Places | The Kiln

28 places

Alton Penitentiary

The Alton Penitentiary was a state correctional facility located in Alton, Illinois, that served as the destination for convicted criminals from across Illinois during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is mentioned in connection with Kane County history primarily in the context of horse theft prosecutions, when offenders convicted in the county were transported south to serve their sentences there.

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the principal city of Kane County, Illinois, situated along the Fox River. It was founded in the early nineteenth century by Joseph McCarty, a mill-wright from Elmira, Chemung County, New York, and grew out of the same wave of mill-driven settlement that shaped many Fox River communities during the pioneer era.

Batavia, Illinois

Batavia is a city in Kane County, Illinois, situated on the Fox River. In the context of early Kane County history, it holds particular significance as the site of several firsts in the county's religious and civic development, predating many of the institutions established in neighboring communities such as Dundee, Illinois, St. Charles, Illinois, and Elgin, Illinois.

Big Woods Kane County

The Big Woods was a significant forested tract in pioneer-era Kane County, Illinois, extending from the vicinity of Aurora northeast along the east side of the Fox River to Batavia and running approximately two to three miles back from the river. It stood as one of the county's principal woodland features during the early settlement period, alongside the smaller Little Woods on the opposite bank.

Bonnie Dundee Township, Illinois

Bonnie Dundee Township is a township in Kane County, Illinois. It is one of several townships that together compose the administrative geography of Kane County, and it carries a name that reflects the area's strong Scottish settlement heritage shared with neighboring East Dundee, Illinois and the broader Dundee region.

Carpentersville Elgin Aurora Electric Railway

The Carpentersville, Elgin & Aurora Electric Railway was an electric railway line operating in Kane County, Illinois, connecting the communities of Carpentersville, Elgin, and Aurora during the late nineteenth century. As of 1898, the line was under the superintendency of Charles C. Quackenbush, who also served as cashier.

Carpentersville, Illinois

Carpentersville is a settlement in Kane County, Illinois, situated in the Fox River valley. It appears in early Kane County records alongside neighboring communities such as Dundee, Illinois, and by 1840 had already begun attracting immigrant settlers from Europe. According to the *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904), Carpentersville was recognized as a village and manufacturing center located on the Lake Geneva branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, approximately 6 miles north of East Elgin and roughly 48 miles from Chicago. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))

D Hill Nursery

D. Hill Nursery was an evergreen nursery operating in Dundee, Illinois during the late nineteenth century, specializing in Scotch Pine and a range of other evergreen species. The business was proprietored by a figure known in contemporary records as Dr. Hill, who built a regional and national reputation as an evergreen specialist. By 1895, the nursery was issuing printed catalogues in both English and German, reflecting the multilingual character of the Kane County area and the breadth of its intended customer base. In addition to live nursery stock, the 1895 catalogue documents the sale of evergreen and deciduous tree seeds, with pricing listed by ounce, pound, and hundred-pound quantities. (Source: *Catalogue of Evergreens* (D. Hill Nursery Co., Dundee, Ill., 1895))

D Hill Nursery Co Inc

!Cover of "D. Hill's Catalogue (D. Hill Nursery, Dundee)" (1880). Source: Internet Archive.

Dundee Nurseries

Dundee Nurseries was a horticultural business located in Dundee, Illinois, owned and operated by D. Hill. By 1895, the nursery had established a regional reputation for the cultivation of evergreen trees grown from seed, distinguishing itself from competitors who supplied wild-harvested specimens from northern forests.

Dundee Township, Illinois

Dundee Township is a civil township in Kane County, Illinois. Among the earliest documented settlers were families who arrived from the northeastern United States during the late 1830s, establishing the agricultural community that would anchor the township through the nineteenth century. By the turn of the twentieth century, the township was characterized by well-maintained highways and cross-roads, highly cultivated farms, dairy stock with well-bred animals, and substantial farm homes. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))

Dundee, Illinois

Dundee, Illinois is a community in Kane County, Illinois, situated along the Fox River. The town — which in later years would formally distinguish its two sides as East Dundee and West Dundee — was home to a number of German-speaking immigrant families during the Gilded Age, among them the Müller family, who became tragically known to the wider region following a catastrophic railroad disaster in October 1887.

East Batavia, Illinois

East Batavia is an early settlement in Kane County, Illinois, situated within the broader Batavia township. It holds a particular distinction in the educational history of the county, as it is identified as the location of the first schoolhouse established in Kane County.

