Browse Items (64 total)

Built for A. B. McConnell in 1894; plaqued house; southwest corner of South and Jefferson.

The library has glass negatives of the McConnell family photos in File Cabinet 6.

A companion to 'Aerial Photo of Square Looking South' that shows the Square, this photo has Washington Street on the bottom, the Chicago Northwestern Railroad tracks above that, the Autolite manufacturing plant with the city Power Plant to the left.…

A companion to 'Aerial Photo Looking North From Railroad Tracks 1950' this aerial photo shows the Square from the railroad tracks, southwest on South Street to Woodstock High School, southeast Dean street to about Kimball, northwest to West Judd and…

5 photos in this file

The article in the incorrectly dated November 7, 1918 Woodstock Sentinel tells the story of the spontaneous celebration when the news of the Armistice in Europe was announced on November 11, 1918. These 5 photos, taken from…

B. S. Austin began his grocery in 1881 then moved into this new Kendall Block in 1883. He remained in the grocery business here until his death in 1916 when his son took over the business.
He stands to the left of his door while his son Garry…

Six identical white Buick Model 10 Runabouts (1908-1910) and one dark Buick Model C (from 1905) are lined up in front of 217 Main Street. Names listed on the back of the photo include: Frank Wattles, Charles Thorne, Ray Beardsley, Bob Sharp, Fred and…

Taken the same day as Automobile Club on Main Street 1910 (Item #59: "Automobile Club on Main Street 1910") this photo shows different buildings on the west side of Main Street. All are wood frame buildings and have been demolished and now house the…

335 N. Eastwood Drive
Botts first appears in the 1948 City Directory
Photo shows water tower and standpipe
Could be dated by the automobile and truck in front

This Medlar photo of the Courthouse and Sheriff's House is dated by the parking meters (after 1947) and the style of street lights (before 1954).
Early morning sunlight casts shadows of nearly leafless branches on the buildings.
The front entrance…

This view from Medlar Studio's window (100 Cass) shows T. J. Dacy & Co. Carriage and Implement Dealer on East Judd Street. Behind the building it is possible to see the old church (ID 50) with its steeple missing that had been sold to Dacy Brothers…

The Dacy Lumber Company purchased the Presbyterian Church on Church & Jefferson and removed the front entrance and steeple. It was used for storage.

This photo is labeled "Sight [sic] of Dacy Lumber-corner Church and Jefferson about 1920s" while…

One of the oldest known photos of the Square
John Medlar came to Woodstock in 1856; his studio was on the third story of the Hoy Block
Back of photo says "before Civil War"
"The first building from the left is the old Exchange Hotel, which stood…

Shows the east side of the Square after a snowstorm sometime before the fire of 1872. Garvis Blakeslee began his business after 1866. Whitson's & Sons Hardware and Stoves came to Woodstock in 1854. The fire of 1872 started in the Whitson's store,…

1010 Lake Avenue
Edgetown Motors automobile dealership was located at the intersection of Route 14 (now Lake Avenue) and Route 47. The signs outside and inside are all for Hudson automobiles. Edgetown became a Studebaker dealer around 1950. Note the…

110 N. Benton: Exclesior Market and part of the G. F. Stone Drug Store [112 N. Benton] also known as the Old Reliable Drug Store.

Woman seated in a buggy driving a horse and three men & a boy look on. The dirt street is lower than the sidewalk and…

Woodstock Fire Department shown with two fire trucks in front of Woodstock Opera House. The truck on the left has been dated as ca. 1936.
Photo shows original wood doors and the Fire Department lettering over the doors as well as the original…

Three fire trucks are parked in front of the Fire Department Garage on Calhoun Street. The department was moved here from the front of the Opera House when the addition was built in 1939. The two trucks on the right appear to be the same Seagrave…

Photo of two fire trucks in front of the Fire Department garage on Calhoun St. Lee Dittman is holding a respirator. The Suitcase at his feet is labelled M. S. A. Chemox Breathing Apparatus.

The fire of August 27, 1872, destroyed all of the buildings on Benton street between E. Jackson and E. Judd. This photo shows the ruins with (blurred) views of the buildings on E. Judd Street which was known as Washington Street at that time.
220 N.…

Fire August 27, 1872
The fire started by a disgruntled employee of Whitson's Hardware (124 N. Benton, now Lloyd's) and destroyed all of Benton street from E. Jackson to E. Judd. This photo was taken by Medlar, probably from his window on the upper…

Interior of the newly remodeled First National Bank (101 N. Benton). Six giant Medlar photos are displayed on the wall. Several of the photos are now displayed in City Hall.

Amcore Bank scans (in History Photos) include a photo of this interior…

The Presbyterians built a frame church on the corner of Church and Jefferson in 1848 (hence the name Church Street). In 1856 they sold the building to the German Presbyterians who moved it to Queen Anne Prairie. That same year they built this brick…

This stereoscopic of the east side of the Woodstock Square shows the square following the March 19, 1881 blizzard. Stone’s Drug Store is on the far left. The “Murphy Block” is next, then across Jackson is the “Rathole” and a glimpse of the spire of…

1023 Lake Avenue
Hicksgas was founded by Harold Hicks in 1946. This photo was taken during the same time frame as the others at this intersection, so could be as late as 1953. In addition to the propane tanks, appliances such as a refrigerator,…

This photo of the iron fountain in the center of the Square was dated as 1882 in the Centennial program in 1952. Since Modelle McCoy had the negatives at that time, the date is probably accurate.
The fountain was removed every winter and a cover…

J. Dennis Livery Feed and Sale Stable
Corner of Jefferson and E. Jackson

Photo taken inside the Opera House shows the auditorium with a standing room only crowd of men, most of whom have corncob pipes. It is unknown whether these are members of the opposition prophecying a loss, or supporters implying that the "wake" was…

Kendall Block 112 Cass
Built in 1883 by Dr. Cassinus N. Kendall dentist, the building was specifically designed to house B. S. Austin's grocery store (see photo ID 62). Austin changed the awning in 1885. Kendall died May 9, 1893.
Two frame…

This photograph was identified by Jim Keefe as being in the Joslyn Law Office. If so, it may have been taken after 1873 when the Joslyn block (110 and 112 S. Benton) was constructed after a fire destroyed the block in 1872.

