The Grove National Historic Landmark
Cook County, Illinois

Now a 124-acre National Historic Landmark owned by the Glenview Park District, The Grove is a rare convergence of this region’s nature and culture – historic homestead of Dr. John Kennicott, inspiration for some of the best nature writing in this region, and lush home to a variety of ecosystems that remain virtually intact.

Kennicott, a physician, migrated with his wife from New Orleans in 1836. They bypassed the swamps of Chicago to hew a 10-room cabin beneath shady bur oaks and shagbark hickories clustered on the road to Milwaukee.

“The exceeding beauty of these scattered trees, gradually dotting the verge of the prairie...on the west side of the [Des Plaines] river, where trees are seldom found and the bold outline of ‘heavy timber’ on its eastern shore with the lovely chain of blue islands obscurely visible in the western horizon, rendered the whole landscape most truly delicious and was the principal inducement to my remaining here,” Kennicott wrote.

Visitors will enjoy exploring the Gothic Revival house, especially on Sundays from 1-4 p.m. when volunteers explain its rich history.

Dr. Kennicott surrounded the home he built in 1856 with sweeps of trillium and Jack-in-the-pulpit much like the blooms visible this spring. “The leaves of the adder’s-tongue, water-leaf, sweet cicely, Solomon’s seal and trillium now carpet the woods so densely in many places that one knows not where to tread,” wrote Donald Culross Peattie (CW, Fall 2000). In the house, visit the nooks where school children flock to cook lunch on a wood-burning stove, dip candles and churn butter, or spin and weave cloth like that once worn by Kennicott’s children. Or study at a Gothic style schoolhouse the doctor designed. Notice, too, the bursts of toothwort and bloodroot around the parking lot and along the walkway to the nearby Interpretive Center.

Before beginning the self-guided tour over more than two miles of colorful trails, pick up a map and admire the plethora of native creatures in the center. Visitors will see huge catfish, impressive gar, a tank of turtles, and a collection of snakes, including the rare fox snake, specimens of which will be released in outside dens later this year. A variety of birds are represented, including the threatened red-shouldered hawk that, like the endangered Cooper’s hawk, may be nesting in The Grove. Once outside, visitors may see or hear orioles, indigo buntings, and red-headed woodpeckers pecking savanna oaks for lunch before migrating further north.

In front of the Center, follow the wetland walk across the pond gouged by a retreating glacier to search for crisp blue flag iris, and, perhaps, a scavenging blue heron. Or, admire the diverse displays of native fish, ferns, and frogs in the wetland greenhouse beside the Center before moving east into the “back 50,” a sweep of savanna and prairie under restoration.

In 1973 a group of determined women – the “Frog and Fern Ladies,” they were called – began lobbying to save The Grove from development. They succeeded, and in 1976 the site was acquired by the Glenview Park District.

In 1999 The Grove began an extensive restoration of 110 acres of wetlands, prairie, and oak woodlands with substantial support from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Chicago Wilderness. (Perversely, Dr. John Kennicott, a noted horticulturalist as well as physician, is thought to have imported European buckthorn to these parts as an ornamental hedge plant; it is now the scourge of this region’s woods, including The Grove.) Director Steve Swanson and his staff held numerous meetings with The Grove’s neighbors and civic groups, and taught classes in the high school to explain the goals and techniques of habitat restoration. (A brochure titled “Restoring the Past...Preserving the Future” describes the project.) As a result, their work has been wildly successful – both on the ground and in the community.

Be sure to view these efforts in the “back 50,” where a hibernaculum is home to natives such as the rare Kirtland’s snake discovered by Robert Kennicott, and where bursts of spring flowers resemble those described by the Kennicotts 166 years ago: great white and prairie trillium, virginia bluebells, green dragon, toothwort, and trout lily. “There is an incredible richness in The Grove’s history,” Lorin Ottlinger, The Grove’s naturalist explained. “I love being here because I feel I’m continuing the work that began so many years ago.”

