Lake Bluff Stories

Imagine arriving at a ravine back when riding horses and driving teams were the main modes of travel in Lake Bluff. … Whoa, Nelly! ... With no way for horses to traverse the slope, you’d have to head west for a work-around. more...

Times were hard around the world in October of 1914, as war careened through Europe and the U.S. economy was in recession. In Lake Bluff, villagers were making do as best they could. One group decided to throw a “Hard Times Party.” more...

If you think modern transportation is challenging, consider what Judge Henry Blodgett and his family went through to get to Illinois from Massachusetts in 1831 when he was a boy of 10. more...

Traffic on E. Sheridan Place can back up a bit due to the cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians heading to and from Lake Bluff Middle School. But in the late 19th century when Lake Bluff was a summer resort, traffic was caused by a railroad that ran in the middle of the street. more...

Janet Nelson shared memories of her 60-plus years in Lake Bluff, including raising a family, running the elementary school and co-founding Lake Bluff History Museum. more...

It was around 5 pm on January 28, 1949, at the frozen tundra that was Lake Bluff beach. Darkness was sinking into the indigo of daylight, and two local boys who should have been anywhere but there were playing on ice that extended out onto the lake 50 feet from shore. more...

Illinois law states that when a community reaches the population threshold of 1,000 people, it must elect a school board. more...

Evelyn Wilson Brown, Lake Bluff's pioneering conservationist, helped restore Lake Bluff natural beauty throughout the twentieth century. more...

When Jack Schuler arrived at Crab Tree Farm, the bluff was at risk of collapse and development loomed over the storied 250-acre property. more...

The Stearns Chimney has fallen. We hope the majestic remnant chimney that spanned three centuries overlooking Lake Michigan made a crashing roar when the last of its yellow-pink bricks dislodged and tumbled down the bluff more...

Lillian Dell’s Drive is a long, meandering ravine-bed path that was pivotal to Native Americans, pioneers, summer guests and year-round villagers alike. But who was Lillian Dell? more...

Orphanage: the word conjures visions of dour, cold institutions with hungry children. A place where Christmas never happens. The Lake Bluff Orphanage, known as the Lake Bluff Children’s Home since 1955, was different. more...

One hundred years ago, the Moffett Bridge at Sylvan Road and Ravine Avenue caused a major rift between Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. more...

Just what is that knobby-concrete building that looks like it’s been at 611 Walnut Avenue forever? The Walnut Garage has a long, interesting history that reflects the Village’s own narrative arc. more...

Ben Cloes was the youngest son of Lake Bluff’s first settlers. He and his wife Ida played a major role in Lake Bluff’s transformation from pioneer settlement to summer resort to incorporated Village. more...

Lake Bluff's lakefront park on Sunrise Avenue is called Sunrise Park today. But it wasn't always that way. more...

Early Lake Bluff setters encountered many of the wild beasts that we see today, including coyotes, fox, raccoon and groundhog. They also lived amongst wild pigeons, wolves and even the occasional panther. more...

Longtime Lake Bluff resident and educator Margaret Lindman created a magic world where stories are brought to life through artful performances featuring marionettes and hand puppets, which she lovingly created in her Lake Bluff home. more...

There is no clock in Village Hall tower, and there never has been. This will come as no surprise to those who have lived in Lake Bluff for at least a quarter of a century, but it’s true. more...

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr coined this phrase in Paris in 1849, but the words could easily describe Lake Bluff at any point in its history. more...

Sledding is one of the best things about winter in prairie-flat Lake Bluff. For decades before the Park District sledding hill was built in 1994, kids would sled in the ravines and on the beach road. more...

The Prohibition movement had roots in early Lake Bluff, but not everyone was a fan, especially not members of The Kelly Klub. more...

A wild turkey took up residence in the Rockland Wetlands at Green Bay and Rockland roads in 2010, captivating people from all over the place. more...

Margaret Hawkins Rockwell was a fixture to generations of Lake Bluff school children. You know what else was really cool? Her wash tub. more...

From the 1870s to the 1890s, Lake Bluff had 30 hotels and boarding houses. But then, who wouldn’t want to summer here? more...

The go-to place in the earliest days of Lake Bluff was an Irish pub called the Dwyer tavern, owned by William and Mary Dwyer and Mary’s brother Dr. Richard Murphy. more...