January 16, 2011 will mark 175 years since Kane County was formally organized as a governmental entity by an act of the Illinois General Assembly. The first county officials were elected June 4, 1836 in Geneva, in the log house of James Herrington, Kane's first sheriff. With the approach of the county's 175th anniversary in January and observances marking a string of historic "firsts" for Kane County throughout the year, there is certain to be a heightened interest in the county's roots and founding families, according to archivist Ron Rawson of the Geneva History Center.
Although there is no Kane County history center, per se, the Geneva History Center, at 113 South Third Street, over time has come to be a de facto archive and principle research center for people delving into the county's past. Due in part to its location, directly across Third Street from the county's landmark courthouse, and by virtue of the various public and private records that have come into its possession over the years, the Geneva History Center is frequently the first of many stops made by people coming in search of Kane County history, said Rawson.
From the outset, the Geneva History Center always had what Rawson described as "a keen interest in collecting." Because of the center's proximity to county government offices it has received numerous documents and records in the form of historic donations. "People just kind of gravitate here," he said. In addition to its archives, maps, books, newspapers, genealogical data, thousands of photographs and documents that are available to the public for examination - appointments are recommended for researchers - the Geneva History Center houses galleries and a museum store.
Included within the center's archives is one map, an 1838 map of Illinois, that Rawson is rare for its depiction of Kane County shortly after the county's organization. "It probably is the first map ever to show Kane County," said Rawson, noting that names like Lake, Kendall, and DeKalb Counties, were yet to appear on the state map.
As much as it has evolved into a primary resource on Kane County history, the focus of the Geneva History Center, founded in 1943, continues to be on the City of Geneva and its environs, including its role as the historic seat of government for the county. For a more comprehensive review of the county's history "you'd have to go to Elgin; you'd have to go to Aurora," among other locations, to do more specific, detailed research. "We're all independent," Rawson said of the county's many and varied history centers and museums.
Linda Eder of the Kane County Geological Society compiled this list of History Centers in the County:
Historical Societies in Kane County October 2010
Aurora Historical Society - 317 Cedar St., Aurora, IL 60506
Batavia Depot Museum/Gustafson Research Center, 155 Houston Street, Batavia, IL 60510
Big Rock Historical Society - 48W454 Hinkley Road, P.O. Box #206, Big Rock, IL 60511
Dundee Township Historical Society - 426 Highland Ave., Dundee, IL 60118
Elgin Area Historical Society - 360 Park Street, Elgin, IL 60120
Elgin Genealogical Society - P.O. Box 1418, Elgin, IL 60121-1418
Garfield Heritage Society - 3N 016 Garfield Road, P.O.Box 403, LaFox 60147-0403
Geneva History Center - 113 S. Third Street, Geneva, IL 60134
Hampshire Historical Society - c/o William Howe, 16N731 Walker Rd., Hampshire, IL 60140
Kane County Genealogical Society - P.O. Box 504, Geneva, IL 60134
Kaneville Historical Society - P.O. Box 7, Kaneville, IL 60144
Rutland Historical Society - c/o Carole Peschke, 14N005 Reinking Rd., Pingree Grove, IL 60140
St. Charles Heritage Center - 215 E. Main Street, St. Charles, IL 60174
Sugar Grove Historical Society - 254 Main Street, P.O.Box 102, Sugar Grove 60554-0102
As for historical texts about Kane County, Rawson recommends Kane County - Past and Present, published by William Le Baron in 1878, as a definitive and accurate source of information about early Kane and its pioneers. Here is a link to an online copy at Google Books. "Some of the ones that came after this were more commercially-oriented," said Rawson. Some accounts of the Kane County's early days, for example, "perpetuated the idea that (Herrington's) cabin was the first courthouse," he said. "Court proceedings were held there, and while that sounds real nice and romantic and 'pioneer,' it was not really a courthouse," said Rawson.
An examination of Kane County history will show that the man for whom the county is named, Elias Kent Kane, had never resided within its boundaries, Rawson noted. In fact, Kane was born in New York State, lived in Tennessee and moved to Illinois in his early twenties. A lawyer, Kane held write the Illinois Constitution, served as Secretary of State, was elected to the U.S. House and served Illinois in the U.S. Senate until his death in the fall of 1835.
