Historic Libertyville homes on display

The life and times in a bygone era will be featured Saturday during MainStreet Libertyville's fifth annual historic walking tour.

About a dozen homes once occupied by faculty or students, who attended the former Libertyville Township High School, now known as the Brainerd Building, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tour booklets with directions and a brief history of the various properties will be available at the MainStreet tent in Cook Park for a $5 donation to the downtown revitalization group.

Brainerd opened in 1917 just west of the downtown area and later became Libertyville High School. The school and adjoining Jackson Gym were closed for use several years ago and a foundation has been formed to raise funds to convert it to a community facility, patterned after the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest.

"All of us on the committee are passionate about historic preservation," said Joan Suzio, who heads MainStreet's design committee. "We'd really like to see that building saved and put into use."

The Brainerd building is part of the walk and will be open to the public, although most others buildings are not.

Organizers wanted to capture a snapshot of those early years, while spotlighting some better known alumni.

"The key thing is we're looking back at Brainerd's opening years and trying to give an impression of what the neighborhood was like around it," said Bob Bleck, a member of the design committee.

The home at 311 Brainerd Ave., for example was occupied for generations by the Butler sisters, the spinster daughters of J .W. Butler, for which Butler Lake is said to be named. The family owned a considerable amount of land, which was sold to developer Eli Trigg in 1908.

"The irony is that we always criticize the people who sell the farm off to developers," Bleck said. "Now, we're trying to protect that neighborhood."

Suzio spent hours digging through old yearbooks and other records to uncover nuggets of information to be shared on the tour.

"By the end of the time I spent with the yearbooks, I felt like I knew these people," she said.

Among the well-known names was the Langworthy family, who lived at 131 W. Park Ave. (Route 176), which is now occupied by a real estate firm. Stella Langworthy, a Class of 1920 graduate, was a cheerleader in 1919-1920.

She was known for her whistling ability, Suzio reports, which she used in performances for community groups. In 1911, her father, Earl, bought the Carroll Dry Goods Store, 503 N. Milwaukee Ave., and started a business that would span 89 years and three generations.

Another interesting find was William Wheeler, who lived for a part of his childhood at 315 W. Maple Ave. in the 1930s. His father Lee F. Wheeler and aunt, Vene, who became a purchasing agent at Foulds macaroni factory, attended Libertyville Township High School.

"We used to sled down Maple Avenue from the crest of the hill all the way to Milwaukee Avenue," Wheeler said. He also recalls students riding to prom in horse drawn carriages and lamp lighters illuminating the gas lamps on the street.

Other stops on the tour include:

• 205 W. Cook Ave. Former home of Gladys and Kenneth Lovell. She was a charter member of the school faculty and taught math, Spanish and botany. He was the son of Frank Lovell, who owned Lovell's Pharmacy at 4 26 N. Milwaukee Ave.

• 208 W. Park Ave. Home of Lorelei and Brian Anderson. The home was built for a prosperous lumber merchant then farmer.

• 130 W. Maple Ave. Former home of Franklin P. Dymond, president of the Lake County Bank and partner in the Lake County Gravel Co.

• 308 W. Maple Ave. Former home of J.F. Doyle, a milk dealer in Chicago.