Legend of the Lotus

Linen postcard of map of the Chain O'Lakes, 1949. Dunn Museum, 2016.1.112/9BH1932.

The resort era began in Lake County in the 1870s with people visiting Waukegan's mineral springs to better their health, and sportsmen finding the best hunting and fishing in the Chain O'Lakes.

Among “The Chain’s” most popular lakes for tourists were Grass Lake and Fox Lake. Early “resorts” catered to hunters and fishermen, and were run by entrepreneurial farmers, who added rooms onto their farmhouses or allowed hunters to pitch tents on their land. As demand grew, cottages were built and rented as were grand hotels such as the Mineola on Fox Lake.

Train with vacationers at Antioch Depot, circa 1910. Dunn Museum, M-86.1.62

The growing popularity of the lakes region combined with the arrival of the Wisconsin and Central Railroad passenger service in Antioch in 1886 created a resort boom. Many of the vacationers were from Chicago and were eager to escape the pollution and bustle of the city for the seemingly boundless natural areas of Lake County. 

Colorized postcard of lotus in bloom on Grass Lake, circa 1910. Dunn Museum 2001.1.23

One of the biggest lures to the lakes were the vast lotus beds with large pale yellow blossoms that bloom in late July and early August. (Note: White water lily flowers are often mistaken for the lotus, but have much smaller white blossoms). The lotus beds were especially plentiful on Grass Lake and caused a tourism sensation from the 1880s to 1940s.

News clipping from the Woodstock Sentinel, August 3, 1911.

As a marketing gimmick, resorts and newspapers fabricated a legend to promote the lotus as originating in Egypt. Depending on who you spoke to the flower had either found its way to Lake County by a bird or an early settler who had brought it back from Egypt. The legend further claimed that the flower only grew in Lake County and Egypt. 

Cartoon in Chicago Sunday Tribune August 15, 1909 with article on "Sacred Lotus Flower of Egypt" found in the Calumet River south of Chicago. 

Visitors were so enamored with the beautiful lotus that they never questioned the legend. After all, it added to the excitement. So, why spoil the fun? 

In July 1911, the Waukegan Daily Sun set out to shake-up the myth of the lotus by stating: "Cherished Tradition that Flowers are Egyptian Appears Unfounded." The paper quoted Dr. Jesse M. Greenman, Assistant Botany Curator at the Field Museum, as saying the lotus are native to the U.S. and "interesting but not a great rarity." 

The American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) native habitat includes waterways throughout the eastern United States. It is thought that the plant originated in the east-central U.S. and its seeds and tubers were used as food by prehistoric peoples, who carried it with them as they traveled. The lakes region was the traditional home of tribal nations for thousands of years, where they had villages and were sustained by wild rice, fish, water fowl, beaver and aquatic plants from the lakes.

Bess Bower Dunn visiting the lotus beds of Grass Lake, circa 1909. Dunn Museum

Among the multitudes of visitors enchanted by the lotus beds was Bess Bower Dunn (1877-1959), the Dunn Museum's namesake. Bess is often associated with the preservation of Lake County's historical record, but she was also an avid naturalist. She traveled extensively throughout the county with her box camera and spent many pleasant days taking photographs of the lotus.

Bess Bower Dunn visited the lakes region often. This ledger entry for Gifford's Resort on Channel Lake for July 4, 1901 is from the collections of the Lakes Region Historical Society in Antioch. It shows Bess Bower with a group from Waukegan, including her best friend Isabel Spoor. 

Lakes Region Historical Society antiochhistory.org

The pressure of so many visitors to these natural areas ultimately led to the decline of the lotus. People loved the lotus nearly to obliteration from the lakes.

The demand for access to the beds by boats led to dams being built on the Chain. The first dam, the McHenry Dam officially known as the Stratton Lock Dam was constructed of wood in 1907 and replaced by steel by 1915. The lakes are naturally shallow and this raised water levels, which made it easier to navigate the lakes, but damaged the lotus’ habitat. Motorboats—and boat racing—tore up lotus roots and made the lakes so muddy that sunlight could not penetrate through the water.

On August 3, 1911, The McHenry Plaindealer ran a story about an "excursion to the lotus beds" on the passenger boat "Alice." The article written by the boat's Captain William Koeppe stated: "The Alice is the only propeller boat that runs right into the beds so that passengers may pick the flowers without leaving their seats."

