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Publisher/Ad Director Jennifer Heintzelman Magazine editor & Page design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Have a story idea for Small Town Living? Let us know ... Call 815-632-2531 or e-mail news@saukvalley.com Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Carroll County Living may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

Putting nature on the right tract

Forestry work is a tall order, but for the team that helps keep the natural order in order , there’s no limit to what they can do.

This old stone house

He’s one happy fella

Map quest to the past

It’s easy to see why Joe Nava is on top of the world: He’s perfected his pizza, whips up award-winning tacos, and he’s living his dream.

When volunteers took on the task of rebuilding a crumbling piece of Mount Carroll’s history, they were determined to leave no stone unturned.

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inside

There used to be more ink on Carroll County’s maps, but some of those spots and dots have been erased; and though they may be gone, they’re not forgotten — and some have some pretty interesting tales to tell.

Plus ...

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Where Is It in Carroll County?

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hen volunteers took on the task of rebuilding a piece of

BUT THEY WERE

Key players in the restoration of the David Emmert Stone House are, from left: local business owners Len and Linda Anderson, Nancy Gmitro, who spearheaded the project, Mount Carroll Mayor Carl Bates, Chris Rogers, and builder and alderman Mike Risko. ALEX T. PASCHAL/ APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM

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Mount Carroll’s history, they knew it would be a major undertaking,

DETERMINED TO ...

hen David Emmert came to Mount Carroll in 1841, he saw the potential for a budding community along the banks of what was then called the Wakarusa River. Emmert built a limestone home, the second house in town, where he would witness Mount Carroll flourish and grow, thanks in no small part to the Wakarusa. However, more than 150 years later, that same river — known today as Carroll Creek — nearly caused the By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media downfall of his historic home. For a community rich in history, and dedicated to its preservation, seeing what became of the oldest surviving house in town was more than some people could bear. So they took matters into their own hands, along with the tools it took to resurrect the ruins and restore them to a home, sweet home.

HOUSE cont’d to page 6

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FR I E ND LY. HELPFUL . N EAR.

HOUSE cont’d from page 5 Nancy Gmitro and a team of dedicated community members sought to resurrect an invaluable piece of local history, one stone at a time. It took about 15 years, but the David Emmert Stone House, at 107 W. State St., has been rebuilt and now is part of a park that serves as a destination for not only for locals, but visitors traveling up or down the big hill on state Route 78. Gmitro and her husband, John, who passed away in 2008, knew there was a gem inside that rubble, but they knew those stones would take quite a bit of polishing to fix that fixer-upper. “This little house was still standing at the time, and it slowly deteriorated,” Gmitro said. “We heard that the city was just going to completely wipe it out. It was an original, permanent building in town.” It’s not that city had it in for the old house; they were just going to finish the demolition work that Mother Nature had already begun. The building was nearly destroyed in a 2006 flood: The entire north wall was gone, and portions of the east and west walls were gone with it. The roof also was destroyed, along with nearly all of the interior. It wasn’t just a shell of its former self after the flood — it was a broken shell. The City of Mount Carroll wanted it torn down, but Gmitro was determined to not let that happen. She and other volunteers formed the Mount Carroll Community Development Corporation, raised money, and bought the property, with the intention of creating a park and historic site. Now that they had the property and plan, they needed something else: limestone. But they couldn’t just pick up the pieces and move on; they needed to find some limestone elsewhere to build back up what nature had torn down. They found it on a local farm, where the owner gave the group the limestone blocks in a private donation. Now, you might think the limestones were the final piece of the puzzle, right? Actually, they were just the beginning. HOUSE cont’d to pages 7 & 8

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The e MeHous e Ston morial Park is located at state Route 78 and State Street in Mount Carroll. The Community Development Corp. commissioned a covered wagon through Red’s Antiques & Wholesale in Galena and placed it in front of the house a couple years ago. True to the pioneer spirit of the time, a sign on the back reads “Mt. Carroll or bust.”

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It’s hard to believe something that looked like this ...

HOUSE cont’d from page 7 In order to restore the house, each missing block had to be replaced with another one that would fit. Chris Rogers was one of the volunteers who did a good chunk of the work, including the stone work. “You look at the blocks like a puzzle: You figure out what will fit there, and what will fit there,” Rogers said. “It was kind of hard to sometimes keep with original stuff, but you can only do so much. But the whole deal is so that people can come and use this as a park.” Soon came the stabilization of the remaining walls and windows, the replacement of the roof and the restoration of a natural spring in the lower level, which was all done by 2014. Then came a slowdown of work before the MCCDC deeded the house and property to the City of Mount Carroll in 2018. More work was done for another 3 years before the house and park finally opened after a ribbon cutting on Sept. 4.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

... could be turned into something that looked this. But it was, thanks to the tireless work of volunteers who turned two walls back into four and restored the David Emmert Stone House into a centrepiece of local history. ALEX T. PASCHAL/ APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM

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HOUSE cont’d from page 8 “It was all developed as you go without any drawings,” Rogers said. “It was more ‘What do you These want and what can we days, we take for do?’ It was just a big granted things like runhole.” ning water and refrigeration, David Emmert but the Stone House had both was born in 1804 back in 1841, courtesy of a natuin Maryland. He ral spring in the lower level that came to Carroll came in under the wall. It not County in 1840 only brought fresh water, via the Mississippi but it was used to keep River, settling in Safood cool. vanna before moving

to the area that now is Georgetown, north of Lanark. That didn’t last long before he found ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM a prime opportunity to help in Mount Carroll’s development. Emmert ran a grist mill elsewhere on the river, helped start the Mount Carroll Seminary (which would later become Shimer College), and helped start the Carroll County Republican newspaper. He became a wealthy man, and donated the land needed for Oak Hill Cemetery, which is where he was buried after his death in 1857.

