1871 Sketches of Prominent Sugar Grove Homesteads

In 1871, Thompson & Everts produced an Atlas of Kane County that included a map of Sugar Grove Township and a series of charcoal sketches of prominent early homesteads.  Each sketch depicts the period houses, barns, and structures in fine detail.  Along the bottom of each sketch is the name of the property owner and the section number in Sugar Grove Township.

The locations of the homesteads can be discerned from a map of Sugar Grove Towship drawn in 1870.  The section numbers and names of property owners are depicted on the 1870 map, and the locations of the structures are denoted by small black rectangles.

The sketches are from the 1871 Atlas of Kane County.  They were most likely commissioned by the property owners who had resources for such artwork.  The original sketches have been carefully preserved by the Sugar Grove Historical Society.

Many of the houses depicted in the 1871 sketches still stand in modern times.

PDF compilations show the sketches side-by-side with photos of the homesteads 150 years later in the year 2020 along with the current street address.

Sugar Grove is fortunate to be home to its living history.

1871 Sketches of homesteads include:

* Benjamin, L - Section 19

* Bliss, PY - Section 10

* Chapman, Henry - Section 8

* Cole, F - Section 2

* Densmore, HB - Section 14

* Fikes, George - Section 25

* George, B - Section 24

* Gillett, LH - Section 21

* Gordon & Brothers - Section 21

* Ingham, SS - Section 14

* Jones, WG - Section 22

* Judd, DC Section 16

* McDole, PS - Section 4

* McDole, R - Section 11

* Paull, CF - Section 34

* Paull, SG - Section 16

* Price, Wm - Section 5

* Seavey, Mark - Section 6

* Thompson, John - Section 6

* Crego, George - Section 5