Postcard of motorboats cruising along a channel that was dug through lotus beds on Fox Lake. Blarney Island is shown in the distance, circa 1938. Dunn Museum M-86.1.206.

By the late 1910s, residents began to see the damage that was being done. They tried to mitigate the impact by preventing lotus from being picked by the boatloads, and worked to stop refuse from being dumped into the lakes.

A leader in this preservation effort was Colonel John P. Vidvard of Grass Lake. On August 19, 1917, Col. Vidvard and other respected citizens made a plea to "protect the valuable and most beautiful lotus beds in the world located at Grass Lake." In spite of their attempts to raise awareness, by the 1950s, the lotus beds were devastated and without them the tours stopped. For more, read post Col. John Vidvard

In the last several decades, thanks to continued conservation efforts the lotus have made a comeback, although limited. Lake water levels remain artificially high, but boat traffic restrictions and cleaner water have allowed the lotus beds to grow along shorelines.

Boat tours are popular once again, taking visitors out on the lakes to view historic buildings, hear stories of the resort era, and to learn about the natural beauty of the lakes. Though its’ domain has shrunk the pale yellow blossoms of the American lotus remain a popular attraction.

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources: 
Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum, Libertyville, IL
Chain O'Lakes Reference Files, Dunn Museum, Libertyville, IL 
Lakes Region Historical Society, Antioch, IL https://antiochhistory.org/ 
A History of Fox Lake, Illinois, 1917-1957, Fox Lake Golden Jubilee Commission. 
"Even the Sacred Lotus Flower of Egypt Has Taken a Fancy to the Calumet," Chicago Sunday Tribune, August 15, 1909.
"Square Mile of Lotus Blossoms at Grass Lake," Waukegan Daily Sun, July 25, 1911. 
"Excursion to Lotus Beds," Woodstock Sentinel, Woodstock IL, August 3, 1911.
"Surrounded by Lotus Beds, Plea Made to Save Them," Waukegan Daily Sun, August 20, 1917.
Wikipedia.org. "Stratton Lock and Dam." Accessed July 28, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratton_Lock_and_Dam 
Flora of North America. eFlora.org. 

Captain Blodgett's Roster

Asiel Z. Blodgett (1832-1916) of Waukegan understood the importance of being a good leader.

During the Civil War, he served as the main recruiter and Captain of Company D, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He prided himself on knowing each of the men in his command.

Asiel Z. Blodgett, print from a glass negative taken in Waukegan, circa 1875. 

Dunn Museum 2011.0.86

While at Wartrace, Tennessee in the summer of 1863, he was given a challenge. An officer from another company asked, "Captain Blodgett, I am curious to know whether or not you have memorized your roster."

Blodgett replied, "I am of the opinion that I have memorized it."

The officer bet Blodgett that he could not "call it correctly."

That day, Captain Blodgett was sitting in front of his tent, using the drummer boy's drum as a writing surface to make out his reports. He had set the drum on top of a camp stool, and with the challenge made, brushed aside his reports.

He wrote directly on the drum head from left to right, carefully listing every man's name from memory. All 98 men of Company D, plus the eight men who had died in the company's first year of service. Blodgett won the bet.

At the request of Lake County Historian Bess Bower Dunn, Blodgett's son, sent a copy of the "drum head roster."

Shortly after making the roster, the 96th Illinois fought in the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18 - 20, 1863. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the Civil War, and had the second highest number of casualties in the war following the Battle of Gettysburg two months earlier.

The 96th's Company D lost five men (killed) and 18 wounded. Among the injured was Blodgett, who was wounded twice on September 20. Early in the engagement he was shot in the shoulder and though the wound hurt him greatly, he remained with the command.

Hill Two from the Vittetoe Road. Chickamauga after the battle. Signal Corps U. S. Army

According to the Regimental history, on Sunday afternoon, September 20th, Blodgett was "thrown to the ground by the fall of a heavy tree-top which, striking his head and back, rendered him unconscious." This happened in the midst of the battle, leaving Blodgett temporarily within Rebel lines. "When the Union lines advanced in a second charge" the men removed the tree and "he was released from his perilous position."