HOUSE cont’d to page 10

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HOUSE cont’d from page 9

tion and running water,” Gmitro said. “They didn’t have to go out to get to a pump or something like that, and it works in the After Emmert’s death, the house went through several winter and never freezes.” owners before eventually ceasing as a dwelling, probably by With the original ground floor brought the 1920s. Before then, Galena Street was back to life, that meant trying to find a the northern exit from town, but as cars way to make it so that all visitors could see became dominant on the road, a bypass not just that floor, but the other levels, too. was needed to improve traffic flow through The result was an overall viewing experitown. The current steep curve then was ence of the entire inside of the house. Volconstructed, and it went though the house’s unteers built a glass walkway from door front yard after crossing State Street. to door, and cut out most of the top two Between the soil moved for construction floors to give visitors a view of what the and the naturally shifting landscape, the rooms looked like during the Emmerts’ house’s first floor eventually became a days — with nine children running around basement. In the years up to its eventual back then. abandonment, the structure, with a new When visitors look up, they see the front door, was relegated to use as storage. bedrooms on the top floor; look across From the outside, it looked as if there and they see more bedrooms; look down were only two floors to the building. The and they see the social quarters. The origrediscovery of the original ground floor inal stairway would have been near the also led to finding the home’s original front door. The decor is made up of period fireplace, which once had a beehive oven. An early 1850s photo of David pieces, most of which were donated. The spring on the lower floor came in under Emmert, who built the Stone House “We had to come up with a plan,” Rogers the wall, which brought water and refrigsaid. “Our first thought was to build a floor, eration; milk, cheese and butter were put in the water to keep but then you got to have stairs, and people can’t see. Then we them from spoiling. Gmitro shows it to children during school came up with this ramp approach to give it a dollhouse look.” field trips, and she said they are often amazed by how it works. “This house was really well off, because they had refrigeraHOUSE cont’d to pages 11 & 12

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SteppingintotheDavidEmmert Stone House is like looking throughawindowintothepast, thanks in no small part to volunteers’ commitment to preserving the historic home and their eye for detail — from a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles to the period photos to vintage furniture, no detail was overlooked. “It saved a property that was falling down as you enter the community, and the outpouring of support of the project with volunteers and money, it’ll become an asset to our community,” Mount Carroll Mayor Carl Bates said. “It’s come from being derelict to being a sight that you can see.” PHOTOS: ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM

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HOUSE cont’d from page 10 One of the artifacts on the top floor is an original rope bed. They were made with straw as a cushion, and the ropes tied to each side served as the support. Those beds, volunteer Linda Anderson once heard, also led to the popular bedtime phrase, “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.” “We always learn stuff and hear stories from the people that come through,” Anderson said. City leaders are praising the project and the efforts by volunteers. Every penny spent on restoration and the property came from donations; not a single cent came from the city. “It saved a property that was falling down as you enter the community, and the outpouring of support of the project with volunteers and money, it’ll become an asset to our community,” Mayor Carl Bates said. “It’s come from being derelict to being a sight that you can see.” Alderman Mike Risko, who coordinated efforts between the city and the MCCDC, sees this project as the first of many that the city plans to undertake in the next year. This includes an expansion of the Carnegie Library, where $1.2 million was raised by local efforts

to get a matching grant; the Shimer Square project, a housing and business incubation development on the former college campus; and a recreation center near the school building. “We’re looking at this to be a jumpoff for the great things that are going to be happening with our community,” Risko said. “We’re really hoping to let people see that this is a town that cares and gives donations. That’s where a lot of these projects come from. It’s so cool the way people give and respond.” As for the house and park, there’s still work to be done. Picnic tables and a pavilion are planned for the front lawn, which is where a Governor’s Hometown Award sign from 2020 will be installed. A native prairie patch is planned to be put near the house to help give it some more of its old 1841 charm. The volunteers are proud of their work, and consider it a point of pride that the city didn’t have to spend anything on it. “All of the people who donated and all of the people who supported this is what made it happen,” Rogers said. “If they didn’t do that, this couldn’t have happened.”

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Want to visit? Call 815-244-4090 to arrange for a tour of the restored David Emmert Stone House, at the corner of state Route 78 and State Street in Mount Carroll. Online Find Friends of the David Emmert Stone House on Facebook for more information on the historic site.

