A famous train robbery, a rock, a hotel and a Greek Revival house, all within the borders of Lake County, have one common element.

They are among the places that have markers noting their historical status to days long past.

One of the first markers in the county is the sign that welcomes people to Illinois via Lake County.

The "Welcome to Illinois" western territory marker is located 400 feet south of the Wisconsin-Illinois state line on Route 45, just outside of Antioch.

The marker was built to pay homage to the creation of Lake County. The land that comprises the county was acquired by the U.S. government by treaty with the Potawatomi and other Indians at Prairie Du Chien in August 1829.

The Native Americans who signed the treaty also helped the first settler of Lake County, Daniel Wright, build his first house.

Wright also has a small monument erected to honor his status as a settler of the county, though the marker is not recognized as a national marker.

Daniel Wright Rock sits in Ryerson Woods in Riverwoods and is known as being the place where Wright first established his homestead in 1834.

A national historic marker is on the Andrew C. Cook House in Wauconda, but it was given not only for Cook being the settler of Wauconda Township, but more for the style of farmhouses that were built throughout all of Lake County.

The house is a rural Greek Revival house, with bricks made from clay and limestone plucked from the area. It was built in three stages, as can be recognized by the three colors of brick on the side of the house.

The Mineola Hotel in Fox Lake is another historical structure in Lake County under protection by the National Historical Society.

The hotel, built in 1884, has been the summer home for vacationers, gangsters and politicians until it closed in the early 1960s.

Guests, such as Al Capone, enjoyed the shores of Fox Lake in the late '20s and early '30s, and Mineola often became the summer hot spot for wealthy Chicago residents.

Today the hotel has been shut down but the restaurant-banquet hall facility still overlooks Fox Lake.

The home of Adlai Stevenson in Mattawa is located on Lake County Forest Preserve District-owned land off St. Mary's Road, south of Route 60. It too bears a historical marker.

The land was purchased in 1937 by Stevenson because of its proximity to his Chicago law office. Stevenson used the place as his retreat from the pressures of life as a statesman.

Stevenson was the Illinois governor from 1948 through 1952 and was the Democratic Party's nominee for president twice. He built the farm retreat on 70 acres, which was completely surrounded by meadows, trees and farmland. During his campaigns and reign as governor, Stevenson often returned to the spot for rest and inspiration.

Another marker was established in Rondout at the site of the "Illinois Great Train Robbery," what historians say is the largest train robbery in the U.S. history.

On June 12, 1924, $3 million in cash, jewels and bonds was placed on a U.S. Postal Service train traveling from Chicago through Rondout.

Somewhere along the route, two "gangsters" took control of the train and forced it to stop at a crossroads on Buckley Road. There, two stolen Cadillacs full of other gangsters were waiting.

Police and U.S. Postal investigators were hot on the trail and one week later, most of the gang had been rounded up. However, $1 million in cash and jewels remains missing.

The mastermind behind the robbery was a trusted postal worker riding the train.

Other markers include the historical U.S. Naval Training Base, Fort Sheridan and a general marker outside of Lake Zurich in honor of Seth Paine, an early settler who was responsible for naming Lake Zurich.

Also, another marker is in North Chicago at the Washburn and Moen Wire Mill plant, recognized for the many years of manufacturing service in the state.

One marker noting a place that had one of the biggest impacts on people is the one for the Joseph T. Bowen Country Club in Waukegan.

The country club was founded by Hull House creator and Nobel Prize winner Jane Addams from Chicago. She was looking for a place where underprivileged women and their children could spend time in the country.

Addams and benefactor Louise DeKoven Bowen were driven to the property of Waukegan Mayor Fred Buck and former Chicago Mayor John Charles Haines. Upon inspection, Addams decided it was the perfect place to make a new home.

In 1890, the 72-acre site became christened the Bowen Country Club and served the poor of Chicago until it was sold in 1963 to the Waukegan Park District.

The club gave more than 40,000 battered women and children from Chicago a place to live in their time of need.

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