Celebrating the Fourth of July

Waukegan Weekly Gazette, July 7, 1877. 

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence from Great Britain. The vote was publicly announced two days later on July 4, prompting celebrations and fireworks. The first organized observance of the Fourth took place a year later in Philadelphia, and the custom of celebrating Independence Day and our democracy quickly spread to other towns. 

The tradition was brought to Lake County, Illinois by non-Native settlers from the northeastern United States. Many of those settlers had fathers, uncles and older brothers who had fought in the Revolutionary War.

Lake County became home to two Revolutionary War veterans—Henry Collins of Massachusetts and Reuben Hill of Connecticut.

Henry Collins marker, Mount Rest Cemetery. Photo: CVal 2021. Reuben Hill marker, Wauconda Cemetery. Photo: Cindy Graff 2015. 

Collins (1763–1847) enlisted at the age of 13 and served in Captain Newton’s Company and Colonel Cushing’s Regiment. He moved to British Columbia, Canada, and then came to Lake County with his son, Edward Henry Collins and his family, settling in Rosecrans. Reuben Hill (1765–1858) came west with his son, Seth Hill and his family in 1844 and settled in Wauconda by 1845. Hill served from 1780–1783 with the 4^th New York Regiment and fought at the Battle Yorktown (September–October 1781). From 1926–1928, the Daughters of the American Revolution marked the veterans’ graves to ensure their service to the nation would be remembered.

Waukegan Weekly Gazette, July 1, 1882.

The first Fourth of July celebration in Lake County took place in Antioch in 1840, sixty-four years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. At the time, Lake County was home to just 2,634 residents.

Hiram Butrick (1811–1886) of Massachusetts was given the honor of reading the Declaration. He was likely chosen because he built a sawmill on Sequoit Creek in 1839, which helped the community prosper.

Elijah M. Haines (1822–1889), politician, historian, and founder of Hainesville, also attended the Antioch celebration. He wrote that the day was celebrated “with a barbeque” and that “a good band of martial music was in attendance to give life and spirit to the occasion.”

Recollections of July 4, 1844, Waukegan Daily Sun, July 3, 1918.

In 1844, a Fourth of July picnic was held between Third Lake and Druce Lake west of today’s Route 45. About 100 people attended, including the county’s first African American settler, Amos Bennett, and his family. The celebratory picnic dinner featured fish chowder and pumpkin pie. Also in attendance was a 13-year old Benjamin Franklin Shepard (1831–1920) of Massachusetts, whose parents proudly named him for one of the nation’s founders.

A log wagon festooned with American flags provided a decorative and patriotic speakers’ stand. Reverend William B. Dodge (1782–1869) of the Millburn Congregational Church offered a prayer for the freedom of the enslaved men and women in this “free and enlightened” nation. Nathaniel P. Dowst (1817–1854) of Waukegan read the Declaration of Independence.

For more on Rev. Dodge see my post: Reverend Dodge and the Anti-Slavery Movement

Fourth of July celebration announcement. Waukegan Weekly Gazette, July 29, 1861.

The start of the American Civil War in April 1861 magnified Lake County’s patriotism. That year the Fourth was celebrated with exuberance in Waukegan “as never celebrated before.” An advertisement for the event noted that “The bells of the city will be rung.”

Since the Fourth landed on a Thursday, the organizers announced that “everybody in the county is invited and particularly the Public Schools, accompanied by their teachers.” 

There was a large procession from the courthouse at 9 am, and all those on horseback and in carriages were invited to join. Merchants also agreed to close their shops so everyone could attend the festivities.

After the end of the Civil War in 1865, a large Fourth of July gathering was held at Druce Lake. Susie Smith (1839-1914) of Millburn noted in her diary, “Hurrah: What a 4th of July we are going to have to day.” Coincidentally, the celebration took place near the site where Amos Bennett and Rev. Dodge had gathered with their neighbors over two decades before.

Announcement for the Fourth of July gathering at Druce Lake. Waukegan Weekly Gazette, June 24, 1865.

For Smith this gathering was much more than a commemoration of the nation’s birth. It was a community celebration for the return of the soldiers, including her brother, George. She wrote: “O, so thankfully … by our sides sat those brave hero boys who, one year ago, were engaged amid the din and cloud of battle fighting for their much-loved country … [they] sang with us again beneath our own ‘Star Spangled Banner.’"

Susie Smith's handwritten account of the 4th of July gathering at Druce Lake in 1865. Dunn Museum 93.45.290.

"The Rays" newsletter masthead for July, 1943. Ray Brothers Resort, Diamond Lake. Dunn Museum, 96.1.50

Celebrate America's 250th at the Lake County Forest Preserves: www.LCFPD.org/250

Sources:
Lake County History Archives, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, Libertyville, Illinois www.LCFPD.org/museum
Ancestry.com

Newspapers.com
“Only Revolution Soldier Buried in Lake County Joined When 13 Years Old,” Waukegan Daily Sun, August 17, 1911.
“Grave of Hero of 1776 Found in Lake County,” Waukegan Daily Sun, June 1, 1926.
“Another Grave of Revolutionary Veteran Located,” Waukegan Daily Sun, June 3, 1926.
“To Unveil Marker, Henry Collins’ Grave,” Waukegan Daily Sun, June 9, 1928.
Haines, Elijah M. Historical and Statistical Sketches, of Lake County, State of Illinois. Waukegan: E.G. Howe, 1852.
“Tells of First 4^th Celebration Here 74 Years Ago,” Waukegan Daily Sun, July 3, 1918.
“The Day We Celebrate! The Fourth at Waukegan,” Waukegan Weekly Gazette, June 29, 1861.
“4^th of July at Druce’s Lake,” Waukegan Weekly Gazette, June 24, 1865.
Susannah “Susie” Smith Diary, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

"The Rays," newsletter, July 1943. Bess Bower Dunn Museum.