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They put

on the right Forestry work is a tall order — it’s not just as easy as one, two, tree — but for the team that helps keep the natural order in order , there’s no limit to what they can do 14

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By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

Midwest Forestry Unlimited’s tract team ... Left : Owner Luke Koett. At right, from top: Dakota Gasper, Cody Steele, David Lohnes and Cody Woodbury. ALE X T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA. COM

ome people can’t see the forest for the trees, but Luke Koett and his team at Midwest Forestry Unlimited can. They know the importance of seeing all the little things that make up a big picture. Big and small: They’re both part of nature’s plan — and they’re part of Midwest Forestry’s plans, too. Koett and his four-man crew are pros when it comes to making sure nature doesn’t lose its balance. The tree team based in rural Chadwick specializes in forestry management, tree removal, prescribed burns, invasive species control, timber stand improvement, tree planting, and timber assessment — and it’s taken only a few years for Koett’s business to make a name for itself among the people in charge of nurturing nature in northern Illinois. One sign of confidence in their skill: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources contracts with them to work in state nature areas. “It’s really fun, and the unique opportunities and projects that we get to do, especially with the state and federal agencies, are amazing,” Koett said. “Every day is something new, something different, and that keeps it exciting.”

FORESTRY cont’d to page 16

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FORESTRY cont’d from page 15

One of the perks of working for a forestry business? Views like this, at Hanover Bluffs, where Midwest Forestry Unlimited was working in January. “I like just being in the woods and being able to see the wildlife. I like being in some unique areas that only we get to see. We’re privy to seeing some areas that the general public cannot,” said owner Luke Koett.

From state property to private property, Midwest Forestry Unlimited can redesign wildlife tracts big or small to make them more accommodating to animals and people by getting to the root of the problem, whether it’s coming up with a management plan, tending to existing trees, planting new ones, removing old ones, or taking on invasive species that can wreak havoc on an ecosystem. Some landowners will simply leave their land untouched, believing that letting nature take its course is the best approach — but that’s not always the case. “If you just let everything go, it would all go to hell really fast,” Koett said. “It would just be a lot of invasive species not native to the area.” Koett has loved the outdoors as long as he can remember, so it’s no surprise that he’s branched out into his business tending to trees and other members of Mother Nature’s family. He studied forestry and earned his bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2006. After a few years working in the forests and prairies for projects funded by grant money, Koett wanted to take his passion to the next level.

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FORESTRY cont’d to page 17

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FORESTRY cont’d from page 16 With grant-funded projects, there wasn’t much long-term financial stability — work came and went at the whim of grant approvals. Koett figured that having a business of his own would lead to more steady work, and he was right. He started Midwest Forestry Unlimited 6 years ago, and the business has kept him plenty busy. “I like just being in the woods and being able to see the wildlife,” Koett said. “I like being in some unique areas that only we get to see. We’re privy to seeing some areas that the general public cannot.” Fellow team member Dakota Gasper also enjoys the sights that not everyone gets to see. “You get to go to different places every day, see different wildlife every day, and see a lot of different properties,” Gasper said. While one might think work for a forestry business would slow down in the winter, Koett and his crew still keep busy, tending to trees, searching for invasive species, surveying the land, marking timber, and more. Cody Woodbury said he’s enjoyed learning how nature works through Koett’s teachings. “It’s a great group to work with, and a great boss to work with,” Woodbury said. “It’s a great learning experience every single day, whether you’re here for 2 years or 2 days; you’re just constantly learning.” When it comes to controlled burns, there’s more than just getting things fired up. The burns have to be planned out ahead of time to make sure the job gets done safely. Landowners

need an open burning permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and a burn plan written up by a certified forester such as Koett. They can only be done when the weather conditions are right, and enough people need to be on hand to make sure everything’s under control. “There are still farmers who walk out to the field, throw a match and go back to the barn,” Koett said. “That’s usually when you get the fire department out. People just don’t realize the extent of what goes into it to make sure that it turns out safe.” Using fire as a tool has been a learning experience for team member Cody Steele, who said he’s enjoyed picking up what he needs to learn to burn. “Tree ID was something big that I’ve learned, but I’ve also learned a lot about fire and how much of it goes into a job,” Steele said. Midwest Forestry Unlimited also spends a lot of time drawing up forest management plans for private land owners in accordance with the Illinois Forest Development Act, passed by the state in 1983. To recognize and strengthen the environmental, economic and outdoor recreation contributions that forest lands make to the state — and with 4 1/2 million acres of forest land, that contribution is significant.. Among the provisions of the Act, it allows private land owners with 10 acres or more to be enrolled into a forest management plan, which also helps in lowering their property taxes. The plans must be drawn and approved a certified forester, such as Koett.

FORESTRY cont’d to pages 18 & 19

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Midwest Forestry owner Luke Koett takes pride in the reputation he and his crew have built up. "We have high expectations, and people have come to know that," he said. "Our name is held pretty high in the state and the IDNR, and it's something we like to hang our hats on.” Koett, at right, is shown here with (from left) Cody Woodbury, David Lohnes, Cody Steele, and Dakota Gasper. ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM

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FORESTRY cont’d from page 17 Management plans are structured in such a way as to allow land owners to do the work themselves, and try to make it cost-effective in the process. “We can tell them how to best manage their woods for overall forest health, with wildlife, water, soil, trees and all that sort of stuff,” Koett said. “We get to go out then and implement that plan. That could consist from doing prescribed fire or controlled burns, to doing timber stand improvement, invasive species removal, tree planting and timber harvests.” Timber stand improvements help with wood quality, forest health, aesthetics and wildlife habitat and are done through cutting, dozing, injection, mowing, chopping, spraying or prescribed burning. It can increase the quality of forest products, improve the health of the forest, reduce the risk of insects, disease and wildfire, improve wildlife habitat and even initiate regeneration of trees. One of the most recent projects completed by Midwest Forestry Unlimited was at Hanover Bluffs, a natural area north of the former Savanna Army Depot. Koett and his team worked with the IDNR to clear out what would have been non-needed timber in that area to restore it back to an oak tree savanna habitat, where the mighty trees can once again be the most dominant. Oak savannas are found in three areas throughout the nation, and the biggest chunk of the Midwestern oak savanna is centered in northwest Illinois; the others are along the Pacific coast and in southern Arizona and New Mexico. “It’s what it looked like hundreds and hundreds of years ago,” Koett said. “It was a challenge with some rough terrain, but it was unique and exciting; and hopefully my kids will be able to see the difference 50 years from now.”

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In addition to its regular work, Midwest Forestry lends its talents to community projects, too, like this project, done over the Memorial Day weekend. The business helped Boy Scout Troop 55 with an Eagle Scout project, supplying trees and equipment to restore the Tree ID area at White Pines State Park

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Illinois Forestry Development Act

FORESTRY cont’d from page 19 The terrain could be tough to work in, and traversing through it was quite an experience for team member David Lohnes. “Not every day is an easy terrain. It can be completely flat one day, and then the next day is can be completely uphill and you’re combing on your hands and knees,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of outdoor jobs, and I don’t think I want to do anything different. Some of the properties and unique sites you get to see is mind-blowing.” As intriguing and exciting as it is to see nature in all its glory, the job always comes first. More info “It’s not for everybody,” Koett Find Midwest Forestry said. “It’s a lot of hard work, a lot Unlimited on Facebook, of crappy days where it’s going to email midwestforestrbe real cold. So you gotta love it.” yunlimited@gmail.com The team also wrapped up a project or call 815-441-0091 to at White Pines State Park near Oregon in arrange an appointment mid-January. Next up is a tree removal or for more information. project at Apple River Canyon State Park near Warren throughout February. Having a trusting relationship with the chief nature services throughout the state, such as the IDNR, has given Midwest Forestry plenty of clout. “We have high expectations, and people have come to know that,” Koett said. “Our name is held pretty high in the state and the IDNR, and it’s something we like to hang our hats on.”

“Illinois has some of the finest forest lands in the Midwest. Today the total acreage of these lands is over 4.5 million acres. These lands provide a variety of forest resources that make a significant environmental, economic and outdoor recreation contribution. Sixty one percent of the native flora and 75% of the wildlife habitat are found in Illinois’ forests. Most of the forest land in Illinois (more than 90%) is owned by private landowners. Since Illinois is a growing state and has a strong farm economy, forest landowners feel the pressures of development and the need for additional agricultural lands. The typical forest landowner also lacks the technical forestry knowledge to properly manage their forested property. The other factor in creating the Illinois Forestry Development Act was to offer tax relief to forest landowners who make a long-term investment in their forestland through forest management. Also to offer financial incentives to implement forest management practices that would protect and enhance those forest resources.” Source: Illinois DNR. Go to https://tinyurl.com/yckpueb2 to read more.

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Fellas Pizza owner Jose Nava has spent enough time at a pizza oven to know what makes a good pizza, and he’s brought that experience to his own kitchen. “Every time I worked somewhere, I always thought that I’d like to have something different about it, extra crispness, things like that,” he said.

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One of Fellas’ specialities is the birria taco, a stew-type taco. “Birria is a complex dish from Mexico,” Nava said. “The whole process takes time, knowledge, and the passing down of how to include the meat and herbs ... right down to the dry chili peppers that give it a distinct color and flavor.”

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hen it comes to popular inspirations behind great food, there are plenty of celebrity chefs out there: TV’s Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, and all the rest. Fellas Pizza owner, cook and jack-of-all trades Jose Nava is familiar with each of them. He’s even picked up a few pointers from them. But there other cooks, not so famous, who’ve helped him find his recipe for success at his Lanark pizzeria. During his time in kitchens at various pizza places, he’s picked up a dash here, a pinch there, a hint of this, and a little of that, and brought them all together at his own place: Fellas Pizza in Lanark.

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Though the restaurant is carry-out and delivery, you can sit down and enjoy food from Fellas at Nava’s next-door neighbor, Dave’s Place, a bar with a window connecting it to Fellas where orders can be passed through for folks to enjoy at Dave’s. Pizza and beer: the perfect combo.

Chances are, if you can think of a mom-and-pop pizza place in the area, Nava, 34, has probably been in their kitchen at one time or another, and learning how to make the many different styles of pizza has helped him bring together the best of all worlds into one of his own. “I’ve always liked pizzas,” Nava said. “I’ve worked so many places. Every time I worked somewhere, I always thought that I’d like to have something different about it, extra crispness, things like that.” Nava started out as a teenager working at Cannova’s Italian Cuisine in Freeport and became something of a pizza nomad throughout the region for more than 15 years, working at various pizza places before opportunity knocked — and the door was a familiar one. When the owner of Bella’s Pizza, where Nava worked briefly in 2007, put his business up for sale, Nava decided it was time for a bigger slice of the pizza pie — as owner — and made the plunge in May 2019. Now it was up to him to see his pizza dough fortunes rise or fall — but he did have some help. His mother, Yolanda, had been an inspiration in helping Nava perfect his cooking, and it had long been a dream of his to run a business with her.

