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Historic homes at your fingertips

Planning a weekend getaway? Well, there's a new resource available to assist you. A new website, www.HistoricIllinois.com, might be just the help you need. It features historic homes in Illinois and has 10 suggested tours to lead tourists from one interesting home to the next.

The site is sponsored by a newly formed group, Historic Homes of Illinois. This coalition has been working together since February of 2006 to enhance tourism in northern and central Illinois. The group was the brainchild of art historian Rolf Achilles, professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the curator of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass at Navy Pier. The first meeting of the coalition was held in February 2006 at the Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle. At the first meeting, participants decided they would begin working together by sharing brochures with each other and developing a website that would include all of the participating homes. Alan Langguth, owner of Homestead B&B in Plano, generously donated the web address to the group. Since that first meeting, the group has enjoyed visiting other sites around the state. They have met at Ellwood House in DeKalb; the David Davis Mansion and Vrooman Mansion in Bloomington; the Lovejoy Homestead in Princeton; and the Zinser House and Doctor's Office and Ruppman Home in Washington. Participants enjoy visiting each other's sites as well as comparing policies and management challenges. The purpose of the Historic Homes of Illinois Coalition is to encourage people to visit the interesting and varied historic homes within Illinois. The group includes museum/homes, B&B's, and state owned sites. The Coalition determined that working together would benefit all by promoting tourism in Illinois. To that end, all the participating sites work together to send visitors to other historic homes. Suggested tours have also been developed to help visitors plan trips including as many homes as possible. Other historic homes are encouraged to join in the coalition so that visitors will be given even more choices to enhance their travel arrangements.

Plan a trip to one or more of these fabulous historic homes in Illinois by visiting the Historic Homes of Illinois website at www.HistoricIllinois.com.

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Annual Meeting April 27-28

The 106th Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Historical Society will be held April 27-28, 2007, in the Alton area. Tours of historic Alton are scheduled, as well as visits to:

■   Lewis & Clark Historic Site, Camp DuBois (Hartford)

■   National Great Rivers Museum & Melvin Price Lock and Dam (Alton)

■  Cahokia Mounds Historic Site (Collinsville)

■   and other sites of historical interest in and around the Metro St. Louis region.

The Society's base of operation will be Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton. A block of rooms is available to Society members through March 27. For reservations call 618-786-2331. The annual Awards Luncheon is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., on Saturday, April 28, at the Lodge. For more information or to download a registration form, visit the Society's website at www.historyillinois.org.

New marker honors McHenry's first courthouse

On Sunday, November 19, 2006, fifty observers gathered in McHenry, Illinois, to dedicate the newest Illinois State Historical Society marker at The Town Club Tavern, 1401 N. Riverside Drive. This historic building, built in 1841, once housed McHenry County's first courthouse. McHenry mayor Sue Low and building owner Dan Smith unveiled the plaque with ISHS board member Redd Griffin, who chairs the Society's Historical Markers Awareness Week committee. At the dedication, Nancy Fike, Director of the McHenry County Historical Society, explained the building's significance to local history, while Griffin, a former state representative, focused on the building's importance against the backdrop of state and national history. Both asserted that the 165-year-old building was proof of the county's uninterrupted commitment to honoring democratic government. Shelly Trost, Acting Chairperson of the City of McHenry Landmark Commission, presided at the ceremony, and introduced local and state leaders including the area's State Senator Pamela J. Althoff (R -Crystal Lake).

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