One quarter mile east of here on Kite River, about 1840, Lyman Morgan built a grist mill. This was first known as the Morgan Mill and later as the White Oak Mill. The mill ground corn and other farm-produced grains. This was the center of a small . . . — — Map (db m131318) HM
Erected to the memory of Leonard Andrus founder of the village of Grand Detour Illinois 1835. Adjudicator of land claims, ferry operator, carrier of mail and travelers, first commissioner of schools in Ogle County, manufacturer, vestryman, . . . — — Map (db m131733) HM
Early French traders who traveled the Rock River named the large bend southwest of this point, Grand Detour. Winnebago and Potawatomi villages in the area made it a prominent location for fur trading posts, and during the 1820's the United States . . . — — Map (db m131290) HM
John Deere came to Grand Detour in 1836. In 1837, he fashioned a steel plow out of a broken sawmill blade in his blacksmith shop situated in the nearby John Deere Historic Site.
In 1843, John Deere and Leonard Andrus formed a partnership to . . . — — Map (db m131288) HM
Near here was the landing site of the Upper Ferry, one of two ferries providing the first established crossing of the Rock River into Grand Detour. Authorized by local ordinance in 1837, they were the sole means of commercial access to the south and . . . — — Map (db m131289) HM
Built on the old Chicago and Iowa Trail, this road was the first state aid paved rural road in northern Illinois. Begun in 1914, it was dedicated August 24, 1915. One lane of fired bricks was put in the north lane, a dirt tract in the south lane; . . . — — Map (db m131315) HM
The Chicago and Iowa trail, usually known as the C & I trail, passed through here. Travelers by stage coach, covered wagon, or on horseback between Chicago and Iowa frequently stayed overnight at Capt. Stinson's inn. This center of community life in . . . — — Map (db m131316) HM
Abraham Lincoln was a guest in this house, August 15-17, 1856. His host was Zenas Aplington, founder of Polo. On Saturday, August 16, John D. Campbell and James W. Carpenter, who were law partners in Polo, joined Lincoln and Aplington in a drive by . . . — — Map (db m55803) HM
In the pioneer village of Eagle Point, named because of an eagle's nest on a point of timber near here, Naaman Spencer, inventor of the gang plow, started manufacturing it here, 1868. Spencer, also was the first to use a steam engine, a Gates, . . . — — Map (db m131732) HM
In the early 1830’s pioneer traffic moving north from Peoria crowded primitive trails and forced a direct route to Galena. In 1833, Levi Warner’s state survey marked the Galena Road. It cut through this schoolyard. Private Abraham Lincoln passed . . . — — Map (db m55795) HM
The evolution of the road changed the look of America with the development of roadside industries. As motoring became a way o f life, the local filling station was welcomed sight to travelers. Service stations and garages along the Lincoln . . . — — Map (db m133512) HM
During the 19th century, cities usually had descent roads, but rural roads were often little more than muddy trails. Bicyclist's and railroad companies began calling for good roads in the 1880s, but American road building really took off in the . . . — — Map (db m133511) HM
Rochelle was a natural forefront to major automobile transportation and grew to earn the name of the "Hub City" because of its location at the intersection of several major transportation routes.
The "Hub" began with the railroads in . . . — — Map (db m133513) HM
In 1913, Carl Fisher proposed the "Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway". Eager to put America on wheels, executives from automobile and tire manufacturers quickly joined in the effort. At the inaugural meeting on July 1, 1913, the newly elected . . . — — Map (db m133510) HM
Here, on May 14, 1832, the first engagement of the Black Hawk War took place when 275 Illinois Militiamen under Maj. Isaiah Stillman were put to flight by Black Hawk and his warriors. So thoroughly demoralized were the volunteers that a new army had . . . — — Map (db m59710) HM
In memory of the Illinois volunteers who fell at Stillman's Run, May 14, 1832, in an engagement with Black Hawk and his warriors.
Captain John G. Adams
Sergeant John Walters
Corporal James Milton
Private Isaac Perkins
Private Joseph . . . — — Map (db m131319) HM WM
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