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FELLAS cont’d from page 24 “When I finally got it, it was like I was on top of the world. It felt great to achieve a dream,” Nava said. But, sadly, that dream team didn’t last long. Yolanda helped when she could, but just 4 months after Fellas opened, she passed away from cancer. “My mom wanted to get her sanitation license, and it kind of pushed me to want to do better,” Nava said. “My mom could do it, going through this life change. Then I saw this for rent, and I was like, ‘I got to make it happen,’ and I did. It felt great. She was proud of me.” A picture of Yolanda hangs near Fellas’ cash register, not only to remind Nava how far he’s come, but also to help tell his family’s story and his own journey. Above the photo it reads: “Forever in our hearts and in our recipes.” “My mom was a great cook. Her and I, it was our dream to have a restaurant, and I made it happen.” Today, he’s still making it happen. Pizza comes in five sizes, from 12 to 24 inches and square cut, which is more common in the Midwest, Nava said. He said he keeps the toppings simple, so that they don’t overpower the pizza. He sticks to the basics: Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, black or green olive, green pepper, spinach, onion, Canadian bacon, anchovies, pineapple, tomato, chicken, banana peppers or jalapeños. Thicker and stuffed crust is available in 12- to 16-inch sizes. Cauliflower crusts and gluten-free options also are available.

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CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

Jose Nava holds a picture of his late mother, Yolanda, at Fellas Pizzeria in downtown Lanark. She was an inspiration for him both in the kitchen and in life — like the photo says “Forever in our hearts and in our recipes.”

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FELLAS cont’d from page 25 If you want, you can start off with an appetizer: fries, onion rings, fried ravioli, fried pickles and cheddar broccoli bites. Also on the menu are chicken wings, an Italian beef and meatball poor boys, a Philly cheesesteak, chicken or steak tacos, chicken or steak taco fries and loaded Macho nachos. The tacos are lightly fried soft shell corn tortilla: “Authentic as can be,” Nava said.

In addition to bringing his own take to what he makes, incorporating what he’s learned from years in the kitchens, Nava is always hungry to learn more about his profession. He watches the food channels on TV and keeps on eye on what others are doing while traveling, taking mental notes on things he likes. “I want to put the best product out there,” Nava said.

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FELLAS cont’d from page 25 He also offers daily specials, and Sunday’s have become a customer favorite. The birria tacos are a stew-type taco, as opposed to being mostly meat. Not many places in northwest Illinois have them. Nava has his own method of putting these tacos all together, but to put it succinctly: “Birria is a complex dish from Mexico,” he said. “The whole process takes time, knowledge, and the passing down of how to include the meat and herbs, the Oregano, the aroma of clove, bay leaves, right down to the dry chili peppers that give it a distinct color and flavor. “You have to taste it to know,” he said. Fellas is carry-out and delivery only, including deliveries to Lake Carroll. If you do want to sit down and enjoy Fellas’ fare, there’s a place next door: Nava’s neighbor, Dave’s Place, a bar run by the Fellas Pizza, 119 N. Broad St. in downtown father-daughter team of Dave and Jessica Kuhlemier, where cusLanark, is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday tomers can grab a seat and grab a bite and a brew or two. There’s through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and a window between the two businesses where Fellas’ food can be Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Depassed through for folks to enjoy at Dave’s. livery to Lake Carroll is available. Call Nava’s cooking has made quite an impression on the communi815-493-8888 to place an order, or ty, and it didn’t take long. Only a few months after it opened, Fellas find it on Facebook for more earned an honor that means a lot of Nava — and surprisingly, it wasn’t information. for pizza, but for his tacos. Fellas was voted Carroll County’s Best Tacos in a contest run by the Carroll County Tourism agency. The plaque is a point of pride for Nava: It’s front-and-center at Fellas. Nava invites you to try the award-winning tacos, and anything else on his menu, and he’s confident that once you have, you’ll be telling him, “Hey, fella, this stuff is good!”

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here used to be more ink on Carroll County’s maps, but some of those spots and dots have been erased; and while they may be gone, they’re not forgotten — and some of them have pretty interesting tales to tell 28

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ith just under 16,000 people calling it home, Carroll County sits below middle of the rankings when it comes to population by county in Illinois, coming in at 68th out of 102 counties. It boasts some of the most scenic sights you’ll see in the area, and was named in honor of Charles Carroll, a Maryland politician who put his John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence and was the last of the document’s signers to die. Scattered across its rural landscape are cities and villages that range from “blink towns” to bustling little burgs. Look at the map and you’ll easily find cities such as Savanna, the county’s largest city, with about 2,700 residents, a distinction it’s held onto even after seeing its population drop by nearly 40 percent since 1950. Other key towns such as Mount Carroll, Thomson, Milledgeville, Lanark, Shannon and Chadwick hover between 400 and 2,000 residents — and don’t forget Lake Carroll, technically a census-designated place for population purposes, at just above 2,000 full- and part-time residents.

