04/29/2026
The Chain O' Lakes State Park is situated in both unincorporated McHenry and Lake counties. The park borders three natural lakes - Grass, Marie and Nippersink - and the Fox River, which connects the other seven lakes that make up the Chain O’ Lakes. The 6,023-acre site features a mix of woodlands, prairies, and marshes plus the 44-acre Turner Lake with six miles of hiking/biking trails and eight miles of equestrian trails.
The area was inhabited by central Algonquian tribes when the French explorers arrived in the 1670s, including the Miami, Mascouten, and Potawatomi. Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were among the explorers who passed through the region.
In 1837, Merrells Stevens and his brother Alfred, came from Pennsylvania and took up claims. Alfred was the township assessor in 1850 when the original township name of Benton was changed to Burton, which he named after his son, Burton A.
The Chain O’ Lakes became a popular Chicago getaway in the late 1800s - early 1900s, with resorts and hotels emerging along the lake shores. Around 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established a camp there focusing on conservation projects like planting trees, building roads, campsites and trails, controlling erosion and more. In 1945, Illinois made its first land purchase, establishing the Chain O’ Lakes State Park, and incorporated the CCC land in 1957.
Burton A. Stevens inherited his parents' homestead, which grew to 361 acres, with 160 acres in McHenry County and 201 in Lake County. He and his wife, Frances “Alice” Stevens, (who loved to walk her dog in the woods there), had three children: Clara, Chester L, and Cora. In 1969, the State took the property by eminent domain. (Adapted from a Story by Laura Frumet - Spring Grove, IL Historian)
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