Fox Lake (Illinois) Historical Society Presentation on 'The Midway'

The Fox Lake Grant Township Historical Society will be having a presentation on a major village party area back around the early 1900s when folks would arrive by train from Chicago at a series of hotels, bars and dance halls in Nippersink Lake called "The Midway."

This area now has the Fox Lake Lakefront Park right by US-Highway 12 and is considered a fine example of what life was like during the area's Resort Era.

The presentationwill be given by Paul Jakstas whose family owned the famed Mineola Hotel for many years.

The presentation follows the General meeting at 9:30 am and will be held at the Grant Hall Museum at 411 Washington Street, Ingleside, Illinois.

Refreshments will be served.

--CootWay

The History of Holiday Park (Ingleside, Illinois)

Last night I attended a presentation on the history of Holiday Park given at the Fox Lake Public Library in Illinois.  The place was packed with a largely older crowd.

Holiday park operated from the 1950s to 1990s and continually grew and evolved until it covered a huge area between US Highway 12 and Illinois Highway 134.  It included Wooster Lake, two ponds, a ski hill, water slide, bar and restaurant with banquet facilities.

Many of the high school kids of Fox Lake worked there while growing up and after the presentation, there was a rather long series of people getting up and talking about their experiences.

it must have been a fun place, judging by the comments.

--Cooter

Illinois' Chain of Lakes-- Part 13: The Railroad Brings Growth to Area

Growth of resorts along the Chain of Lakes increased dramatically with the arrival of the Milwaukee Road railroad to the area in 1901.  The railroad crossed the lakes between Pistakee Lake and Nippersink Lake where Route 12 now crosses.  (The train tracks are still there and handle an occasional train.)

Vacationers would take the train from Chicago and get off at a station by Nippersink Lake and then go by foot or by boats to various resorts.

Small cottages and resorts grew on the shores of the lakes as the area became a prominent tourist destination.  The Great Depression, however, was a major hit to the area and tourism decreased tremendously.  Resorts closed.  Some of these resorts were then turned into year-round homes.

--Cooter

Fox Lake, Illinois: A Resort Town-- Part 3

This series is from the Spring 2010 Fox Lake grant Township Area Historical Society bulletin.

Rates for the resorts back in the early 1900s were really reasonable compared to today's rates, but costly to those folks. They ranged from $1.50 to $2 per day and from a whopping $9 to $10 a week. These rates included food and free use of rowboats (no motorboats back then).

The ones built on lower elevations were sometimes plagued by spring floods. But the biggest fear of business owners was fire. The buildings were made of wood and there just wasn't much as far as fire fighting equipment and even then it would be difficult to get the stuff where it was needed considering the sorry shape of area roads.

Many burned down.

So that's the Chain of Lakes, Illinois. --Cooter

Fox Lake, Illinois: A Resort Town-- Part 1

Fox Lake and the Chain of Lakes area today is a major boating destination during the summer for boaters, but back around the turn of last century, it was a big resort area for the Chicagoland area. Once train connections were made, people would come out and spend a weekend or several weeks at one of the many resorts in the area.

In a 1909 Fox Lake promotional book, there were advertisements for 34 resorts or hotels, five taverns (most hotels and resorts also had their own bars), four boat lines (many of which took people out to their resorts since roads were very poor, two boat builders (the American Legion occupies one of these), two livery stables, a grocery store, a general store, an ice cream parlor (plenty of ice, you know), a blacksmith, tinsmith, an ice house and a milk dealer.

Some of the hotel and resorts were the Waltonian, Lakeside, Woodlawn, Rose Villa, Oak Park (still there), East Side, Lippincott, Schulz's, Bay View, Willis Inn, Liberty Club and Lotus Cottages.

More to Come. --DaCoot