nunda. This fine example of Greek Revival architecture is in near original condition and is one of the few remaining cobblestone houses in McHenry County.

Famed cobblestone mason Andrew Simons constructed the house of water-smoothed cobblestones brought from Lake Michigan in 1856. Classic features include cornice returns, lintels, 6-over-6 light windows, a front door surround including a transom with side light windows, and a decorative patterning of smaller cobblestones near the peak. [More...]

Holcombville School, Crystal Lake

To build a one-room schoolhouse, school directors from Sutherland Ingersoll, a society dedicated to promoting education, spent $12.25 and purchased one-half acre of land in 1858.

The simplified Federal style school building and nearby cemetery were named for the Holcomb family that resided in the area. Features include an embossed tin ceiling and blackboards in their original condition and decorative classical brickwork to represent dentils and cornice returns. The outer walls are slightly flared to allow rainwater to flow away from the river stone foundation. The school was in full operation until 1946 when, like many one-room country schools of the time, the doors closed to consolidation. Never converted to alternate uses, it remains virtually unchanged from its days of serving the small community.

Stowell-Deicke Farmstead, Huntley

One of the earliest farmsteads in the area, the original Stowell property in Huntley was owned by several prominent area figures through the years. Edwin Deicke, a highly regarded contributor to Huntley's growth, owned a group of farms that made up 1000 acres on the west side of the village. This farmstead would eventually become part of a five-farm collective known as Sun Valley Farms.

Both barn and house were constructed of hand-hewn posts and beams with angled braces mortised and tenoned with wooden pegs. Other outbuildings predate 1880 and have survived on the site, including the silo, a stone-lined well, a stone smokehouse, a chicken coop, and the original grain/corn crib built with square nails. 

Old Haligus District 81 School

The Old Haligus School is the only one-room school house still standing in Grafton Township. Built in 1861, it replaced an earlier "log" school. Located about four miles northeast of the village of Huntley, the school remained in continuous operation until consolidation with the Crystal Lake district in 1946. The old school thereafter remained vacant until 1951 when it was purchased at public auction. Over the years the school was converted into a 2- level, 3-bedroom residence. The school was ultimately sold to the current owners in 2009, who have continuously worked to restore the school since then. 

Huntley's Woodstock Street

Few remaining examples of streets containing old paving bricks survive in McHenry County. Woodstock and North streets in Huntley are two such vintage roadways. Woodstock Street, lined with mature trees and grand old houses, was the main thoroughfare through Huntley. In the days when farmers brought their milk by horse and wagon to town for processing, the steep hill in the street made paving necessary.

Brick paving was basically a fad of the times. Brick paved streets were prized for their modernity, ease of traffic movement and cleanliness but not every town embraced this method of street paving during the later half of the 1800's and early 1900's. The fact that Huntley did makes this feature rare in the county.

Trout Valley Stonegate Entrance, Cary

The decorative iron and cut limestone gate at the entrance to Stonegate Road near the corner of Cary-Algonquin Road opens into Trout Valley, a quiet neighborhood with a colorful past. Yellow Cab and Hertz Rental Car mogul, John D Hertz, is thought to have had the gate constructed during the 1920s;Levi A. Smith originally purchased the land for $1.25 an acre under land grant provisions in 1845. John D. Hertz purchased the Smith farm and several adjoining properties in 1920s.

This combined acreage would become the estate known as Leona Farms, so named after his eldest daughter. Leona Farms was the site of many gala social events with movie stars, politicians, business tycoons and other prominent figures of the day in attendance. The Farm also boasted show horses, polo ponies and 1928 Kentucky Derby winner Reigh Count.

The estate eventually became The Curtiss Farm #77 after it was sold to the Curtiss Candy Company. Under the direction of company president Otto Schnering, the farm became known for its prize breeding bulls and was nationally recognized as the center for artificial insemination programs. Upon Mr. Schnering death in 1953, the property was sold to developers and became the community known as Trout Valley. The offices once used by the Curtiss Breeding Farm and later by the G.D. Searle Company were donated to the Village of Cary and after renovation became the Cary Village Hall and Police Station. The community known as Trout Valley incorporated in 1996 as the Village of Trout Valley.

Trout Valley Pool, Cary

The Trout Valley Pool was also constructed on the Hertz Estate in 1923 for use by the Hertz family and guests. It is still used today in its near original form by the residents of Trout Valley.

Chunn's Burying Ground (Oak Glenn Cemetery), Algonquin Township

This cemetery plot dates back to the early 1800's, one of the oldest pioneer grave sites in the county. Donated by Frank Houghteling (ref: Mrs. J. Stanek) and established by the Chunn family in 1843 with a family burial. Some sources state burials go back to 1809. Long time residents assert it was an old Indian burial ground.

Chunn's is situated atop a hill, near Spring Creek and behind the former Oak Glen Schoolhouse. Closed to burials, the last known internment was in 1910. Unfortunately, many burial records have been lost or are nonexistent to verify some of these dates. Only one record had been found of a Civil War soldier at rest here, "William G. Kelly, who died October 7, 1861, aged 19 years 11 months, killed at Rilla, Illinois in the defense of his country" (ref: Mr. Arnett Lines, historian from Barrington, IL). who transcribed and inventoried the graves in 1944. At that time the cemetery was overgrown and neglected. Many of the grave stones have been damaged or lost due to vandalism, since Mr. Lines reading.

Approximately 20 years ago, the cemetery was cleared of debris and overgrowth by a group of local citizens. All remaining grave stones were placed in the center of the grounds in a raised locale around two oak trees. A re-dedication ceremony for the restored cemetery was held on Memorial Day, 1989. Algonquin Township currently maintains Chunn's Burying Ground.    [ More . . .  ]

Ford School, Lake in the Hills

In 1886, a log school was replaced by the Ford School, a new 20ft x 36ft frame schoolhouse. Consolidation of schools caused Ford School to be closed in 1939. When the surrounding farmland was sold to a developer, the schoolhouse was sold and moved up Algonquin Road. Around 1989, new owners removed the bedroom walls and turned the schoolhouse into an office for a nursery and landscaping business.

With the closure of the nursery in 2009, the owner decided to remove all buildings on the property and in 2011, offered to donate the schoolhouse to the Village of Lake in the Hills. In December 2011, the Lake in the Hills Village Board accepted ownership and agreed to let the Historical Society move and restore Ford School.

For 96 years, Ford School provided education for children living within a 2-mile radius. But the schoolhouse was much more than just a classroom ... it was an entertainment center where school programs would be presented to families, a meeting house where the neighbors would discuss relevant issues, a site for School Board meetings and elections, a place for Sunday morning services, and a community event location for family gatherings. The importance of the local one-room schoolhouse was not diminished by its size ... It was indispensable to the community

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