In the 1890s, medicine was largely unregulated in the United States. While professional organizations for doctors and nurses existed, many Americans, including most rural farmers, relied on heirloom family recipes for relief of coughs and colds.
Many of the holiday traditions we follow today have come from around the world as emigrants moved to the U.S. or were created here during the 19th century as part of an ever-growing fascination with the winter season and its holidays. These traditions we hold onto so dearly were once brand-new and quite expensive for the average person during the latter part of the 19th century.
Candy confections were a sweet part of historic holiday farm life. In 1895, both the Sears and Roebuck Co. and Montgomery Ward Co. catalogs had candy departments where families could purchase supplies to make their heirloom candy recipes. The catalogs offered over 30 different flavors of oil alone.
Looking at the east side of St. James Farm today, visitors might not fully appreciate the transformation it has gone through over the years. Let’s turn back the clock to the early 1900s, when this locale was a private family farm, to get a better view of its past.
Sometimes the history of a DuPage forest preserve is simply forgotten, but other times it is purposely kept secret. In the 1940s, McDowell Grove Forest Preserve in Naperville played more than one clandestine role, sparking rumors that evolved into legends.
Railroads were crucial to the development of the United States, sparking economic and industrial expansion all around them and carrying people and goods across the country. One of the area’s most famous railroads also played an important part in the development of DuPage County’s park system.
If you look closely while walking along the Night Heron Trail at Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve in Oak Brook, you can find a little piece of history.
Most people know that “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But did you know that in 1893 Christopher Columbus took a train to Dunham Forest Preserve in Wayne?
People have lived in DuPage County for thousands of years, so it’s no surprise that some of the tools and objects they used are still being found in many DuPage forest preserves.
Many people visiting the city of Chicago spend time in Lincoln Park, but few know the connection that DuPage Forest Preserve District’s Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien has with one of the largest parks in the city.
Wildlife have long embodied the spirit of Halloween using tricks, treats, and costumes. These strategies are essential for wild animals to survive, find food, and attract mates.
What happens when you combine a love of horses with a passion for philanthropy? At St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville in the 1980s and 1990s, it resulted in an annual steeplechase event that drew thousands to the farm, dominated the work schedules of farm employees, and made a meaningful impact on a local charity.
When an 11-year-old Randy Cochran snuck into Salt Creek at night to pilfer lost golf balls at the private Elmhurst Country Club in Addison more than 50 years ago, he never imagined what it would lead to.
Imagine commuting to Chicago by train in the morning only to discover without warning that same afternoon that your Metra line had closed and would never operate again.
On a breezy May afternoon, I stood on an old bridge that spans the East Branch DuPage River at Hidden Lake Forest Preserve in Downers Grove, talking to people as they crossed the bridge.