Research Online

Online Local History Resources from Elsewhere

Newspapers

• The Lake Forester - via the Lake Forest Library
  • The Lake Forest Library has a digitized, searchable database of the local newspaper, The Lake Forester, from 1899-1910 and 1917-1944. 
• The Chicago Tribune - via the Lake Forest Library
  • With your Lake Forest Library card, you can use ProQuest to search the Historical Chicago Tribune from 1849-1989 (library card # required for login).
• Lake Forest College Stentor - via Lake Forest College Archives and Special Collections
  • Student newspaper; 1898-1921 available online
• Lake Forest College newspaper, The Black Rap - via Lake Forest College Archives and Special Collections
  • Launched by Black students at Lake Forest College in the late 1960s and continued through the 1980s; recently relaunched in 2020
• Lake County newspapers, 1890s-1930s - via Cook Memorial Public Library
  • Includes both full-text and/or index searches of the Lake County Independent, Lake County Independent and Waukegan Weekly Sun, Lake County Register, and Libertyville Independent
• Highland Park newspaper database - via Highland Park Public Library
  • Digital copies of newspaper, 1874-1951. (Click newspaper icon in upper righthand corner for newspaper page images.)
• Deerfield newspapers, 1945-1960 - via Deerfield Public Library
  • Browsable pdfs of The Deerfield Review
• Wilmette newspaper database - via Wilmette Public Library
  • Includes both full text and/or index searches of Wilmette-area newspapers like Wilmette Life, Lake Shore News and The Local News, for various years.
• Evanston History Center Historic Newspaper Collection - via Evanston History Center
  • Digitized images from the newspaper microfilm collection at the Evanston History Center, 1872-1922
• The Chicago Examiner - via Chicago Public Library
  • Digitized images of the newspaper held at the Harold Washington Library Center, 1908-1918

Maps and Aerials

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Lake Forest - via the Library of Congress
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Lake Bluff - via the Library of Congress
• Map of Lake Forest, c. 1857 - via American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
• Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891 (U.S. government survey maps) - via Illinois State Archives and Lake County GIS
• Map of Lake County, 1861 - via Library of Congress
  • 1948 reprint of 1861 Lake County map - via Lake County GIS and Mapping
• Map of Lake County, 1873 - via Library of Congress
• Illustrated Atlas of Lake County, 1885, with plats of townships and cities - via Library of Congress
• Maps of Lake County - via Lake County GIS and Mapping
  • Click on the "four squares" in the upper right - the "Basemap Gallery." If you scroll past the aerial photos, you can see survey plats, maps and atlases from 1840, 1861, 1873, 1885, 1907, 1960, 1972, and 1993.
• Historic Aerial Photographs of Lake County, 1939-2017 - via Lake County GIS and Mapping
• Aerial Photographs of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, c. 1960s - via Vintage Aerials