The drum was lost in the confusion of battle.

Blodgett recovered only partially from his injuries and reluctantly had to resign his position in August 1864. Years later, he received an official package from the U.S. War Department. Opening it, he found the drum head on which he had written the names of his men.

In 1939, Bess Bower Dunn, contacted one of Blodgett's sons about the story. John H. Blodgett replied with a copy of the "drum head roster" and the full account.

Blodgett's son wrote: "It occurred to me that possibly some of the relatives of the men who were with Dad are still around and if so might be interested in looking it over. If Frank Justice [sic] cares to say anything about it in his paper I would like to have you send me a copy."

Indeed, Frank Just, the editor of the Waukegan Daily Sun, was very interested and ran a long article on Blodgett and the 96th Illinois.

Excerpt of article by Athlyn Deshais on Blodgett and the 96th Illinois. 

Waukegan Daily Sun, 1939.

Athlyn Deshais wrote in her article: "They are gone now, those gallant soldiers who marched and fought beneath the banner on which was inscribed the magic figures, 96.... The day of the eye-witness reminiscences belongs to the past."

Related blog posts: Asiel Z. Blodgett and the 96th Illinois at the Battle of Chickamauga.

For more on the 96th Illinois Infantry, read The Bonds of War: A Story of Immigrants and Esprit de Corps in Company C, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry by Diana Dretske. Available from SIUPress.com. 

- Diana  Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcpd.org

Sources:
"History of the 96th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry," Charles A. Partridge, editor, 1887.
Letters of John H. Blodgett to Bess Bower Dunn, 1939. Bess Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum.
"Capt. Blodgett Honored by His Brave Soldiers," by Athlyn Deshais, Waukegan Daily Sun, 1939.

Historian: Bess Bower Dunn (1877 - 1959)

Bess Bower at Grass Lake, circa 1905. Dunn Museum Collections.

Bess Bower Dunn has made appearances in previous posts, but I've never featured her until now. She is so deserving of her own post!

Bess, also known as Bessie, was a woman of firsts. She was one of the first women in motion pictures, the county's first official historian, the county's first assistant probate clerk, and one of the county's earliest genealogists and historic preservationists.

Still from Edward Amet's silent film featuring best friends, Belle Spoor (left) and Bess Bower. Circa 1896. Amet Collection, Dunn Museum. 

About 1896, Bess and her best friend, Isabel "Belle" Spoor, were asked by inventor, Edward Amet, to help with his new motion picture invention. When the women arrived at the inventor’s home on North Avenue in Waukegan, Amet handed each a pair of boxing gloves. Bess recalled, “We whipped those long skirts out of the way and had a fine old time.” 

For several historic minutes, the girlfriends punched each other while Amet filmed. The stars of Amet's film titled, "Morning Exercise," became the first women in motion pictures.

Bess Bower working in Lake County's probate office as the assistant probate clerk, circa 1899. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum, 61.14 

In 1899, Bess was hired as the county's assistant probate clerk, and in her spare time assisted people with their family research. If you happened into the probate office at the first half of the 20th century, Bess would happily assist in your research by looking into county records, and offering to visit local cemeteries to verify the correct spelling of surnames and birth/death dates. 

Bess Bower with Daniel Wright Memorial Rock in Half Day, 1909. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum.

Bess was one of the founders of the Lake County Historical Society (defunct). In 1909, the Society placed a 7-ton memorial rock near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21) and Aptakisic Road west of the Des Plaines River to commemorate the county's first permanent non-native settler, Daniel Wright (1778-1873). See my post on Wright. 

Bess promoted Lake County history through the efforts of the Lake County Historical Society and by giving lectures. She also preserved history by documenting the county's heritage through research and speaking with descendants of early settlers. She was an avid photographer and traveled throughout the county looking for historic sites and natural areas to capture on film. 

Bess Bower with her box camera at an unknown location, circa 1905. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower with Native American trail tree in Lake Bluff, circa 1909. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

On November 21, 1918, after several years of courtship, Bess Bower married Roland R. Dunn. Roland was the son of Byron A. Dunn (1842-1926), historian, author, Civil War veteran, and newspaperman.  Roland became the advertising manager of the Globe Department Store in Waukegan. Sadly, just ten years into their marriage, Roland died of pneumonia following an appendicitis operation. Bess and his sisters were at his bedside. Bess never remarried. 

