A collection of early-20th-century postcards and photographs documenting Main Street and Water Street, Dundee, in the horse-and-buggy and early-automobile era.
"Main Street, Dundee, Ill." (postcard #12675), colorized, showing multi-story brick commercial blocks. Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com."Main St. E. from 3rd Showing New City Hall, Dundee, Ill." (postcard #5621), tree-lined street with city hall and church spire visible. Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com."Water St. So. from Barrington Av, Dundee, Ill." (postcard #5603), with a harness shop and "high grade cigars" storefront visible. Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com."Bar Room" / "Hotel Buffet," with German-language signage ("Heute für Geld und Umsonst") and Miller Milwaukee beer advertising — a rare interior/storefront view of a Dundee-area saloon, likely 1905–1910. Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com.A two-story building marked "A. Hormann," people posed on the porch with a horse-drawn carriage in front. Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com.
Open Questions
Exact dates for each image not established beyond general era (c. 1900–1915) based on fashion, signage, and the absence of automobiles (except the Hotel Buffet image).
"A. Hormann" not yet cross-referenced against any existing East Dundee business or family records.
Sources
resident-photo-submission-2026-08-18 — Collected by a resident, sourced from FRVPL and Ancestry.com. Uploaded to Supabase Storage 2026-08-18.