Architecture and House History

• Ragdale: A History and Guide - via Internet Archive
  • By Alice Ryerson Hayes and Susan Moon, 1990
• Lake Forest College Historic Preservation Master Plan (2008)
  • Note: site contains some pop-up ads
• Lake Forest sites on the National Register of Historic Places
  • East Lake Forest Historic District (1978 nomination) - roughly bounded by Western, Westleigh, Lake Michigan, and the northern city limits
    • Revised Draft (2012) - temporarily available
  • Vine/Oakwood/Green Bay Historic District (1980 nomination)
  • Green Bay Road Historic District (1995 nomination)
  • Deerpath Hill Estates Historic District (2006 nomination)
    • Frank Hibbard House, 301 North Chiltern
    • 380 Chiltern
    • 965 Castlegate Court
  • West Park Neighborhood Historic District (2012 nomination)
  • The Deer Path Inn, 255 East Illinois
  • Lake Forest Cemetery, 1525 North Lake Road
  • Ragdale, 1260 North Green Bay Road
  • Helen Shedd Reed House, 1315 North Lake Road
  • Mellody Farm (J. Ogden Armour House), 1500 W. Kennedy Road
  • Noble Judah House, 111 West Westminster
  • West View Farms (Robert P. Lamont House), 810 South Ridge Road
  • Edward H. Bennett House, 89 East Deerpath
  • Meadowood Dairy (Clifford M. Leonard Farm), Hathaway Circle and Inverleith Road
  • Robert Hosmer Morse House, 1301 Knollwood Circle
  • Westleigh (Louis F. Swift House), 255 East Foster Place
• Lake Bluff sites on the National Register of Historic Places
  • Lake Bluff Uptown Commercial Historic District (2006 nomination)
  • Griffith Building, 103-113 East Scranton Avenue
  • Lester Armour House, 700 Arbor Drive
  • Tangley Oaks (Philip D. Armour III House), 900 Armour Drive
  • Carolyn Morse Ely House, 111 Moffett Road
  • Howard and Lucy Linn House, 555 Shoreacres Drive
  • William McCormick Blair House, 982 Sheridan Road
• Historic Resource Survey: Estate Areas of Lake Bluff - via Village of Lake Bluff
• Lake Bluff Summary and Inventory of Historic Resources - via Village of Lake Bluff
  • Conducted 2018-19 by Benjamin Historic Certifications
• List of Preservation Award Winners - via Lake Forest Preservation Foundation
  • Includes articles with architectural information and images
• Overview of Estate Development and Lake Forest's Historical Significance - via Lake Forest Preservation Foundation
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
• Images from David Adler's working library (used as reference material) - via Liederbach & Graham Architects
• Lake Forest Historic Districts and Landmarks -  via GIS Consortium
  • Includes info like year built, style, and early owners - may want to corroborate facts with a second source.
• Landscape Art, Past and Present, by Harriet Hammond McCormick - via Internet Archive
  • Includes details and images about the McCormick estate Walden.

Cemeteries

• Lake Forest Cemetery listings - via Find A Grave
• Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery listings - via Find A Grave
• Saint Patrick Catholic Cemetery listings - via Find A Grave
• Lake Forest Cemetery History
  • Text by Marilyn K. Alaimo, Chair, Lake Forest Cemetery Commission, 2001
• Lake Forest Cemetery on Facebook
  • With profiles and photos of prominent individuals interred there

Records and Genealogy

• Index to births, marriages, and deaths in Lake County before 1916 - via Lake County Office of the County Clerk
  • To order a record, forms and fees are involved
• Lake County Land Records search - via Lake Country Recorder of Deeds
  • Note: not for the faint of heart. To use this database, you will have to create an account and may need to pay a fee.
• Lake County links and facts at FamilySearch.org

Digitized Histories, Essays and Articles

• A History of Lake County, Illinois (1912) (PDF) or Google Books
  • Edited by Lake Forest College professor John J. Halsey, published 1912.
• Historical and Statistical Sketches of Lake County (1852) (PDF)
  • By Elijah M. Haines
• Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois (1877)
  • Published by William LeBaron & Co., 1877. Also via Google Books.
• Lake Forest, Illinois; History and Reminiscences, 1861-1961
  • By Edward Arpee, published 1963
• "A Special Place: Lake Forest and the Great Depression, 1929-1940" - via JSTOR
  • By Frederick Mercer Van Sickle, published in 1986 by the Illinois Historical Journal.
• Lake Forest: Art and History Edition - via the Internet Archive
  • American Communities Company, 1916 - includes photographs and descriptions of many Lake Forest residences
• Second Book of the North Shore: Homes, Gardens, Landscapes, Highways and Byways Past and Present (1911) - via Internet Archive
  • By Marion Ainsworth White, published by J. Harrison White, 1911 - includes photographs of many Lake Forest residences. Also via Google Books.
• "We're in the Movies: The Lake Forest Connection" - via Lake Forest Library
  • Article listing the various films shot in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff
• History of Deerfield Illinois (1928) - via Deerfield Public Library
  • By Marie Ward Reichelt. Includes details about the history of west Lake Forest and residents.
• Worship, Fellowship, and the Work of the Kingdom: The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest - via Internet Archive
  • By Christine Chakoian, 2013
• Chicago Yesterdays, by Caroline Kirkland (1919) - via Internet Archive
  • Includes essays by local residents including Grace Farwell McGann ("Early Lake Forest"), Hobart Chatfield-Taylor, Mrs. Arthur Meeker and others
• 30 Miles North: A History of Lake Forest College, Its Town and Its City of Chicago - via Internet Archive
  • by Franz Schulze, Rosemary Cowler, and Arthur H. Miller (2000)
• Lake Forest Estates, People, Culture - via Internet Archive
  • by Arthur H. Miller and Shirley M. Paddock (2000)