Bess Bower's husband, Roland R. Dunn (1874-1928). Photo 1903. 

In the mid-1950s, Bess Bower Dunn assisted Robert Vogel with his Lake County Museum of History in Wadsworth, Illinois. She was the museum's curator and donated materials from the Lake County Historical Society and her own collections for Vogel's museum. Those collections are now part of the collections of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum in Libertyville. 

Just before her death in 1959, the Lake County Board of Commissioners awarded Bess the title of Lake County Historian. She is the first person in the county's history to have the title. She was also honored for her 60 years of service as an employee of the County of Lake from 1899 to 1959, which made her the longest county employee on record.

The day after her passing, the courthouse flags were at half mast in memory of Bess and the county's Recorder of Deeds, Gustaf H. Fredbeck, who had also passed away.

Bess Bower Dunn was known to have a wide circle of friends. Here she is with friends in Millburn, Illinois: (left to right) Bess Bower, Florence Stewart, Mrs. White, Maud White, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Armbruster, and Mrs. Strang. Photo taken July 12, 1897. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower likely at home in Waukegan, circa 1896. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower Dunn is one of my most admired Lake County citizens. From her photographs and articles it's apparent her life was full of joy and purpose. I think she'd be pleased that her efforts in preservation are appreciated to this day. 

D. Dretske, ddretske@lcfpd.org

~ ~ ~ 

Note: In 2016, the Lake County Forest Preserves Board voted to change the name of the Lake County Discovery Museum to the Bess Bower Dunn Museum, honoring Dunn's extraordinary efforts to preserve and promote Lake County's heritage. 

Note: the Lake County Historical Society's collections are now held by the Bess Bower Dunn Museum and Lake Forest College. 

Edward Amet's Films, 1896-1898

Edward Amet’s contributions to the early motion picture industry included the invention of the first practical 35mm motion picture projector—the Amet Magniscope—and the pioneering of special effects in motion pictures.

In last week’s post, I wrote about Amet’s wonderful Magniscope, which was completed in 1894 and ready for production in 1895.

This Magniscope, made by Edward Amet, was originally owned and operated by Arthur E. Johnson (1886-1974) during his career as a theater projectionist in Minnesota. It became part of the Dunn Museum's permanent collection in 2001, and is on exhibit in the museum's galleries. (BBDM 2001.12)

Magniscope advertisements stated it was "The perfect projecting machine. The Magniscope is simple, durable and compact, the pictures sharply defined and clear." The projector weighed about 90 pounds and the "model 1898" sold for $100. Since films weren't readily available, simply selling his invention to traveling showmen wasn't enough. Amet needed films to go along with the projector.

A traveling theatrical troop used the Amet Magniscope to show the first moving pictures in the Arizona Territory in 1897. For audiences accustomed to viewing color lantern slides, anything that moved was a wonder to behold on the screen. The first silent films were short—only 2 to 3 minutes in length—and featured circus parades, a winter sleigh ride, a horse-drawn fire department rushing to a call, and even prize pigs at the county fair.

"Boxing Boys" featured Amet's brothers, Percy and Herbert, duking it out in a ring at the Scale Company in Waukegan where the Magniscopes were produced.

Like films produced by others, Amet's first films were straightforward recordings of movement, such as the "Boxing Boys," or his wife and daughter playing in their backyard in Waukegan.

But quickly, Amet began thinking more in terms of each film having a theme or story to tell. His first "theatrical" films featured a marionette and tableau vivant (motionless performance in theater).

Still from "McGinty Under the Sea," the dancing skeleton.

Growing sentiment to free Cuba from the Spanish inspired this Amet tableau vivant "Freedom of Cuba" featuring Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty and little Cuba.

One of Amet's most endearing films was called "Morning Exercise" and featured two young women from Waukegan—Bess Bower Dunn and Isabelle Spoor (George Spoor's sister).

When the Bess and Belle arrived at the inventor’s home on North Avenue in Waukegan, Amet handed each a pair of boxing gloves. Bess Dunn thought she was doing “our town inventor” a favor. “We whipped those long skirts out of the way and had a fine old time.” For several historic minutes, the girlfriends punched each other while Amet took their picture with his camera, becoming the first women in motion pictures.