Visit The Grove soon to revel in spring flora, and return later in the summer to witness the sweeps of bee balm, goldenrod, purple coneflower, jewel weed, and scarce cardinal flower bursting with color. Visiting hours are 8.00 a.m.-4.30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9a.m.-5p.m. on weekends.

Admission, parking, and access to historical documents are free; and picnicking is permitted only at the tables to the north of the Kennicott House. Grab lunch at the nearby Jewel store on Pfingsten and Willow Roads to the northeast of The Grove.

Call (847) 299-6096 for more information. Also see The Grove Web site.

Reading About The Grove
A Prairie Grove by Donald Culross Peattie was described, upon publication in 1938, as “the biography of an American acre.” And so it is, his fictionalized account of life at The Grove, the childhood home of his wife, Louise Redfield Peattie, John Kennicott’s great granddaughter, whose own novel, American Acres, was published in 1936. See Peattie Resources (CW, Fall 2000).

Roaming Nearby
River Trail Nature Center lies a mile north of The Grove on Milwaukee Ave., overlooking the Des Plaines River. One of several county forest preserves nearby, it offers three miles of trails, a family program every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., and an exhibit of animals, including a must-see American bald eagle. On March 17 and 24, River Trail hosts maple syrup collecting demonstrations and a pancake breakfast. The Center is open from 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., March 1 to October 30 (847) 824-8360.

Another prime nature spot is the Chicago Botanic Garden, north and east of The Grove at 1000 Lake Cook Rd. Here wild nature in the form of Mary Mix McDonald Woods, the Suzanne Dixon prairie, and 24 cultivated specialty gardens intermingle on 385 acres. There’s a narrated tram tour and a café (8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.), as well as numerous seasonal exhibits, courses, and a horticulture hotline. Parking is $7.75 per car for non-members, $5.75 on Tuesdays for seniors over age 62; (847) 835-5440.

Kids will also enjoy the Kohl Children’s Museum, 165 Greenbay Rd., Wilmette, (847) 256-6056; a beehive of fun displays and myriad events. Activities hotline: (847) 251-7781, $6.00 admission; $5.00 seniors. Grownups may prefer the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College, 2600 Central Park Ave., Evanston, (847) 475-1030. Suggested admission is $5.00 adults, $2.00 children, maximum of $10.00 per family.

Foraging
The Grove is surrounded by restaurants catering to most tastes, from sushi at Ichiban’s on Willow at Pfingsten [(847) 272-9300], to sweet-sour chicken ($9.50) and spicy tofu ($7.95) at Szechwan North [(847) 272-0007] at the same location. Or try spicy shrimp ($10.95) at Empire Szechwan at Lake and Euclid [(847) 827-7777]. Steak lovers can feast on their favorites at Allgars, 2855 N. Milwaukee [(847) 480-7500], or Prime Minister, 3355 N. Milwaukee [(847) 296-4423], where prime rib is $15.00 - $39.00 for a mammoth two-pound slab. Cy’s, down the street at 1615 N. Milwaukee [(847) 298-7000], serves crab and a rib slab with fries and a side dish for $20. For ice cream head to Homer’s, 1237 Green Bay Rd., in Wilmette, (847) 251-0477. Savor moosetrack, pumpkin, or 33 other flavors of ice cream at $2 per cone.

Bedding Down
The lack of campgrounds in the area is offset by several motels on Milwaukee Ave., including a Budgetel [(847) 635-8300] at $60 per night, and The Doubletree Guest Suites [(847) 803-9800], at $120 per night, both plus tax for four people. Or try a B&B. The Margarita European Inn in Evanston [(847) 869-2273] has rooms from $75 with shared bath. The Chateau des Fleurs in Winnetka [(847) 256-7272] is more luxe at to $145, both plus tax.

Events
Garden & antique show at The Grove, May 4 and 5, 2002; $4 admission, $1.00 children under 12; (847) 299-6096.
Living history tours & pioneer life demonstrations, June 18- August 18, 2002: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., admission free. (847) 299-6096.

— Barbara Phillips