Fox River Grove

History

Long before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans called the land within Fox River Grove home. The Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa) people continued to winter in the Fox River Valley into the 1860s. The women traded beadwork and purses with local settlers while the men trapped muskrat and mink, selling the pelts in nearby Barrington, Illinois. The area's proximity to Northwest Highway (Route 14), a major military and trade road, enabled such commerce to thrive. The men also made fence posts for local farmers and would "spear fish at night using torches attached to the ends of their birchbark canoes." When spring came, they traveled north to their summer lands in Wisconsin. Between 1816 and 1833, the Ojibwe and U.S. governments engaged in peace talks, resulting in several land cession treaties being signed. Eventually, the federal government took control of all Ojibwe land in Illinois. The rapid increase of European-American settlers, coupled with pressures from the government and military, eventually forced this dynamic and proud people to leave the lands that would soon become the FRG and relocate west of the Mississippi River. Pioneers built homesteads in the Fox River Valley between 1830 and 1860. They were originally drawn to the area that would become Fox River Grove for its scenery and abundance of water. Some of the first settlers to call the Grove home were Czechoslovak immigrants who—by way of Chicago—established a Bohemian enclave along the Fox River. Attracted to the area for its prime fishing spots and access to 19th-century entertainment venues, Czechs built cottages among the village's hills and on the river's southern bank. In 1850, ethnic-Czech Frank Opatrny purchased of land on the southern shore of the Fox River. Considered to be the patriarch…

Geography

Fox River Grove is located primarily in McHenry County and partially in Lake County, along US 14, northwest of Chicago. It is situated on the south bank of the Fox River, which flows southwest to the Illinois River. The village of Cary is located on the north side of the river, connected to Fox River Grove by a bridge on Route 14. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Fox River Grove has a total area of , all land. Much of the Grove is located within the Fox River's floodplain. As a result, waterfront properties in the village are at risk of flooding. Seasonal rains in the spring and summer often wash over the backyards and parks that line the river, resulting in property damage, erosion, and the spreading of trash and pollutants from the river onto land. In order to stymie erosion in 2020, the village dumped loads of rocks along a 500-foot stretch of riverbank in Picnic Grove Park. Some residents voiced concern that this would destroy the silty bank used by children as a beach; however, it was determined that covering the beach with stone was a necessary move to make in order to preserve the shoreline.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  29,753
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,954
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26,895
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,875
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,583
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23,476
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,080
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,200

Largest nearby schools

• Harry D Jacobs High School
  High · Algonquin · 2,080 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Cary-Grove Community High School
  High · Cary · 1,494 students · 18:1 ratio
• Crystal Lake Central High School
  High · Crystal Lake · 1,470 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Crystal Lake South High School
  High · Crystal Lake · 1,301 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Marlowe Middle School
  Middle · Lake in the Hills · 1,191 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Prairie Ridge High School
  High · Crystal Lake · 1,140 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Hannah Beardsley Middle School
  Middle · Crystal Lake · 847 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Lundahl Middle School
  Middle · Crystal Lake · 821 students · 13.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois