McHenry County, IL
Home MenuLandmarks in Southwestern McHenry County
Marengo, Seneca, Riley, and Coral Townships
Diggens School, Marengo
The Diggins School was built in 1914 and is set apart from many other frame schoolhouses of the day by its unusual hooded front entryway. Although the bell tower is absent, the interior of the building still retains many other old school features such
as the original light fixtures, water coolers, desks, and chalkboard. The original merry-go-round, teeter-totter, flagpole and tower bell have also remained on the grounds. This fine old public schoolhouse is currently a private residence.
Coral Township Witness Tree, Marengo
In the days of early settlement, federally commissioned land surveyors came to map the countryside. During these surveys,
trees were often marked to "stand witness". Few witness trees survive from the 1837 survey of Illinois for the purposes of opening county lands to settlement. While many of these trees died from natural causes, more have been removed by nineteenth and twentieth century farmers as they cleared their lands for agricultural purposes.
This 200 year-old bur oak tree is specifically referred to in the 1837 fie
ld notes of John Thompson and his survey crew. They "scribed", or marked, this tree as a quarter section post in the original survey so that land could then be legally described and therefore bought and sold. The old oak and surrounding 50-foot circle are protected for the future by ordinance, allowing it to once more stand witness to the development of McHenry County.
Barber Cemetery, Marengo
The Barber Cemetery in Coral Township is a family Cemetery where Civil War Veteran and Author Lucious W. Barber is buried. Lucious wrote "Army Memoirs of Lucius W. Barber: Company D, 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, May 24, 1861, to Sept. 30, 1865" which was originally published in 1894 and is still reproduced today. He eagerly joined the Union Army during the War's first weeks, moved around a lot, fought in several battles, got a taste of prison, and returned home safe at War's end. He kept a detailed written record of where he went and what he saw, and he was a man of many strong opinions, which he did not hesitate to air.
Harmony School
The Old Harmony School represents the life and early growth of rural McHenry County. The location was the site of an original wooden school house built in 1859. The building replaced the wooden one circa 1931, which was designed by Ralph Elliot Abell, son of W. W. Abell. The building is an eclectic style, composed of a mixture of older style elements that are characteristic of Colonial (Georgian) and American Federal Revival styles for public-oriented buildings, which have been miniaturized into an elementary school scale.