In 1909, while traveling in Spokane, Washington, Bess Dunn discovered that Amet had sold prints of the film. She was recognized by an usher of a local theater as one of the “boxing girls.” Amet’s film had traveled 2,000 miles and was still being shown 11 years later.

Amet's best known films are related to the Spanish-American War of 1898.

When war broke out, Amet allegedly sent a request to the U.S. War Department asking for permission to travel to Cuba to film the battles. His request was denied, but his enthusiasm for the idea did not diminish. He used accounts in newspapers to re-create the battles.

The land battles were filmed at Third Lake, a favorite fishing location of Amet. He enlisted his brothers and neighbors to be the actors. Shown are a still from the film, and the cast taking a break. Amet Collection, Dunn Museum.

The majority of Amet's work on the theme of the Spanish-American War presented challenges, since it was mainly a naval war. Amet made a series of films showing the naval battles in his backyard, including one titled “Spanish Fleet Destroyed” or “The Battle of Santiago Bay."

Edward Amet standing in his backyard with his set for the filming of "The Battle of Santiago Bay," 1898. (BBDM 61.33)

For "The Battle of Santiago Bay," Amet constructed a shallow water tank 18 x 24 feet with a painted backdrop of Cuba. Five or six of the important naval vessels in the battles, such as the USS Olympia, USS New York and USS Oregon were reproduced at a 1/70 scale in sheet metal, 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet in length.

The USS Olympia model built by Amet for the film as shown on exhibit in 2007. (BBDM 61.33.2) Photo © 2007 Jess Smith/PHOTOSMITH

The models were constructed with firing gun turrets, and smoking stacks and flags. The gunfire was replicated with blasting caps, and gunpowder and camphor soaked cotton wadding, which was electrically ignited and provided smoke for the ships’ smokestacks. All of these effects were controlled from an electrical switchboard off camera. Additionally, waves were created by underwater jets and a large fan off camera.

Amet's artful use of special effects was so convincingly portrayed that he was asked to show his “war movies” at the opening of the Naval Training Center Great Lakes in 1911. Amet's "Battle of Santiago Bay" film (right)

The Spanish-American War was a popular topic in all sorts of media, including film. The American Vitagraph Company also made a version of the "Battle of Santiago Bay" in 1898, directed by J. Stuart Blackton. This film (rather than Amet's) is the one most often referenced in the history of early motion pictures, but it is a far cry from Amet's film with its pioneering use of special effects. Blackton's film features small wooden model ships in a bathtub with cigar smoke blown onto the scene by an assistant off camera. If Amet saw this film he probably rolled his eyes and laughed.

To be fair to Blackton, he was pivotal in the early years of the industry, and was among the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation. He is also considered the father of American animation.

Since most of Amet's films are lost, historians rely on published catalogues of films available for sale. These lists give us insight to the wide range of topics popular with motion picture audiences. Amet's 1898 catalogue listed (in part) the following films (50 feet in length, price $9.00 each):

"Passing of the Milwaukee Fliers on the C & NW Railroad" (train in each direction)

"Mamma's Pets" (old pig and ten little ones)

"Tugs Towing Barge"

"Clothes Race" (swimming contest in Lincoln Park)

"The Ducks" (seventy young ducks in a pond)

"Interrupted Tea Party on the Lawn" (comic)

"Chicago Fire Department Runs"

Amet left for California sometime after 1913, and continued working on motion picture devices. In the image above, Amet (left) is making a film using an early sound recording camera he invented.

For the museum's permanent exhibition on Edward Amet, the staff tracked down a copy of the "Battle of Santiago Bay" from the Killiam Collection* (distributed by Worldview Entertainment), which is probably the best source for silent film era movies. The collection was assembled in the 1960s by Paul Killiam through acquisition from the Estate of D.W. Griffith, and later, a large portion of the collection of Thomas Edison. 

We ordered the film (sight unseen) and crossed our fingers that it was not Blackton's version. Thankfully, it was Amet's film, and all 20 seconds of it plays in the museum's galleries everyday to the delight of visitors.

