Pamela J. Losey - Cary & Fox River Grove

The towns of Cary and Fox River Grove were built by immigrants who arrived to the area with nothing but determination for a new start. Most families were of English, Scottish, and Irish decent and moved to this area mainly from New York, Connecticut, and other New England states. Many came by horse-drawn wagon, and some made the journey by sailing vessels or steamers through the Great Lakes to Chicago. Their teams of horses and oxen were brought in the boats with them, along with their household possessions and goods. In the 1840s, it took two days and one night to travel to Cary Station from Chicago by horse and buggy. Some of the original settlers in Cary and Fox River Grove were the Guy Frary, Seebert, Arps, Abbott, and Cary families and later the Lowe, Mentch, Stewart, Nish, Weaver, Greiner, Copeland, Opatrny, Cernocky, Welisek and Buresh families, to name a few.

Opened in 1856, the first general store in Cary was owned and operated by Capt. James Nish. This establishment later became Dianis Store and then Longs Department Store on West Main Street in downtown Cary. These businesses were all well known to the townsfolk of the area. At one time there was only a single telephone in Cary, and it was located in the Kerns and Smith Grocery Store. Anyone needing to make a call had to go into the store. Edwin Kerns was a prominent man in Cary.

Cary, Illinois, was named after one of its earliest settlers, William Dennison Cary. The town was incorporated in 1893. Luna Mentch was the towns first elected president, and Harry Hoaglund was the first village clerk. Among the original settlers in Fox River Grove was the Welisek family, who owned land in the area before the town was incorporated as such. The Weliseks purchased this land in 1873. Their home at the time was a one-room log cabin. Native Americans were known to come up to the homes of settlers and exchange wild game for homemade rye bread and goodies. In 1869, Frank Opatrny purchased 80 acres of land in what was later known as Fox River Grove with his wife, Anna, and their four daughters. Their son Eman Opatrny was born in 1871; interestingly, Eman spelled backward is name. Townsfolk were pioneers of their time.

ARROWHEADS. These arrowheads and others like them were discovered along the Fox River by members of the Cary-Grove Historical Society. Five tribes inhabited the areaPotawatomi, Winnebago, Fox, Sauk, and Chippewa. Recently, while the Norge Ski Jump in Fox River Grove was being renovated, a Native American grave was discovered, holding up renovations for a time.

EARLY SETTLERS. William Dennison Cary, for whom the village is named, and his wife, Lodemia (Eells), were among the earliest white settlers in the area.

WELCOME TO CARY. Young Dorothy Buresh (left) and her sister Sylvia welcome visitors to town in the 1920s. Dorothy lived in Cary until age 90, when she moved to Maryland to stay with her granddaughter. With her husband, Marvin Grump, Dorothy owned and operated the River Bend Restaurant for 17 years. (Courtesy of Leonard Buresh.)

RAISING RABBITS. By 1927, some people in Cary were raising rabbits. Leonard and Dorothy Buresh are pictured here with their pets. Leonard was born in Cary in 1919. He was a radio officer (ensign) in the U.S. Merchant Marines, spent his working years employed by Illinois Bell, and now resides in Fox River Grove. (Courtesy of Leonard Buresh.)

ETHNIC TREE. Bohemians came to Fox River Grove due to a combination of events: Their homeland was made part of Czechoslovakia after World War I, the Picnic Grove was a popular travel destination to those living in Chicago, and the countryside reminded them of their native land. Many bought vacation homes in the area and relocated to Fox River Grove permanently after the stock market crash of 1929 forced them to sell their Chicago houses. A cultural legacy lives on in families of Bohemian extraction, as seen with these three women dressed in authentic outfits at the Fox River around 1980. (Courtesy of Betty Welisek and Kathy Hartke.)

SCHOOLCHILDREN. Students are seen in front of the Cary Grade School in 1888. The boy standing front and center has a smirk on his facean atypical showing of emotion for photographs of this era.