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This photograph shows the entrance to the Libertyville-Fremont Consolidated High School, located on West Park Avenue in Libertyville. In 1916 the Libertyville Township High School District was created, and land was purchased at the corner of Park and Brainerd Avenues to build a new high school building. The eight room structure was completed in 1917 and the Libertyville Township High School opened in September of 1917 with seven teachers and 106 students. Henry Underbrink was the principal of this building from 1917 to 1953. In 1949 Illinois state law abolished township high school districts, resulting in a merger between the Libertyville and Fremont Township High School Districts. The new school district was the Libertyville-Fremont Consolidated High School District 120. (This district split in 1964 into Libertyville High School District 128 and Mundelein High School District 120) Construction began on the Butler Lake building, pictured here, in 1953 and Adlai Stevenson spoke at the dedication of the new Libertyville High School on November 7, 1954.

The used car lot pictured here was located at the southwest corner of South Milwaukee Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. It was an extension of Hanlon Motor Company, a Ford dealership run by the Hanlon brothers, John, Robert and Walter. They had begun the business before World War II but it did not really take hold until about 1944.

This company was located at 411 North First Street at Church Street or, as it was advertised early in its career, "Down by the old Depot since 1904." The situation was ideal for receiving and sending shipments of building materials in and out. The business lasted until the 1970s or 1980s when the old station was destroyed. A (brick) condominium complex now occupies the north side of Church Street from First to Second Streets.

Five-and-ten-cent stores were originally founded by F. W. Woolworth in 1878. The Libertyville store, at 578 North Milwaukee Avenue, opened in 1940 and was in business until sometime after 1977, when all the Woolworth operations were beginning to fall to competition. F. W. Woolworth was a pioneer in merchandising, putting goods out for customers to handle instead of keeping stock shelved behind the counter. Stock consisted of a variety of toys, gifts, clothing, etc., all priced very low.

Ray N. Smith opened his shoe store in the late 1920s. He sold several brands of shoes for adults and children. Just a few doors north of Langworthy's clothing store, it was a convenient stop for local shoppers refreshing family wardrobes. The family owned and operated business continued until the late 1980s.

Smitty's did a wide variety of automobile work, including repairing minor damages to auto bodies, repainting, refurbishing and washing cars. The business began in 1952 and in 1959 it moved to 510 North First Street to more a commodious location and remained in business well into the 1960s.

The United Methodist Church was established in Libertyville in 1836, holding meetings in various homes and borrowed space. In 1881, the group built a small frame chapel which was replaced in 1882 by a structure on the corner of Milwaukee and School Street at the north end of town. In 1913, the congregation purchased land at the end of Church Street on Brainerd Avenue and built a brick church building there. Over the years this building was enlarged and enhanced with major additions made after 1954. In 1957 the church expanede to the north of the site when the education wing was built and in 1969 the congregation constructed a larger sanctuary in place of the building in this photograph.

This railroad underpass was constructed in 1899-1900 when the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad extended its passenger line to Fox Lake and on into Wisconsin, the Janesville/Madison division. The tracks paralleled Newberry Avenue and the rail bridge spans Second Street at Oak Spring Road.

This paint and hobby business was run by Ray Taylor and his son-in-law Maynard Seiler. They sold paints, wallpaper, and tools in one part of the store and toys and hobby materials in another. The store was in operation from the 1940s to the 1980s and was a popular spot for its wares. Taylor died in 1975; Seiler in 1986.

Anthony Abbadessa, who was born in Italy in 1892, owned this shoe repair business in Libertyville for 50 years. He began his work around 1911, replacing heels and soles to footwear in a time when such service was needed and welcomed. Mr. Abbadessa retired in 1961 and died in July of 1962.

Located at 628 East Church Street in Libertyville, Morton Manufacturing produced steel cabinets, mostly for use in kitchens. The cabinets were sold through a division of Nash-Kelvinator Sales Corp. The local plant was founded in 1942. In the mid-1950s there were some 130 employees. John Cannon was president, Charles Motter and James King, vice presidents, Earl Smith, secretary and Walter Klopsch was plant superintendent.

Galiger Heating Company, a residential and commercial heating business, was owned by Bert Galiger and Frank Stafford, and was located in a building in a village parking lot. This business sold and serviced warm air systems and hot water baseboard heating, and they modernized heating systems in older homes as well. They repaired all brands of furnaces and offered 24-hour emergency repair service. They also specialized in air conditioning.

Under the leadership of Dr. Raymond Ludwigson, president of Trinity Seminary and Bible College, a group from Libertyville decided to become an Evangelical Free Church congregation in 1951. They purchased ten acres at the southwest corner of West Austin and Garfield Avenue. The ground breaking at the site pictured here was held in January, 1957. The first pastor was Rev. Harold Youngberg.