Special thanks to Carey Williams and Kirk Kekatos for years of research on Amet and his contributions to the early motion picture industry.

*The Killiam Collection was sold and no longer exists. 10/28/19

Dressing for Winter

The Norwegians say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing."

With six weeks of winter left (thanks Mr. Groundhog!), I thought it'd be fun to share photos of how folks dressed in winter's past. Some more fashionably than others.

This photo of Bess Bower Dunn was taken in Waukegan about 1899. Bess is dressed in active wear that's actually a bit suffragette for the day—a cozy, and mis-buttoned cardigan sweater, bloomers, boots and hat. Women who did not wear skirts were considered highly suspicious and often criticized.

"Bloomers" were named for Amelia J. Bloomer, a prominent 19th century, women's rights advocate, who wore them.

Here's a photo of an unidentified woman, who may be Bess Dunn's mother, wearing a long skirt, heavy coat, fur stole and hat. The fur is most likely mink. (Dunn Museum, Bess Dunn Collection)








Diamond Lake School boys out for a day in the snow, near today's Countryside Lake, 1908.

(Dunn Museum 91.17.5)

More winter sports fun this time with members of the Women's Army Corps, Ann Bertsos and Polly Wassen of Company A. The WACS are skating on the ice rink at the east end of the Parade Grounds at Fort Sheridan, circa 1944. (Dunn Museum 92.24.571)

Of course, the reality of winter is that someone's got to clear the snow! The Fort Sheridan snow removal crew is pictured here on February 8, 1967.

Standing on machine: Private Thomas Brinker, Corporal Larry Treplow, Private Wayne Wright, Frank Beglanda, John Sumiset, W.L. Jackson, and Dan Clements. Front row from left: Road and Ground Supervisor Joe Kanke,Bill Rose, R.C. Williams, Randy Pracht, Anthony G. Quin Jr., Bennie W. Zoss, Gene Swisher, Rosevelt Thomas, Mario Caraffi, Milton Harrison, Abraham Gonalez, and Bob Broveak.

Kuhn's Rock and the Underground Railroad

In 1846, an anti-slavery society was formed in Lake County. Abolitionists promoted the abolishment of slavery. Some aided enslaved people on the Underground Railroad. The "railroad" wasn’t a railroad at all, but a secret network of safe houses and people who helped enslaved people reach freedom in the north.

Under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, it was illegal to aid people seeking freedom from bondage. When the act was strengthened in 1850, underground activity greatly increased. Though Ohio and Pennsylvania probably saw the most activity, Illinois had several underground routes. One departed from Chicago taking freedom seekers to Canada by way of the Great Lakes, and another went north over land through the area of Burlington, Wisconsin.

Photo of Kuhn Family cabin from Browe School History, 1918. Dunn Museum 2003.0.36

Areas noted as antislavery in Lake County included Deerfield, Gurnee, Ivanhoe, Millburn, and Waukegan. The Kuhn Family cabin (above) in Newport Township was reportedly used as a safe house.

Photo of Kuhn's rock from the Browe School History, 1918. This large granite boulder was used as a landmark to direct enslaved people seeking freedom to the "safe house" at the Kuhn family house. Dunn Museum 2003.0.36.

Since the Underground Railroad necessitated secrecy, there were no maps to guide those seeking freedom in the North, only the stars in the night sky, landmarks, and verbal directions. Finding the Michael Kuhn family home in rural 1850s Lake County would have been difficult if not for a distinct landmark nearby known as Kuhn's Rock. Shown above is the John Strock Family on an outing to Kuhn’s rock circa 1918.

The rock was named after German immigrant Michael Kuhn (1800-1882), whose log house was reportedly used as a "safe house" on the Underground Railroad. Kuhn's rock is a glacial erratic. It originated far north of Illinois, and as the last glacier melted and retreated over 12,000 years ago, it deposited the rock here. It is thought to be the largest gray granite rock in the State of Illinois. 

Bess Bower Dunn posing next to Kuhn's Rock, circa 1910. This photo gives a good perspective of the rock nestled on farmland. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum.

With the construction of Interstate 294 in the late 1950s, the rock needed to be moved out of the road's right-of-way. Purportedly, road contractors Campanella and Sons moved Kuhn's rock onto private property where it remains today.