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MAPS cont’d from page 29 Look a little more closely and you’ll see villages that dot the map, such as Fair Haven, Hazelhurst and Wacker. But there are some places that you’d be pretty hard pressed to find. Editor’s That’s because they’re not there. note: Photos They’re places along roads where time were not available for has passed them by. Maybe they’re just a all locations, however, a few houses today, a bronze marker, or s the map on page 33 show just a faded memory — but they weren’t of approximate location always that way. Some of these places were the sites mentioned important in the county’s early days. Some in this ar ticle were settlements, some were little more than a rural post office operating out of a farmer’s home. Some were an Ideal place to call home, and others have fascinating stories to tell, like the place that was site of an explosive train robbery, or the Nursery that gave birth to an early concept for four-wheel drive vehicles. Though they don’t take up any ink on today’s paper maps, with the advancement of GPS technology, some of these spots are finding their place again, seemingly random names that pop up in a map platforms’ pixels, such as Google Maps, but even then they’re still just a name — but regardless of their place on the map, they all have a place in local history. On the following pages, we’ll take a look at some of them. We hope you enjoy this trip down the map’s memory lane.

Evidence of Arnold’s existence has been resurrected on online maps, but without the technology, don’t expect to find a sign leading to it. The settlement called Arnold’s Landing at the turn of the century was named after land owner Stephen Arnold. Today, it has a cluster of houses along the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway (now BNSF) and the Mississippi River. Arnold is just south of the former Savanna Army Depot, accessible by Diehl Road off of state Route 84 — however, don’t go there if you don’t have a reason: The area on which the settlement was is now private property.

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First settled by Thomas Crane in 1833, Arnold’s Grove got its name when Daniel Arnold established a residence there a few years later. Today, it is on Loran Road, 4 miles northeast of Mount Carroll. In 1840, Arnold also started a Dunkard Brethren church here with a few others, the first of its kind in northern Illinois. The church has long since been converted into a residence, but the cemetery remains, and it’s well-kept. At the edge of Loran Road, a monument has been erected at the church building denoting its history. More information about the cemetery can be found on Facebook; find Arnold’s Grove Cemetery.

Another place off-limits to the general public, this was a railroad wye (a triangle of track used for turning locomotives or trains) along the former Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway, a couple of miles east of Mount Carroll. The main line went east-west from Savanna to Chicago, and the line that spun off was called the Ashdale Cutoff, built in 1903 to shorten the time it took trains to reach the Quad Cities from Chicago — previously, trains had to go by way of Savanna. The cutoff went through Argo Fay and connected with the Quad Cities line at Ebner (see the entry later in this story). The cutoff line existed for only about 50 years.

Long before the Barth Family settled on what is today the intersection of Elizabeth and Zion roads, Zion was settled at that spot and named for a Zion Presbyterian Church located there from 1840 to 1968. The church’s cemetery remains. The Post Office originally was located at the parsonage, about a half-mile south of the church, opening in 1883. In 1905, Margaret Barth, who settled across the road from the church, took over Postmaster duties at her home for a few months before the Post Office was discontinued. When the first road maps created specifically for cars came out in the 1920s, Barth remained a spot on the map.

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Much of the residential area on what is now Black Oak Road is centered on Timber Lake Playhouse, but the place known as Black Oak actually was about a half-mile south of its intersection with Hartman Road, about 4 miles south of the theater. Black Oak was a Post Office that collected mail from nearby farms, and was tended to by John Haag during its short 2-year existence. Nothing remains of the site today, but it lent its name to the road it was on.

The history of Bluffville is one of the better preserved among other communities in the county that have disappeared. Located at the intersection of One Mile and French Bluff roads east of Thomson, groups of volunteers erected a pair of markers at the site detailing the town’s history and the natural bluffs around it. One of the houses still stands. The bluff around it now is the French Bluff State Natural Area. The town first was settled in 1837, but when the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway was laid out in Thomson, its settlers moved west and abandoned the town.

Savanna's importance as a river town led to land prospectors wanting to establish "suburbs" during the 1800s. The first was Chestnut Park, founded in the 1830s by Royal Cooper and Nathan Lord, which was located less than a mile southeast of downtown Savanna. The town was named for lines of chestnut trees that were grown within it. About 30 years after the town's founding, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway cut between Chestnut Park and Savanna. Chestnut Park was eventually annexed into Savanna by the late 1800s. Pike Road runs through what once was Chestnut Park. It once connected with a current "stub-like" street in old-town Savanna also called Pike Road, and was the quickest way travelers could travel to Thomson and Fulton to the south. When the railway built a yard in town, it broke the road into the two segments, which

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resulted in the building of an above-grade viaduct just a few blocks to the east. The current viaduct was built in the 1990s, replacing the old one. South Savanna started out with a few blocks in the mid-1800s, but has since been annexed into the main city; it was a few hundred yards east of Chestnut Park. The two "suburbs" eventually came together as the Chestnut Park neighborhood, and expanded to the east in the 1940s. The former Chestnut Park School, on the south edge of town, served students for nearly 85 years before it closed; most of it has been demolished. Oak Park was the area currently bound by Calumet Street and Old Viaduct Road. It, too, was annexed into Savanna around the same time as its other two neighbors.

