Naperville in Will County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The McDonald Farm
Photographed By Sean Flynn
1. The McDonald Farm Marker
How Many Homes Could Fit Here?
Lenore McDonald was a member of the well-known Clow family of Naperville. She and her husband, Sterling McDonald, purchased this farm in 1949. They loved it here and could never have imagined it being developed for houses.
Sterling passed away in 1967 and Lenore stayed and farmed with the help of family and friends. She defended this land from many developers, and in 1992 donated it to The Conservation Foundation where it is now protected. She continued to live here until 1996 and passed away in 2000.
Today, thousands of people visit the farm each year to learn about nature and conservation.
Lenore would be very pleased!
What Is Here?
Home and headquarters of The Conservation Foundation since 1998, this farm serves as an example for sustainable and environmentally-friendly ideas. Come visit the butterfly, rain and water gardens. See examples of permeable pavers, porous concrete, organic farming, and rainwater
this page online
The Conservation Foundation is a private, not-for-profit land and river conservation organization. Created in 1972, The Conservation Foundation has helped save more than 32,000 acres of land in the Chicago Region, and is working to improve our local rivers, streams and natural environment. Learn more at www.theconservationfoundation.org.
The Green Earth Institute leases the agricultural land from The Conservation Foundation and runs the organic farming operations. Learn more at www.greenearthinstitute.org.
Erected by The Conservation Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Environment • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1949.
Location. 41° 43.002′ N, 88° 8.304′ W. Marker is in Naperville, Illinois, in Will County. Marker is on Knoch Knolls Road, 0.4 miles west of Ring Road, on the right when traveling west. The marker sits on the side of the DuPage River Trail, a paved bike trail. It is about 15 yards east of the McDonald Farm sign
Photographed By Sean Flynn, October 21, 2023
2. The McDonald Farm and Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. First Presbyterian Church of Du Page (approx. 1.1 miles away); Bailey Hobson’s House (approx. 2˝ miles away); Frontier Park Prairie Restoration (approx. 3.1 miles away); Revolutionary War Veteran (approx. 3.4 miles away); Site of the First Frame House in DuPage County (approx. 3.7 miles away); Fort Payne (approx. 3.7 miles away); North View Elementary School (approx. 4 miles away); Good Eating on Route 66 (approx. 5.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Naperville.
Also see . . . McDonald Farm.
The Conservation Foundation: "The McDonald’s set out in 1949 to rejuvenate a property that had fallen on hard times. The huge Royce farmhouse that had burned in the 1920s had been replaced by a much more modest house. The major part of that house had been removed from the property. The McDonald’s built a new ranch-style house on the site where the previous houses had stood. This house must have been the talk of the neighborhood–it had a dishwasher! You’ll see the same dishwasher in our office kitchen today, and it still works. The McDonald’s also rehabilitated the barns and other buildings."(Submitted on October 22, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 79 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 21, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