Percy Gustafson opened this automobile agency in late 1950 on the southwest corner of Park and Milwaukee Avenues, the site of the Dr. Galloway residence. The agency sold De Soto, Plymouth, Chrysler and Rambler model cars and parts as well as accessories for those makes. They also offered "complete facilities for professional, mechanical, and body and fender work." Gustafson Motors lasted in Libertyville until 1967 when it was hit by a fire. Gustafson also owned a body shop at 23 West Maple Avenue in Mundelein.

Liberty Lake lies between Park Avenue (Route 176) and the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad tracks west of the Des Plaines River in Libertyville. It was created as the result of dredging for sand and gravel during the late 19th and 20th centuries. As was common during that period, the lake was harvested for ice in the winter. The ice was stored and sold in the summer. An ice house used for storing the ice burned in the early 1920s.

Built in 1913, Libertyville's original village hall was located on West Cook Street. According to local historian Dean Larson, the village hall housed the fire station, jail, meeting rooms and the Alpha Club Library (the forerunner of Cook Memorial Library) in addition to the village offices. When the village moved its offices to the new Schertz Municipal Building on East Cook Street in 1970, the old village hall was almost completely demolished and a new fire station was constructed at the site. In 1994 the village returned to its roots and moved back to its original site after remodeling the fire station into a new village hall.

Horse and buggy meet horseless carriage traveling on unpaved Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville in the early 20th century. Note the village water tower almost hidden behind the trees on the middle right.

Brown Paper Goods Company was founded in 1918 and located to Libertyville in 1940. According to a 1951 Libertyville directory, Brown Paper Goods manufactured and printed "various types of bags used for packing of bakery products, coffee, candy, nuts, popcorn, ice cream bars, potato chips, lard, sandwiches, lunches, garbage, shirts, auto parts and doughnuts." The company employed 70-80 people in 1951. The company was co-owned by N. A. Cook, A. C. Brown, and John Rossdeutcher.

In 1918 Otto J. Boehm began selling insurance from his Ford automobile. In the 1920's Mr. Boehm moved into an office building and his business flourished. Mr. Boehm's agency had several locations throughout the years, including the one pictured here at 324 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Mr. Boehm's son George joined his father in the insurance business in 1956 and the agency moved its offices to East Cook Street. In 1968 the Boehm insurance agency formed a partnership with Lloyd Ray's Libertyville insurance agency to become Boehm & Ray. Pictured here next door to Boehm-Schreck is Ruttkay Jewelers which sold diamonds, watches and gifts.

This house stood at the southwest corner of Park and Milwaukee Avenues in Libertyville. Dr. Galloway was the son of Dr. Samuel Galloway, who arrived in Libertyville in 1860 and set up practice after graduating from Rush Medical College in 1865. Charles Galloway was born in 1871 and grew up in Libertyville. He, like his father, graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago and set up his practice in March of 1892. He was very active in civic affairs throughout his life, serving on the board at Condell Memorial Hospital and on the local library board. He and his wife Margaret had three daughters. Dr. Galloway died in September of 1948 and was buried in Lakeside Cemetery. The house was demolished as that corner of Park and Milwaukee Avenues developed commercially in the 1950s and 1960s.

Kroll's Service Station, located at 411 S. Milwaukee Avenue, sold Standard Oil gasoline and products.

The Jewel was one of several grocery stores in downtown Libertyville during the 1950s.

Maple Tower Service Station was perhaps named for the tower-like structure at the center front of the building. Located on the northwest corner of Milwaukee and Park Avenues, this service station sold Mobile gasoline and offered a full line of automobile services including towing, motor tune-up, washing, simonizing, mobilubrication, and tire, muffler, and battery replacement. Road and "pushing" services were also advertised. In the 1950s it was operated by Ernie Lenzini.

Marion Mohr Schwerman served as a WAVE in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

The tavern pictured here at 545 N. Milwaukee Avenue was owned by John W. Lester, a respected member of the community who was also an early member of Libertyville's Volunteer Fire Department. His son-in-law Frank Walkington assisted him at the tavern and took it over upon Lester's death in 1941. John Lester had previously owned a variety store on Milwaukee Avenue. Lester was known as a big man with a big heart, generous to the children who came into his store. Next door to Lester's Tavern, Reinbach's Bakery and Delicatessen was located at 547 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Their advertising claimed that they gave "special attention to wedding and party orders."