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This spot now is where Georgetown sits, off of state route 73 between Lanark and Lake Carroll, with green directional signs pointing toward it. The Cherry Grove Church of the Brethren, which still holds services, is a spinoff of the aforementioned church in Arnold’s Grove. The nearby houses came after the church was established. Before the highway was built, the main road through the settlement was the Galena and Peoria Stagecoach Road, which ran on present-day Georgetown Road.

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Though the places in this article don’t merit a mention on maps these days, you can still find tell-tale signs of many of them if you take a drive through Carroll County. Below is a map of the approximate locations of the communities mentioned in this article. NOTE: LOCATIONS FOR PLUM RIVER AND SPRING VALLEY COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.

Arnold Keltner

Barth Portsmouth

Zier Corners

Polsgrove Marcus Jacobstown

More info

Go to carroll.illinoisgenweb.org or genealogytrails.com/ill/carroll to read more about Carroll County’s history.

More maps

Chestnut Grove

Websites such as Historic Mapworks are repositories for county plat maps from as far back as 150 years ago. They can be viewed there, or copies can be purchased. Carroll County's 1893 plat map is at historicmapworks. com/Atlas/US/8600/Carroll+County+1893/, along with maps of the county’s 15 townships. Each township map details plots with the owner's name, roads (though unnamed), creeks, and other places of interest, including settlements and township centers that thrived at the turn of the 20th century, but are either gone now, or just remnants of what they once were. Over at the Library of Congress, a map from 1869 can be found. Go to https://www.loc. gov/maps and select “maps” in the drop-down menu at the top of the page, then search for Carroll County Illinois.

Arnold’s Grove

Cherry Grove

Kittredge

Panama

Oak Park

Ashdale Junction

South Savanna Hickory Grove

Oakville

Nursery Rock Creek

Daggert Elkhorn Grove Hitt Black Oak

Bluffville

Ideal Tysonville

Ebner

MAP: RUSTY SCHRADER/SAUK VALLEY MEDIA

Nothing remains of both the original Daggert location or a second nearby location of the same name; Post Offices were established at both. Henry Daggert established a Post Office and store 5 miles south of Mount Carroll in the early 1880s and ran it until 1888, when mail went to Mount Carroll. However, William Bird restarted the Post Office about a mile east of Daggert’s store, at the intersection of Daggert and Salem roads, in 1889. That Post Office closed in 1906.

Like Ashdale Junction, Ebner was established in 1903 when the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul built the Ashdale Cutoff. Nothing remains of Ebner as well, but unlike the place at the opposite end of the line, it can be seen close up from the end of Railroad Lane, north of Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Mississippi River. Trains continue to run through Ebner, now part of the BNSF system of lines.

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The settlement on Carroll County’s east end, 3 miles northeast of Milledgeville, was named after Elkhorn Creek, the widest creek within the county’s boundaries. The creek’s vast discharge led to the establishment of mills along its banks, and a pair of them were located where Fremont and Maple roads intersect. Business prospered to the point where a Post Office was there from 1837 to 1900.

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Like Elkhorn Grove a mile north of it, Hitt (named “Hit” in an 1893 plat map) also was the site of mills along the Elkhorn Creek. There are more houses around the former community than there are in Elkhorn Grove. Hitt had a Post Office from 1884 to 1900, when mail for it, along with the one in Elkhorn Grove, was sent to Polo.

Travelers on Argo Fay Road, east of Thomson, are familiar with Ideal: a green directional sign points toward its location 3 miles from where Ideal intersects with Ideal Road — but without a GPS or knowing how many miles you’ve traveled, it’s hard to know when you’ve reached the community. And if you’re traveling on Route 78, there’s nothing to indicate you’ve reached it. The settlement is at the crossroads of Ideal Road and state Route 78, where houses sit at three corners. The dot on the map had a Post Office from 1891 to 1902, as well as a school and a grange hall. It’s the halfway point between the county seats of Carroll County (Mount Carroll) and Whiteside County (Morrison).

Jacobstown was established in May of 1855 along the banks of Straddle Creek by Benjamin and Mariah Jacobs. Without a railroad or highway traffic to aid in the settlement’s development, it died out not long after the turn of the 20th century. The Getz family was among the village’s early residents, and descendants still live nearby. The family erected a marker where the settlement used to be to honor the people who made Jacobstown a home. The marker is just south of where Jacobstown Road intersects with Scenic Palisades Road west of Mount Carroll. A small cemetery also exists nearby on private property where several former settlers are buried.