East Dundee, Illinois

East Dundee is a village in Kane County, Illinois, situated on the Fox River approximately 5 miles north of Elgin by rail and 47 miles west-northwest of Chicago. It forms one of two distinct municipal corporations — the other being West Dundee — that together comprise the broader community of Dundee. The two villages occupy opposite banks of the Fox River and, while closely associated in their commercial and social life, have maintained separate civic identities. Both villages fall within Dundee Township, a Kane County township characterized by well-maintained highways and cross-roads, highly cultivated farms, dairy stock, and substantial farm homes. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))

Elgin Township, Illinois

Elgin Township is a civil township in Kane County, Illinois, lying to the south and west of Dundee Township, Illinois. By the 1840s it had attracted settlers who had first put down roots in neighboring townships, and by the time of the 1878 county history it was home to established farming families with substantial landholdings.

Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city in Kane County, Illinois, situated on the Fox River approximately thirty-five miles northwest of Chicago. By the late nineteenth century it had developed into one of the county's principal commercial and industrial centers, home to banking institutions, manufacturing concerns, and a range of trades serving the surrounding region, including the communities of Dundee, Illinois.

Fox River

!Cover of "The History of Elgin, Kane County, Illinois, 1835 to 1875" (1875). Source: Internet Archive.

Fox River Footbridge (East Dundee–West Dundee)

The Fox River Footbridge was a pedestrian bridge connecting the Villages of East Dundee, Illinois and West Dundee, Illinois across the Fox River. Its eastern terminus rested at the **foot of North Street** in the Village of East Dundee.

Fox River, Illinois

The Fox River is a natural waterway that rises northwest of Milwaukee and flows southward through McHenry County before entering Kane County, Illinois. Along its Kane County passage, the river was lined with narrow strips of woodland and provided reliable water power that drew early settlers and mill operators throughout the mid-nineteenth century. Its falls and mill-seats served as the nuclei around which six distinct villages developed, each spaced approximately five miles apart along the river's course. (Source: *History of Kane County, Ill.* (Joslyn, 1908))

Haeger Potteries Dundee, Illinois

The Haeger Potteries, Inc. was a pottery and ceramic manufacturing company located in Dundee, Illinois, producing decorative home furnishings including lamps and ornamental ceramics. By the mid-twentieth century, the company had established a sufficiently broad commercial reach that its products were advertised in Spanish-language newspapers serving readerships well beyond the Midwest, reflecting the national and regional prominence of the Dundee-based firm during that era.

Illinois Iron and Bolt Company

The Illinois Iron and Bolt Company was an industrial business located in Dundee, IL, a Fox River community in Kane County, Illinois. It stands as one of the notable commercial enterprises associated with the town during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and is mentioned in connection with several prominent local figures of the period. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))

Kane County, Illinois

Kane County is a county in northeastern Illinois, situated along the Fox River valley. By 1908, it ranked third in the state in both population and wealth, a position attributed to the rapid transformation of its landscape from frontier wilderness to an agricultural and manufacturing center within roughly two generations. East Dundee lies within Kane County, and the Dundee settlement figures prominently in accounts of the county's early development.

Lords Park Elgin, Illinois

Lord's Park is a sixty-acre public pleasure ground located in Elgin, Illinois, donated to the city by George P. Lord and his wife. It stands as one of the more substantial civic gifts recorded in Kane County during the Gilded Age and remains a notable example of philanthropic land donation in the region.

McQueen, Illinois

McQueen is a locality in Kane County, Illinois, known in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the site of a brick and tile manufacturing operation. Its precise boundaries and current status as a named place are not fully established in available records.

Sandusky Precinct, Kane County

Sandusky Precinct was an early settlement area in Kane County, Illinois, situated along an old army trail. Though its precise boundaries are not fully documented, the precinct is remembered chiefly through its association with the Brewster Family, who arrived in 1839 and left a lasting mark on the local landscape and community life. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))

St James Parish Episcopal Church

St. James Parish Episcopal Church was an Episcopal congregation serving Dundee, IL and the surrounding territory in Kane County, Illinois. It is documented as an active parish by the late nineteenth century, ministering to residents on both sides of the Fox River valley.

St. Charles, Illinois

St. Charles is a city in Kane County, Illinois, situated on the Fox River. It is one of the oldest settlements in the county and appears in early records as a center of civic and religious activity in the antebellum period.

West Dundee, Illinois

West Dundee is a village in Kane County, Illinois, situated across the Fox River from East Dundee, Illinois. The two communities share a common history rooted in early settlement along the river, though each developed its own distinct commercial and civic identity over time. Both villages are located within Dundee Township, Kane County, alongside Carpentersville. (Source: *Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County* (1904))