Then and Now: The Landings Condominium Airport

          O'Hare, Midway, Rockford. The Landings? Many residents of Huntley are surprised to hear that there is an airport in their small Chicago suburb. No, it is not for large passenger air crafts, but instead is for personal airplanes. Called the Landings Condominium Airport, and known as The Landings for short, it was constructed in the early 1970s by Barko Development Corp. People would purchase a share of the airport when getting their hangers, which were insulated and provided great protection for personal and collectible air crafts.  Businesses also were conducted out of some of the hangers.
          The original plan was to erect enough hangers to house 300 air crafts.  This new airport did not sit well with some of the long time residents in the area, but construction still commenced. Not all the hangers could be constructed at once, so construction was to be done in waves. By the early 1980s, the airport was able to house about 100 air crafts.  But controversy continued to follow the site. In 1980, there were two fatal crashes at The Landings. Around that time, the airport had petitioned to erect 24 more hangers, which were denied by the state. By 1982, the owners of The Landings went to court to add another 176 hangers, and to take care of another legal battle. They were again denied and no more hangers were ever added.
          Over 20 years later, the airport was once again the source of controversy. This time, however, the issues had nothing to do with any action by the airport. In the mid 2000s, ComEd was looking to expand the reliability of their electrical service by running tall metal electric lines along the south edge of the village. One issue that arose was the possible placement of the lines near the air strip, but because the airport had 99 hangers with 125 air crafts, state laws stating that no hazard could be constructed near an established airport with 20 or more planes protected the airport. ComEd had to move their poles farther away from the airport to abide by this law.
          Today, the airport still sits quietly at the back a small housing development off Powers Road. Owners still house their prized planes and other items in the hangers. And because the airport is private property, there is no trespassing.

The caption says it all. From 1981.

The Landings Airport. 04/22/2013.

Then and Now: Schuyler School District #82

          Before School District 158, one room schools dominated the countryside. In total, there were 7 one room school houses that would eventually merge with the County's first consolidated school system. One of these schools was the Schuyler school. This one room school house, known as the "Schuyler District" or District #82, was constructed around 1859 on what would become N. Union Road. Positioned on a small hill just east of the Kishwaukee River, this school would service the farm children from the surrounding area for over 40 years. Some of the early teachers for the district include Luella Stevens, Warren Smith, and Mamie Keating. Keating would be forced to teach a short time at the Kishwaukee school because in late April of 1902, lightning from a strong storm struck the Schuyler school, burning it to the ground. It would take some time to rebuild, but in 1903, a larger and more equipped schoolhouse was constructed.

          The new school measured approximately 24 feet by 36 feet, and had a six foot hall on one end leading to the main room. An "improved" furnace heated the building, and a well was located in the basement. Every effort was made to make this schoolhouse one of the finest in the county. Some of the teachers in the rebuilt school were Adeline Morris (1908-1909), Sadie Elston (1909-1910), and Frances Rushton (1910-1911). The final teacher at the school was Bernice Rehberg, who taught at the school from 1917-1920.

          In 1920, the school consolidated with Huntley School District 158, the first consolidated school district in McHenry County. Afterwards, the school became a home. At some point, the bell was removed and eventually made its way to a nearby farm. In 2005, after decades of neglect, the dilapidated structure was razed. Today, the small hill remains empty, with trees encompassing the spot where the proud school once stood.

The second Schuyler School, circa 1908 from a postcard sent by the teacher Adeline Morris

Site of Schuyler School. 04/22/2013.

Slab from a small outbuilding on the site. Most likely the small stable. 04/22/2013.

Bird's Eye View Pt. 2

          The old water tower made photographer's eyes light up with excitement. Many would climb the monument to photograph the town from above. This three part series shows a panoramic view of Huntley from about 1910.
          This view shows the heart of the town. Much of Huntley, especially its downtown, has changed drastically over 100 years.  In the foreground, the rear of the businesses on Main St. show what once was the hub of the business district.  The house at the lower right stood on the site of the eventual Pabst's Hall. This photo dates over a decade before the hall's completion in 1916.  The entire house was picked up and moved south of the site on Church St. to make way for the new brick hall. Today, the house still stands on its second site.  The second structure in from the house was Wendt's Pharmacy. This structure would later be conjoined with Pabst's Hall upon its completion.
          Across the street from these two structures was a conjoined set of two structures built on the present day town square.  At the east end of the square, Glazier had his home and harness shop, which at one point contained a restaurant in the basement, and was even a hotel. This structure later burned down, and the square was expanded to its current size. Other buildings in this photo that no longer exist are the First Congregational Church's parsonage, the Trinity Lutheran Church, the Otto Schmaltz store, and the Kelley blacksmith shop. 

From about 1910, the main homes and businesses were featured on this card.

