CRYSTAL LAKE 

Nestled in the heart of McHenry County, Crystal Lake is a thriving metropolitan centre surrounded by the beautiful scenery and lakes and rolling prairie-lands of Illinois.  

McHenry County, rich in history, back to the 1800’s when the German and Irish settlers began to make their way to this gentle land of promise, was named the fastest-growing county in the state during the 1990s. 

Crystal Lake with its diverse mix of services and vibrant community atmosphere is an outstanding place to live or operate a business. The city boasts over 2.3 million square feet of retail shopping center space, and provides nearly 12,000 jobs through a large commercial, office and industrial base. A population of 40,000, with a median household income of $54,800. 69% of Crystal Lake residents age 25 and older have college degrees. 

Crystal Lake offers a positive financial climate, with the lowest tax rate in the County for city and fire services. No municipal utility tax, no local income tax and no general business licenses are required. 

The Crystal Lake Park District operates 1,000 acres of parks, an active recreation program, a 238-acre lake, a golf learning center, and an indoor/outdoor tennis club. The city also owns an additional 700 acres to be used for future park and lake development. 

Crystal Lake is the Home of the Raue Center for the Perfoming Arts, Judith Svalander dance troupe, Premier Performances, Community Arts Council, McHenry County Youth Orchestra, Crystal Lake Community Band. 

Lakeside Festival and Gala Week, nine days beginning the last weekend in June, feature a Taste of Crystal Lake, the America’s Cardboard Cup Regatta, parade, fireworks and other lakefront activities. In August the Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Series for 15 year old players. 

Crystal Lake is within easy drive to many stunning and beautiful reserves and parks that offer a host of outdoor activities: 

Chain O'Lakes State Park featuring Boating, fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, picnic areas, nature preserve.
Located in the heart of Illinois' largest concentration of natural lakes, Chain O Lakes State Park is a water oriented recreation area with outstanding opportunities for boaters, anglers and skiers. The park borders three natural lakes - Grass, Marie and Nippersink - and the Fox River that connects the other seven lakes (Bluff, Fox, Pistakee, Channel, Petite, Catherine and Redhead) that make up the Chain. In addition, the park contains a 44-acre lake within its boundaries. 

The 2,793 acre state park and adjoining 3,230 acre conservation area are located in the northeastern corner of Illinois in both McHenry and Lake counties. The park is 60 miles northwest of Chicago, 20 miles west of Lake Michigan and only 4 miles south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. With nearly 6,500 acres of water and 488 miles of shoreline on the chain, Chain O Lakes State Park is the heart of water wonderland.
Among the popular fish available to anglers in the Chain O' Lakes are bluegill, largemouth bass, walleye, crappie, muskie, northern pike, bullhead, catfish, yellow and white bass. Due to the marshy nature of much of the park's shoreline, most fishing takes place from boats or fishing piers. 

Nature lovers will find a rich assortment of wildflowers in the spring, summer and fall
Two hundred acres of restored native prairie provide nesting habitat for grassland bird species. 

Some of the wildlife you are likely to encounter within the park are white-tailed deer, rabbits, ground squirrels, chipmunks, mink, opossum, skunks, raccoons, gophers, fox, badgers, beaver, coyotes, and groundhogs. A check-list of the nearly 200 birds that have been identified in the park is available at the park office. 

Winter sports – skating, fishing 

Moraine Hills State Park for Fishing, boating, trails. Wildlife to be seen are Red fox, coyote, mink, great blue herons, green herons, wood duck, Canada geese 

From angling to hiking, from viewing rare plants to observing migratory waterfowl, Moraine Hills State Park offers you a recreational bounty. Located in the northeast corner of Illinois, the park is 3 miles south of McHenry. McHenry Dam, on the Fox River, is on the park's western border. Roughly half of the park's 1,690 acres is composed of wetlands and lakes.  

Volo Bog was originally a deep 50-acre lake, with steep banks and poor drainage. And is significant in that it exhibits all stages of bog succession.  

For a truly unique outdoor adventure, a visit won’t disappoint you.  

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie – hunting, picnicking, wildlife watching, hiking and biking and equestrian Shawnee National Forest - The highest quality, most scenic, and ecologically diverse streams in southern Illinois are in watersheds with a large percentage of National Forest ownership. The Shawnee National Forest includes an abundance of wetlands, floodplains and riparian areas that enhance water quality. The Forest also contains many visually attractive hydrologic features including waterfalls, lakes, ponds and rocky streams.  

Northwest Chicagoland's Finest Indoor Recreational Center offers Soccer, Basketball Flag Football, Badmitten, Volleyball, and Floor Hockey.  