Schools and Youth

• Boy Scouting in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff
  • Long-time Highland Park Scout John Ropiequet has written a comprehensive illustrated history of Scouting in our communities from its start in 1910 through 1944, based on over 1,000 items from The Lake Forester and other materials.
• Lake Forest College yearbook, The Forester - via Lake Forest College Archives and Special Collections and the Internet Archive
  • Years 1892-2002 available, with a few missing because yearbooks were not published
• Student Protest at Lake Forest College - via Lake Forest College Archives and Special Collections
  • Online exhibit curated by Lillie Therieau '20 examining the history of activism at LFC, focusing on the 1960s and 1970s
• Historic Preservation Master Plan, Lake Forest College
  • Published 2008
• History of Lake Forest College
  • Via LFC website
• Lake Forest Country Day School: The First Century
  • Published 1988; relates the history of the Alcott School, Bell School, Lake Forest Day School, and their merger to become Lake Forest Country Day.
• Lake Forest High School, The First Thirty Years
  • Written in the 1970s by LFHS teacher Donald Spooner and his class of history students
• Lake Forest Academy History Timeline - via Lake Forest Academy
• Lake Forest Academy and Ferry Hall Archives - via Illinois Digital Archives/Lake Forest Academy
  • Digitized images, programs, and advertisements from Lake Forest Academy and Ferry Hall
• Vickerman School History, 1918 - via Illinois Digital Archives
  • History project completed by students at Vickerman School in 1918 in honor of the state of Illinois centennial. Original housed at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum.
• Rondout School History, 1918 - via Illinois Digital Archives
  • History project completed by students at Rondout School in 1918 in honor of the state of Illinois centennial. Original housed at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum.
• Deerfield-Shields High School yearbook, The Deerfield - via Highland Park Public Library
  • Year range 1912-1935. (This was the high school attended by LF students prior to construction of LFHS)

Blogs and Websites

• Lake County, Illinois History
  • History articles and essays written by Diana Dretske, curator and Lake County historian for the Bess Bower Dunn Museum in Libertyville (part of the Lake County Forest Preserve District)
• Villa Turicum and Villa Turicum Blog
  • Resources, images and articles gathered about the Edith Rockefeller McCormick and Harold F. McCormick estate in Lake Forest
• Encyclopedia of Chicago

Online Collections and Archives

• Lake Forest Library Archives - via Illinois Digital Archives
  • Images and articles related to Lake Forest Library, City Hall, Market Square, Edwin Hill Clark, and Villa Turicum
• Lake Forest College Digital Collections - via Lake Forest College
  • Photos and archives from Lake Forest College Archives and Special Collections
• Lake Bluff Online Collections Database - via Lake Bluff History Museum
  • Digitized photos and archives housed at the Lake Bluff History Museum
• Explore Chicago Collections
  • Online portal for searching photographs and archives housed at institutions throughout the Chicago region
• Online Resources from the Chicago History Museum
  • Online catalog, digital images, online exhibits, Encyclopedia of Chicago, and more
• Illinois Digital Archives
  • Online repository for the digital collections of the Illinois State Library as well as other libraries and cultural institutions in the State of Illinois
• CARLI Digital Collections
  • Repository for digital content created by member libraries of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois - includes images and special collections
• Garden Club of America Collection - via The Smithsonian Institution
  • Digitized slides and glass lantern slides showing Lake Forest/Lake Bluff gardens, largely c. 1930s. The Lake Forest Garden Club was a founding member of the Garden Club of America.