 

Bird's Eye View Pt. 1

The old water tower made photographer's eyes light up with excitement. Many would climb the monument to photograph the town from above. This three part series shows a panoramic view of Huntley from about 1910.

          The first photo starts looking north-east.  An earlier photo taken about 1900 shows the town being much more sparse.  In the distance, water can be seen covering a large swath of land.  At one point, when the water level was high enough, the swamp would extend from Woodstock St. all the way around to Huntley/Dundee Rd!  One resident even remembers ice skating from the back door of her childhood home on Woodstock St. to the other end of town in the winter.

          An addition to the town came into fruition around 1910. Second St., originally called Newton St. or Newton Ave., began to be more heavily constructed in the period from 1910-1920.  Only a couple houses can be seen on the street in the 1900 photo (one just above the church roof to the left, the other a little to the right of that house). By about 1910, the street was more built up, creating what would be another main road in town.

         Although many structures from these two photos have not survived, thanks to whomever climbed the tall tower, their images will continue to live on.


This postcard shows the view from about 1900. Note all the water in the background. This flooded area would later become Bakley's Subdivision, with a constantly flooding Ol' Timer's Park.

About ten years later resulted in multiple changes, including the continuation of Second St.,  cosmetic changes to the IOOF hall in the foreground, and an addition to the high school.

Then and Now: Old Village Hall/ Water Tower

          An empty, green patch of grass by a volleyball court holds a story little would expect.  At Huntley's creation, there was a small street that ran parallel to the railroad tracks called Railroad St.  This street contained some of Huntley's earliest businesses. Among the buildings built along this street was the first village hall.  The exact year of construction remains a mystery, as does much of the history of the structure itself. Some history does remain, though. For instance, one of the occupants besides the village board was the early fire department. At this time, the fire department was made up of volunteers, and the fire cart was stored in this structure. To dry the hoses after use, they were hung off the water tower located behind the structure . Later another small building on Main accompanied this one for storage. In 1936, a new brick village hall was constructed on the square, and the former wood structure was subsequently razed some time later.

          Located behind the old village hall was the early wood water tower. Constructed in the late 1800s, this served as Huntley's water source for over six decades. Besides being utilized by the fire department, the water tower was a favorite spot for taking bird's eye view photos. This tower was also affectionately dubbed "Hooterville" in reference to the town in the 1960s TV show "Petticoat Junction,"which frequently featured an old wooden water tower. By late 1969, the village had decided upon replacing the aging water tower, and in the early 1970s, a new tower to serve the growing community was completed. The old tower remained intact for a period, but only shortly. By 1976 the container had been removed and all that remained was the legs and base. The decaying remnants remained until the 1990s, when the rest of the structure was finally razed.

          Of the two below black and white photos, little remains of this once important site. All that can be seen is the concrete footings for the old water tower. And like many of the old structures along this once bustling dirt road, their histories have faded into memories.

 

Old village hall, circa 1910

Site of the old Village Hall. 04/16/2013.

 

Huntley water tower, circa 1912

Remnants of the water tower. Note one of the original footing slabs at lower left. 04/16/2013.

 

 

Woodstock Street Through Postcards

          One of the most recognizable streets in Huntley is Woodstock Street. Some of Huntley's earliest and most decorated homes align this street. Before the creation of Rt. 47 in 1936, anyone passing through Huntley to Woodstock had to travel down this tree lined road. Its connection to Woodstock is the reason for its name.
          Originally a dirt road, as all in town were, it was paved with large bricks in 1917. Around the year 2000, Huntley needed to fix the deteriorating road, and the addition of newly raised curbs added to the issue. Residents fought valiantly to save the brick road and keep it from being replaced by blacktop.  After options were waged, the board decided to keep the brick road and replace any crumbling bricks with ones from Iowa City, which had bricks that were the same size and vintage.  Today the brick road remains one of the main focal points of the town.
          Being one of the most popular streets, it was only natural that many postcards exist of the street and the houses.  These postcards were created in the time before the street was paved with bricks, but with the trees and the richly designed houses, photographers still flocked to the stretch of road. Below are a sampling of views of the street between 1900 and about 1915, starting at the south end of the street and heading north.


The beginning of Woodstock St. looking north. Circa 1910.

At the base of the hill looking north. Circa 1909.

Another view of the base of the hill. Circa 1900.

The William Devine house. Circa 1912.

Nearing the top of the hill. Circa 1907

Brinkerhoff mansion, originally the Thomas S. Huntley House. Circa 1912.

 

John Weltzien house before the wrap around porch. Note the Borden's smoke stack in the background. Circa 1912.

Sad how these trees no longer exist due to disease. Circa 1912.

Near the top of the hill looking north. Circa 1912.

Looking North. Circa 1909

At the bottom of the hill approaching the curve. Circa 1909.