The Crystal Lake Public Library, first formed in 1914, was ranked #10 among public libraries serving communities of 25,000-49,999 across the United States.  

Museums abound in the 20 mile-area around Crystal Lake, covering a wide variety of subjects: Cuneo Museum and Gardens, The Dundee Township Historical Society, Lake County’s Museum –featuring regional history, Motorola’s Museum of Electronics, Fox River’s Trolley Museum, Kane County’s Railway Museum, Rolling Meadows’ Historical Museum, and the Volo antique auto Museum 

LOCATION 

Crystal Lake is on Crystal Lake. 

Crystal Lake, Illinois, located 50 miles northwest of Chicago, is a short drive from O'Hare International Airport, near several major highways and interstates. The Union Pacific rail line provides easy access to Chicago. As a result, Crystal Lake residents enjoy the many employment, cultural and recreational opportunities of a major metro city, yet live in a pleasant, friendly, small-town atmosphere 

Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County, in the Chicago metro area. The community is in the Central Standard time zone, and is in the Chicago metro area.. 

The latitude of Crystal Lake is 42.241N. The longitude is -88.316W. 

The estimated population, in 2003, was 40,021. 

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS  

Metra commuter rail and freight lines provide easy access to Chicago’s Loop. Major highways include U.S. Highway 14 and State Routes 31, 176 and 47. Randall Road is the city’s gateway to Interstate 90. 

BRIEF HISTORY 

Former names for Crystal Lake include:
· Brooklyn
· Chrystal Lake
· Crystal Lake Station
· Crystallake
· Dearborn
· North Crystal Lake
· Nunda 

The Crystal Lake area’s first European settlers, Beman and Polly Tuttle Crandall arrived in February 1836 with their six children, and discovered a sparkling clear lake, tall timber, and vast prairies. By August 1836, the U.S. government granted homestead rights to the Crandalls. An old trail, forged by the Sac and Fox tribes, extended from Fort Dearborn in Chicago to northwest Wisconsin, with the portion through Crystal Lake known as Route 14. A log cabin inn, the Lyman-King House, stood on Virginia Street near Pomeroy Avenue and served as a stage coach stop and trading post. 

The Village of Crystal Lake was platted in 1840 by Beman Crandall, Christopher Walkup, and Abner Beardsley. At the time, the surveyors determined the boundaries to be Virginia Street to the north, Lake Avenue to the south; McHenry Avenue to the east; and Dole Avenue to the west.
The Village of Nunda was established in 1855, with the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac railroad (the track is now owned by the Union Pacific), the first direct rail connection from Chicago. The train stop in the Village of Nunda established the town as the commercial hub of McHenry County. The street configuration of Crystal Lake’s present downtown reflects the railroad’s early influence. In 1856, a rail spur line (now Dole Avenue) was built from the Village of Nunda to Crystal Lake to transport ice cut from the lake to Chicago and to bring visitors from Chicago to the area. 

Many public infrastructure improvements took place in the early years of the two villages. The Chicago Telephone Company received a right-of-way in 1883. In 1884, wooden sidewalks were constructed. The water system was built in the Village of Nunda in 1899 and in the Village of Crystal Lake in 1912. The Nunda Electric Company built a plant on Walkup Avenue, south of the Union Pacific track, in 1902. Western United Gas and Electric Company began operations in 1909. The city built the wastewater treatment system on McHenry Avenue, south of Barlina Road, in 1919. Road paving became a predominant fixture in the community 1924 and 1929 with increasing use of the personal automobile.
The Village of Nunda became North Crystal Lake in 1908. Consolidation of Crystal Lake and North Crystal Lake occurred on April 28, 1914. The city of Crystal Lake Charter was adopted on September 23, 1914.
Since World War II, the population and boundaries of the city of Crystal Lake have changed dramatically. Throughout the Chicago area, people have relocated father from Chicago to places like Crystal Lake in search of more open space, less traffic, cheaper land and safer neighborhoods. 

19th-century terra cotta factories produced art objects, drainage tiles for farmers and fireproofing materials for Chicago skyscrapers
Major ancestry groups reported by Crystal Lake residents include:
· African American - 1%
· Asian - 2%
· English - 8%
· French - 2%
· German - 27%
· Irish - 16%
· Italian - 7%
· Polish - 9%
· Scottish - 1% 

In the nearby community of Oak Park, we find the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, and can explore the famous architecture of Frank Lloyed Wright -Ward W. Willits, and the Unity Temple, completed in 1907.