Fox River Grove's Metra station off Route 14 was built six years ago.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The tiny Fox River Valley town of Fox River Grove has a colorful history from bootlegging to world-class ski jumping.
The Fox River Valley was settled by Pioneers who built homesteads between 1830 and 1860. The town originally was known as North Algonquin. Early settlers include the Opatrny, Dvorak, Welisek and Welleck families.
The village was incorporated in 1919, becoming the ninth in McHenry County. Many historic buildings are in use today and the town's population has grown to 4,753 residents.
Its history includes some notoriety with the old Grove Theatre, which housed the first pipe organ to accompany silent films, drawing the likes of Al Capone.
The Crystal Ballroom, located in the Crystal Palace owned by Louis Cernocky, hosted popular 1940s bands such as Guy Lombardo, Frankie Masters, and Wayne King.
Cernocky was known for bootlegging and his mob ties. His dance hall later burned down.
“Everything in Fox River Grove suspiciously burned down,” Village President Bob Nunamaker said of its mob history.
The town's Picnic Grove and Marina — featuring 40 acres of picnic areas, baseball diamonds, a merry-go-round, large Ferris wheel, boat rides, and beer halls — once attracted 15,000 visitors a day. Today, it has been developed into a subdivision of homes.
One historic landmark draws crowds even today. The Norge Ski Jump and Club is known worldwide and attracts thousands of spectators to its two annual ski jump competitions. It is the oldest, continuously run ski club in the country.
This 98-year-old town also has a promising future with big plans for redevelopment to create a new downtown area.
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The site of Fox River Grove's first post office off Lincoln Avenue, established in the 1920s, now is home to an antique store.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Chunn's Burying Ground, established in 1843, off Algonquin Road was Fox River Grove's first cemetery. The town's first one-room schoolhouse is visible in the background.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Chunn's Burying Ground, established in 1843, off Algonquin Road was Fox River Grove's first cemetery.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Fox River Grove's first one-room schoolhouse off Algonquin Road still stands today as a private home.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
This dilapidated abandoned house off Braeburn Road in Fox River Grove was once a popular local watering hole formerly known as Spring Creek Tavern.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The cemetery at St. John's, the first church in Fox River Grove established by a group of Bohemian Catholics, is where some of the town's founders were laid to rest.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
St. John's, the first church in Fox River Grove established by a group of Bohemian Catholics, remains open only one day each year for Mass. Some of the town's prominent people are buried in its adjoining cemetery at Church and Algonquin roads.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
One of Fox River Grove's founding farming families, the Opatrnys, moved into town not long after the 1832 Black Hawk War between the United States and Native Americans, led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The Opatrnys owned a hotel, dance hall and picnic grove in town. The village named this street after them.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
One of Fox River Grove's founding farming families, the Opatrnys, owned a hotel, and a dance hall in town that today houses the Community Church. The dance hall's windows were salvaged from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. It featured dancing every Saturday night.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The former farmstead of one of Fox River Grove's founding families, the Opatrnys, who also owned a hotel and dance hall in town.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The Fox River Picnic Grove, formerly owned by the Opatrny family and later Louis Cernocky, was a popular recreation spot dubbed "40 Acres of Paradise." It featured picnic areas, a baseball diamond, a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, boat rides, beer halls and a ballroom.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The Fox River Picnic Grove, formerly owned by the Opatrny family and later Louis Cernocky, was a popular recreation spot dubbed "40 Acres of Paradise." It featured picnic areas, a baseball diamond, a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, boat rides, beer halls and a ballroom.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The Fox River Picnic Grove, formerly owned by the Opatrny family and Louis Cernocky, was a popular recreation spot including a bustling marina. In its heyday around the 1940s, the marina attracted thousands of people from Chicago and Wisconsin.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Fox River Grove's most famous attraction, the 111-year-old Norge Ski Jump, even today attracts dozens of professional ski jumpers from around the world. The Norge Ski Club at 100 Ski Hill Road, north of routes 14 and 22, has five hills - 5, 10, 25, 40 and 70 meters high.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Another view of the 111-year-old Norge Ski Jump. The Norge Ski Club at 100 Ski Hill Road, north of routes 14 and 22, has five hills - 5, 10, 25, 40 and 70 meters high.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
This gray building off Route 14 was Fox River Grove's first hardware store owned by the Opatrnys.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The Grove Market was Fox River Grove's first meat market, grocer and bakery off Route 14 in the old downtown. Today it is an upholstery store. Village officials are developing a new downtown off routes 22 and 14.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
The Bettendorf Castle on Concorde Avenue sits atop a hill off Route 14 near the railroad tracks. It was built by hand by Theodore Bettendorf, a tool and die maker, and is a replica of a castle in Luxembourg where Bettendorf grew up. It took 36 years to complete and includes many features of a real castle, including a working drawbridge, a moat, and a dungeon. Today, it is home to an elderly couple.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Businesses along Foxmoor Road and Route 14 will be cleared and the area redeveloped to make way for Fox River Grove's new downtown, per village officials.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.comBusinesses along Foxmoor Road and Route 14 will be cleared and the area redeveloped to make way for Fox River Grove's new downtown, per village officials.
Fox River Grove's fire station along Foxmoor Road and Route 14 is situated in an area that will become the village's new downtown.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Fox River Grove's Village Hall, 305 Illinois St. The village is 98 years old and has a colorful history that includes bootlegging and hosting world class ski jumping events.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com
Fox River Grove Village President Bob Nunamaker talks about the village's history identifying buildings that once made up its downtown.
Madhu Krishnamurthy/mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com