Although the heading on this postcard says "Humboldt Court," it is erroneously labeled. This is in fact a view of Hurlburt Court looking east from Milwaukee Avenue. To further confuse the identity of this street name, Hurlburt evolved from the surname Hurlbutt, a prominent Lake County family. The Reverend Samuel Hurlbutt was the first Methodist preacher to settle in Lake County, making his home in the Diamond Lake area with his wife Diantha. An article in The Industrial News from August 14, 1909 stated, "Rev. Samuel Hurlbut [sic], a Methodist, was the first in the field, while Indians still were in the country. He preached the Gospel under the trees, on the banks of the Desplaines, in the wilderness, in 1837." Samuel's son Henry was born in 1836. Henry S. Hurlbutt was a well-known resident of Libertyville who lived on South Milwaukee Avenue in his later years. He owned considerable property in Libertyville and in other parts of the county. A life-long resident of Lake County, Henry earlier resided in Waukegan where he was a partner of M.S. Kucker in a general store business on Genesse Street. For many years Henry's wife Caroline, who also had an interest in the retail business, ran a millinery shop on the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Church Street. Hurlburt Court was named in Henry's honor; it is unclear exactly when (but perhaps not why) the name evolved to a different spelling. As early as 1907 a Libertyville map lists the street name as Hurlburt Court. Henry died at the age of 88 on February 15, 1921. His obituary and cemetery records give his name as Hurlbutt. Caroline died in November of 1936 and her obituary gives her surname as Hurlburt. However, Caroline is buried in Ivanhoe Cemetery next to Henry and her tombstone matches his with the original spelling of Hurlbutt in the family plot.

Located on School Street, Central School was originally built in 1886. It was expanded in 1906 to accommodate the growing population. Beginning in 1898 high school classes met on the second floor until they met in their own building on Brainerd and Park Avenues in 1917.

This supermarket was located on the southeast corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Hurlburt Court. The entrance to the Ben Franklin store can be seen on the right.

Unpaved Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville's main street, is quiet in this turn-of-the-century post card. The park-like setting of the property of Ansel B. Cook can be seen on the left and businesses from Libertyville's early days are on the right. Post card message reads: "Mrs. H. and I have driven over here for a spree. It all looks very familiar. X indicates the turn to Fair Grounds. Do you remember? We are having a fine time. Love to all - OWB 7-24-07."

Aerial view of Libertyville looking southeast at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Cook Street. Starting at the corner and moving south, the businesses on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue in the early 1900s were: Eli Trigg's Market and Grocery, Lovell's Drug Store, Max Kohner's Dry Goods (upstairs Dr. J. L. Taylor had an office, along with the Lake County Telephone Company and Dr. C. R. Galloway), W. C. Triggs Shoe Store, Protine Building which housed a millinery, and the Hurlburt Store. A close inspection reveals two church spires, that of the Presbyterian church at the middle left and St. Joseph's Catholic Church in the middle right. Message on the back of the post card reads: "Am 5 miles from here. Can go 3 miles by Electric. Am getting along fine. Have 29 pupils all of 'em Abe Lincolns & Clara Bartons. 10:00. Must stop & go to bed. Yours truly, Russel"

The text on the front of this postcard reads: Butler's Lake - "We went to this lake today and one day next week Uncle is going to take us to about half dozen more. Having a swell time." Butler Lake is a natural body of water fed by Bull Creek that was part of the landscape when pioneers arrived. Horace Butler was the first to purchase and farm land around much of this lake that bears his name. The Butlers were a founding family of Libertyville, arriving here in 1837. Successive generations of Butlers remained on the family estate for many years. It is not clear which directional view is featured in this postcard. The property in the foreground may be part of the Butler estate. Lake front properties were also owned by the Triggs and other Libertyville families between 1907 and 1909. In later years land at the north end of the lake was donated to build Butler Lake Park. The Works Project Administration allotted $257,000 in 1937 for the park development. Development included dredging the old lake basin and building up the shoreline, then constructing playgrounds, picnic areas and a large bathing beach. The character of the lakeshore changed again in 1953 when construction commenced on the new Libertyville High School Butler Lake building at the south end of the lake. A new eco-restoration project was started in 2005 to improve the shoreline and re-dredge the lake which had filled with sediment since the last dredging in the late 1930s.

Libertyville's A & P grocery store was located on North Milwaukee Avenue across from Cook Park. It was one of several grocery stores in downtown Libertyville.

Early view of St. Joseph's Church located on East Maple or Division Street. This brick building was built in 1905 after a 1904 fire destroyed Sts. Peter and Paul Church, the original Catholic church in Libertyville, which was located on First Street. Message on the back of the post card reads: "I am sending you a card to let you know I have not forgotten any of my new found friends! This scene is across from our house, the x marks our house. The heat here is terrible. Cannot sleep nights. Sin, F.E. Durand."

