dougcat25 The fickle, fowl fall weather on Lake Michigan has claimed numerous lives over the years. One Huntley man was just such a victim. Adonijah Blanchard, an active and admired businessman, ran milk and cheese processing plants in the Huntley area as early as 1866. He also bought and sold horses, a necessity in the late 1800s. … Read more
Saturday, March 10, 2022 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Brief Program: 10:30 a.m. The Local History Department was 20 years old last November. Celebrate with us in the new Local History area at the library. Share your local history memories and stories.
Huntley’s Connection to the Iroquois Theater Fire In a small, unremarkable grave in St. Mary Cemetery in Huntley, a tragic story is buried. It is the tale of 18-year-old Mary Donahue, the granddaughter of early Huntley settler Daniel Donahue and Huntley resident Bridget Heelan. Over the Christmas holidays in 1903 Mary and a girlfriend arranged … Read more
Thomas Stillwell Huntley The village of Huntley was named for Thomas Stillwell Huntley (March 27, 1807 – May 21, 1894). Thomas Huntley and his wife, Eliza Fox Huntley, and children Charles, Harriet and William arrived in the area in 1846, having traveled weeks by wagon from upstate New York. The family settled on farm land … Read more
When you stand in Huntley’s beautiful town square park, you are standing on history. The park was designated as a public square by Thomas Stillwell Huntley, who donated the land to the town that bears his name. The earliest plat map of the village, dating to 1853, shows the town square park’s location. For more … Read more
Latimer Brothers Bike In 1897, two inventive brothers based in Huntley developed a new type of bicycle they believed would revolutionize the industry. The Latimer brothers owned and operated a mill along today’s Mill Street, east of the present-day Route 47. But the brothers had other, more creative ideas. Frank Latimer designed a new type of … Read more
A Look Back in Time: Borden’s Milk Factory Recently a new business opened in Huntley – Sew Hop’d Brewery & Taproom— in a building that was once the “Queen of the West” Borden Milk Factory (circa 1907). The building has been a milk factory, Fencil’s gasket company, and currently also houses the Union Special Machine … Read more
The Huntley Link: 200 Years of Huntley Firsts, Facts and Oddities Click here: The Huntley Link Presented by the Huntley History Research Committee: Jim Blaskey, Donna Britton Miller, Keith Mallegni, Jake Marino, Lonni Oldham, Geri Rizzo and Nancy Bacheller. The information presented in this document is to the best of our knowledge. If … Read more
One-room country schools existed in the Huntley area until the 1920s when the rural schools began consolidation with Huntley School District 158. The schools dotted the countryside, usually spaced within a three-mile walking distance of surrounding farms. Rural schools taught first through eighth grades. If students passed their Eighth Grade Exams, they attended the high school in town. … Read more
Huntley celebrated the 100th anniversary of the paving of Woodstock Street on May 6, 2017. Woodstock Street has been in existence for over 170 years. It began as a dirt path for horses and wagons and served as a rudimentary route from Woodstock to Huntley’s square. The square boasted many flourishing businesses and the train depot sat just south of … Read more