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Only an at-grade rail crossing remains of what was once the original site of the Hickory Grove Post Office. It was where Hickory Grove Road crosses the Canadian Pacific railway, a few miles southeast of Savanna. The Post Office was later moved about a mile north around the turn of the 20th century and later became Wacker. William Keltner owned the Keltner Creamery for many years along the East Plum River, 1 mile west of present-day Lake Carroll. It was one of 22 throughout the county during the early 1910s. At one time, business prospered enough to warrant the establishment of a Post Office there from 1892 to 1904. The creamery is believed to have closed in the 1920s, but its legacy remains with the naming of the road after its owner. Keltner Road now is a dead-end road with a wooden deck bridge over the Plum River, using the same wood used from the construction of an earlier bridge there built in 1886. Another wye on the Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul railway, Kittredge is 2 miles southwest of Shannon and also is inaccessible to the general public. Hints of its existence remain near the railroad crossing with Straddle Creek Road: a small grove of trees north of the crossing was where the wye was located, and the rail bridge at the crossing over the Straddle Creek is wide enough to have once fit two tracks across it; the missing track was the old line that once went west of Racine, Wisconsin, from 1866 to 1980. Kittredge Road nearby is named for the wye. Like Arnold, Marcus was a stop along the former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway, 4 miles north of Savanna. The place, which now is a campground, simply handled mail deliveries, but was the site of a train robbery on Aug. 5, 1902. According to a 1913 history of the county: “Five men were engaged in this robbery. They stopped the train with a red light signal, put the engineer and fireman under guard, uncoupled the express car and engine and ran it up the track, blew open the safe with nitroglycerine and rifled the contents. One of the men was accidentally shot by the discharge of the gun of his companion. They uncoupled the engine from the express car and attempted to make their escape with their wounded companion, but believing him to be mortally wounded they killed him and threw his body from the engine. The dead man was afterwards identified and two of the robbers caught. At the Apple River bridge, they abandoned the engine, letting it run on until it stopped beyond Hanover. The men escaped in a skiff at Apple River. They were convicted of highway robbery with deadly weapons and sentenced to the state penitentiary for life.”

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References to Polsgrove aren’t entirely gone: the place can be found on online maps, and Polsgrove Road takes travelers close to it. Polsgrove, sometimes referred to as Pol’s Grove, was a small settlement along the Old Galena Trail, near where it crosses the Plum River. The community, a few miles north-northwest of Mount Carroll, had a Post Office from 1857 to 1880. Decline in river traffic and the rerouting of roads led to Polsgrove’s decline, and only a couple of farms remain today.

The Carroll County Nursery was located on the southwest corner of Shannon Route and Harvest Road 4 miles east of Lanark, and was large enough to necessitate having a Post Office from 1885 to the nursery’s closure in 1901. Owned by John V. Cotta, the nursery had plenty of top-grafted apple trees, including Milwaukee, Hamilton and Eicke apples with Midwest origins. About 25 different types of apples were sold in the winter around the turn of the 20th century. Cotta’s son, Charles, was raised on the nursery, but embarked on a different career. Charles Cotta developed the concept of four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering in early automobiles out of his Lanark shop; a memorial plaque for him and his innovations is posted near the Casey’s General Store in town.

Located on Oakville Road about a mile east of Timber Lake Playhouse, Oakville has been well preserved by efforts of the Carroll County Historical Society. The former community, now called the Oakville Complex, is centered on a brick schoolhouse dating to 1888, and also has a pair of log cabins, a blacksmith shop and a granary. A cemetery also is nearby. Tours of the complex are available by appointment; call 815-244-3474 for more information.

Long before the important canal in Central America was built, or the Van Halen song was recorded, there was a Post Office named Panama near Carroll Creek, not far from Jacobstown. Albert Hawley established the office in 1840 and ran it for 2 years before it

was closed. The tiny community was established in 1837 by a group of people originally from Richmond, Virginia, but when it came time to establish a Post Office, the name Richmond was already taken (in McHenry County) so the Postal Service gave it the name of Panama, though the story behind that name has been lost to history. Hawley was described by local pioneer Samuel Preston in an 1894 article for the Mount Carroll Mirror as a very obliging postmaster, going around and notifying the patrons when any mail came, which he could afford to do, “as most of the letters cost 25 cents to get them out.”

Little is known about an actual settlement named after the river of the same name, but it had a Post Office from 1839 to 1846 before mail was sent to Pleasant Valley in Jo Daviess County, another town gone from existence. It is believed to be in the northwestern portion of Freedom Township, a few miles north-northeast of Mount Carroll, around where Meyers Road crosses the river. Meyers Road once was part of the main road going south of Stockton toward Mount Carroll before state Route 78 was built in the 1920s.

In the mid-1850s, the Mississippi River still was the main thoroughfare along the western edge of northern Illinois. Portsmouth was established as a Post Office in the early 1840s at the mouth of the Apple River, which is at the southern tip of the former Savanna Army Depot. No roads were laid out along the rivers, making this place accessible only by boat.

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Named for the creek and township of the same name, Rock Creek’s Post Office was in the southwest corner of the township near the present-day intersection of Telegraph and Dimon roads; it lasted 40 years, from 1843 to 1883. David Becker, who was postmaster during its early years, was the township’s first settler. Daniel Belding later bought Becker’s property and established a cheese factory along the creek’s banks.

Little is known about Spring Valley, but it’s possible that it was located on Spring Valley Road east of Lake Carroll. What is known is that it had a Post Office from 1853 to 1861.

Not much is known about Tysonville, especially how it got its name. It had a Post Office for only a couple of years, operated by early settler Abijah Paynter from 1844 to 1845, and it served the far southeast corner of the county. It is believed that Paynter’s son, Hiram, inherited his father’s property, which was on Barclay Road between Grandview and Goose roads.

This was more of a reference spot at the intersection of a pair of primary roads, one between Lanark and Pearl City (now state Route 73) and the other leading from it to Shannon (now state Route 72). It sometimes is labeled as “Zier Cors” on maps (“Cors” an abbreviation of “Corners).” German brothers John and Paul Zier farmed near the location in the late 1800s, and the Zier Road that leads to the south edge of Lake Carroll is named for them.

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