St. Joseph's Church was located on East Maple or Division Street in Libertyville. This brick building was built in 1905 after a 1904 fire destroyed Sts. Peter and Paul Church, the original Catholic church in Libertyville, which was located on First Street.

In the mid-1800s Lake Eara was a small pond known as Mud Lake and was located near an oak grove in central Lake County. Around 1906 Arthur F. Sheldon bought 600 acres of the surrounding property for his business school. He chose the location because of the beautiful "ravines and rolling hills [which] were thickly studded with trees." [A History of Lake County, Illinois by John Halsey, 1912] Improving upon nature, Mr. Sheldon built a dam, costing $15,000, which formed the spring-fed Lake Eara and the "falls" pictured on this post card. ["Eara" is most likely an anagram of the Sheldon School's slogan: Ability, Reliability, Energy and Action.] The lake, falls, and beautiful surrounding woods are now the property of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, a Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, and the lake is called St. Mary's Lake.

The Northern Chalet was a popular German-American restaurant owned and operated by Ann and Vladimir Damianow. It was located at 1760 North Milwaukee Avenue, just south of Route 137. The menu featured traditional German fare such as sauerbraten and spaetzle, but the restaurant was also known for its fine steaks and seafood in a unique country setting.

Telephone directory for Libertyville including Area and Prairie View.

Rodney Wright built this house for himself at some time in the 1950s.

Condell Memorial Hospital was built in 1928 with funds from the estate of Elizabeth Condell, who wished to build the hospital in memory of her parents. When it opened, the hospital had 25 beds. Funding for the construction of the hospital was truly a community affair, as Miss Condell stipulated that the citizens of Libertyville must raise $5000 before the hospital could be built. Community members from utilities magnate Samuel Insull to housewives contributed to the project in order to build a "hospital on the prairie." Condell has undergone many additions since then.

Telephone directory for Libertyville, including surrounding suburbs.

This sheer dress, worn over a simple chemise, belonged to Ruth Wells. Ruth wore this dress at her marriage to Warren A. Nicholas on May 25, 1914. The wedding took place at the home of Ruth's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Wells, who lived on Newberry Avenue in Libertyville. Warren was employed as a building materials salesman for Celotex Corporation and he also spent many years as a dedicated civil servant. He was a senior member of the village board, having served 33 years as a trustee. Ruth, Warren, and their two children, Warren Jr. and Edith, lived on Sunset Drive in Libertyville.

This house is from the Lewis Brothers Company, model name Cortez. The model was offered around 1917. The porch was originally open but has been enclosed during a renovation. The exterior is cedar shake siding. Another Cortez model is located in Libertyville at 422 East Lincoln Avenue.

The Libertyville Literary Society was made up of young men and women who met for social and intellectual pursuits in the 1870s. This document is a history of the organization written by one of the members. A transcription of the text of the document follows: The Libertyville Literary Society was organised Feb. 10 1872, by Mr. Henry F. Holcomb, who was president of the society up to the time of his death Ma 1872 [March 11, 1872]. He was deservedaly beloved and respected by all who knew him and his death was greatly lamented. It was thought at first that the society would break up but it has proved contrary. Mr. Miller being vice president of at the time took the chair as president of the society and other officers which I do not recollect but who served to their best ability and have always been willing to do all they could to keep the society in existence.

Snowy scene with Cook House and the Union Church spire showing through the trees. Ansel Cook's third wife Emily lived in the house until she died in 1920.

This bungalow is a mail-order house from the Lewis Manufacturing Company. The name of the model is Cortez. It was offered about 1917; this house was built in 1928. The open front porch was enclosed during a renovation. The exterior is cedar shake siding. Another Cortez model is located in Libertyville at 425 West Cook Street.

Early view of St. Joseph's Church located on East Maple. This brick building was built in 1905 after a 1904 fire destroyed Sts. Peter and Paul Church, the original Catholic church in Libertyville, which was located on First Street. Stamped on back: "W. L. Hackley, Druggist, Libertyville, Il."

Irene Belle Triggs wore this beautiful dress at her marriage to Frank Joseph Wright on October 12, 1910. The under layer of the dress is make of silk chiffon and the top layer is silk crepe with the overskirt banded in satin. The pair were married at the home of Irene's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Eli Triggs, who lived on Mechanics Grove Road (now Brainerd Avenue). Frank worked at his father's bank, Lake County National Bank, for 50 years and retired as executive vice president. Irene was a member of the Libertyville Women's Club and the Lakeside Cemetery Association auxiliary. The Wrights had one daughter, Phyllis, and lived on Elm Court in Libertyville.