Without a doubt it is…

It is the opinion of the archives crew at the Chicago and North Western Historical Society that the locomotive in the photo you sent (balloon stack) IS a C&NW locomotive but a rare one used only in northern Wisconsin and did not run down here in…

Taken from the roof of 100 Cass (Medlar's studio) but from the Benton Street side, this photo shows the buildings next to the railroad tracks on what is now East Judd Street at Jefferson Street. The building with the three-step edge on the roof is…

Another view of the great snowstorm of March 19, 1881 shows the east side of the Square. M. Blossom, jeweler, is seated on a chair perched high on a snowbank. The crew of shovelers pose to the left of the snowbank. The chair is in front of two…

"Waverly House hotel was built in 1851 by Roswell Enos. In 1854 it was purchased by Leander Church who enlarged it and gave it the name of Waverly House. Church sold it to Daniel W. Robinson who further enlarged it to the present size. The present…

Cornerstone laying of Methodist Church 201 W. South Street. The cars are lined up facing east on South Street. Throop street in the upper right hand corner shows trees that were cut down in order to widen the street for U. S. Route 14.
Side view of…

Methodist Episcopal church interior before the 1923 fire.The church was built in 1871 and burned Feb. 4, 1923. Leila Brooks Hockey is the organist and Bill Robinson is holding the book. The print is much more recent than when the photo was…

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The "Rat Hole" 101 S. Benton
The building was constructed in 1847 to provide space for additional offices for the county courthouse needed due to growth of the county. Henry M. Wait got the bid to build an "eight-foot brick building" but determining…

120 W. South Street
The old brick South Side School burned Dec. 2 1919. Photo shows burned out shell. Central School (120 W. Calhoun St.) is visible in rear as well as a house no longer standing.

The school was erected in 1866, housing first…

120 W. South StreetThis "fine brick school" was built in 1867 on South Street where the fire department addition to City Hall was located. In 1906, Central School (today's city hall) was built. This photo was taken some time before Central School was…

This photo was previously named Graduation on Central School Lawn
School children of various ages are seated in front of Central School (now City Hall) 121 W. Calhoun St.
A large number of the girls are dressed in white with white bows and some…

The South St. tunnel (culvert/viaduct) is a helicoidal or spiral stone arch. One part was completed in 1867 and the other (over the other train track) was finished in 1897.
Allen Stebbins, Chair of the Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission,…

Highway 14 looking east as the road approaches Doty Road. During a photo identification session in the 1990s, a note on the back says that there was a cemetery in the trees near the curve. This is the location of Centegra Hospital 3701 Doty…

1300 S. Eastwood
Schulhof Wholesale Plumbing Supplies is on the same site as Olson's Jobbing House which was also a wholesale plumbing supply company and which was identified in the 1951 Sentinel Ad. Shulhof first appears in the 1958 City Directory…

A Season's Greetings banner hangs over the East Jackson entrance to the square. The banner is festooned with evergreens and plowed snow blocks the sidewalk. The entrance pillars and banner frame the Courthouse and the soldier's monument. It makes a…

Taken March 19, 1881 shows the depth of the snow shoveled from the sidewalk on Cass street.
Background shows the McHenry County Courthouse as it was designed by John Van Osdol before the addition of the north and south wings.The copper crown on the…

Spring House was built in 1873 for $600 to attract visitors from Chicago. Charles Lemmers, who came to Woodstock in 1848, was the contractor. The 1937 Woodstock Sentinel said that it was in a style much in vogue at that time.
This photo is dated…

Incorrectly dated on the back of the photo "Spring House 1900-1910" this was taken around 1893.
View from Medlar Studio window at 100 Cass shows the Spring House and Square Park in the snow. Horses and wagons are tied up on the edge of the park on…

East side of Square in winter from Medlar studio vantage point. Shows Benton Street from 112 N. to 113 S.
Shows the street covered in snow with horses & buggies tied to the park fence. The Spring house is visible.
After 1899-Church Block…

Back of photo: Old Bunker Block burned 1871
This photo of the south side of the square shows the Phoenix block that would be renamed as the Bunker Block after Bunker Brothers moved their grocery, hardware and crockery business there in 1872. Their…

East side of Square taken approximately the same time as the Baseball Team 1884 Benton St. photo ID 63.
100 N. Benton J. Kendall dentist (moved in 1883)
102 N. Benton
104 N. Benton E. W. Blossom Jewelry & Watches
106 N. Benton Sign for Phoenix…

This photo of the west side of the Square in winter shows the trees slightly larger than in the photo Item #480: "West Side of Square, ca 1858" and a second fence outside the original fence. It is dated between 1866 and 1868.
After 1858 (square…
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