Dundee Illinois
type: place title: Dundee, Illinois last_updated: 2026-06-07 sources: - 1887-10-17_chronicling-america_image-4-of-illinois-staats-zei-p4-dundee-illinois.md - 1915-01-27_chronicling-america_image-3-of-the-day-book-chicag-p3-east-dundee.md
Dundee, Illinois is a community in Kane County, Illinois, situated along the Fox River. The twin villages of East Dundee and West Dundee developed as part of the broader Fox River Valley settlement in the nineteenth century, attracting immigrant families and serving as home to a variety of trades and professions throughout the Gilded Age.
History
By the 1880s, Dundee had established itself as a settled community with connections to the broader regional rail network, allowing residents to travel to and from Chicago with relative ease. The town's population included immigrant families who maintained ties to their European homelands, as evidenced by accounts in the German-language Chicago press of the era.
The Müller Family Tragedy (1887)
One of the more devastating events recorded in connection with Dundee during the Gilded Age concerns the Müller family, who perished in a railroad collision on the morning of October 16, 1887. According to the Illinois Staats-Zeitung (Chicago) of October 17, 1887, the family — consisting of a father, mother, three sons, and one daughter — were traveling on a passenger train out of Chicago, reportedly on a pleasure trip to the homeland of the parents. (Source: 1887-10-17_chronicling-america_image-4-of-illinois-staats-zei-p4-dundee-illinois.md)
The passenger train was reportedly operating with a broken eccentric gear rod on the locomotive, leaving it dependent on only one functional flywheel. According to the account, the train crew chose to continue rather than replace the locomotive. The delayed passenger train had arrived at the station of Kouts when an express freight train, which had departed Boone Grove only two minutes behind the passenger train, struck it at full speed in a swampy, sparsely inhabited area. A fire broke out after the collision, and the Staats-Zeitung reported that most victims were burned to death slowly rather than killed outright by the initial impact. (Source: 1887-10-17_chronicling-america_image-4-of-illinois-staats-zei-p4-dundee-illinois.md)
The entire Müller family was killed. They were among several complete families reported to have perished in the disaster. Also killed in the same collision were a Dr. Perry, his wife, and their eleven-year-old daughter, though the Perry family's connection to Dundee specifically is not established by the source. (Source: 1887-10-17_chronicling-america_image-4-of-illinois-staats-zei-p4-dundee-illinois.md)
The names of the Müller family members — first names of the parents and children — are not recorded in the available source.
Foot and Mouth Disease Scare (1915)
During the Progressive Era, the Dundee area's agricultural character is briefly illustrated by an item dateline Elgin, Illinois, appearing in The Day Book (Chicago) of January 27, 1915. The item reports that Theodore Wagner, a farmer located east of Dundee, reportedly became insane through fear that his dairy herd would be infected with foot and mouth disease. (Source: 1915-01-27_chronicling-america_image-3-of-the-day-book-chicag-p3-east-dundee.md)
The nature and ultimate outcome of Wagner's condition are not elaborated upon in the available source, which offers only a brief mention in a local news column. The item nonetheless suggests that the foot and mouth disease outbreaks of the period — a significant agricultural concern in Illinois and nationally during 1914–1915 — were felt acutely by dairy farmers in the Dundee vicinity. (Source: 1915-01-27_chronicling-america_image-3-of-the-day-book-chicag-p3-east-dundee.md)
Notable Associations
- Müller family — Dundee residents killed in the railroad collision of October 16, 1887, while traveling by train from Chicago. Reportedly on a journey to their parents' country of origin at the time of the accident.
- Theodore Wagner — Farmer located east of Dundee; reportedly experienced mental distress in January 1915 arising from fear that his dairy herd would be stricken by foot and mouth disease. (Source: 1915-01-27_chronicling-america_image-3-of-the-day-book-chicag-p3-east-dundee.md)
- Illinois Staats-Zeitung (Chicago, Ill.), October 17, 1887, Image 4. Library of Congress / Chronicling America. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85033492/1887-10-17/ed-1/?sp=4. File: `1887-10-17_chronicling-america_image-4-of-illinois-staats-zei-p4-dundee-illinois.md`
- The Day Book (Chicago, Ill.), January 27, 1915, Image 3 (Last Edition). Library of Congress / Chronicling America. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045487/1915-01-27/ed-1/?sp=3. File: `1915-01-27_chronicling-america_image-3-of-the-day-book-chicag-p3-east-dundee.md`
Sources