Round Lake's 100th Anniversary Celebration

CENTENNIAL FOOD DRIVE

2008-11-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

As part of the Village of Round Lake's Centennial Celebration, the Village would like to reach out to those who are struggling to make it through these difficult economic times. Your help is needed. A food drive will be conducted throughout the entire month of November. Please bring non- perishable food items to the Village Hall or to the Police and Public Works Building located on Townline Road. The items donated will go to the following food pantries: Calvary Presbyterian Church, Avon and Fremont Townships, and COOL. These agencies, as well as many others in our community, serve a tremendous number of families in our area. Your donation makes a difference!

We thank your for your assistance! Together we really can make a difference.

If you have questions or would like to volunteer email roundlake100@gmail.com

Ice Cream Social and Movie Night

2008-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Over 200 people joined us to celebrate the Village’s 100th birthday with an ice cream social and the showing of The Bee Movie on a giant inflatable movie screen. Some residents even arrived early enough to grill their dinner before enjoying an ice cream sundae and the movie. The event was a rousing success and the attendees donated a vast amount of food to benefit our local food pantries.

For those of you who attended the centennial committee hopes you had as much fun as we did and thank you for your generous donations.

If you missed the event, be sure to visit this website often for updated information about upcoming events, like the Founders’ Day Ball, and be sure to read your water bills and the village newsletter.

Special Thanks

2008-08-07T16:03:00.001-07:00

A special thank you to John Wondrasek of Wondrasek Creative, Inc for creating our Centennial Logo.

Ice Cream Social and Movie Night

2008-08-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's time to get your family and a blanket and head to the Public Works building at Bacon and Townline Roads. Saturday August 16th the Village will host an ice cream social and show The Bee Movie on a giant inflatable movie screen. Ice cream will be served after 7:30 pm with the movie beginning at 8:30. Be sure to bring the whole family for a night of entertainment and ice cream.

The event is free but collection boxes will be on site for non-perishable food items to be donated to a local food pantry.

Founders' Day Ball

2008-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Join the Village of Round Lake as it celebrates its 100th birthday with a Founders’ Day Ball, Saturday, September 6, 2008 at Maravela’s Banquet Facility. The black tie optional (adults only)celebration begins at 6 pm with cocktails and butler served appetizers. A sit down dinner (a petite filet and chicken breast) will be served at 7 pm. After dinner the centennial DVD will be premiered while you enjoy a scrumptious birthday cake, with dancing to follow.

Tickets are $50 per person or $450 for a table of ten and can be purchased at the village hall or by mail. For more information email roundlake100@gmail.com

Cash Bar

Vegetarian Selection Available Upon Reservation

RSVP By August 25th

Did You Know?

2008-07-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Village of Round Lake is 100 this year. Below are a few facts you may not have known about our town:

December 8, 1908 the State of Illinois recognized the incorporation of the Village of Round Lake.
School district 44 was organized in 1910. It was comprised of three districts: Gilbert School, the Mead School and Hainesville School.
The Avon Hotel was built on the east shore of Round Lake in 1900 by George Renehan.
January 7, 1909 the first village election was held. 29 votes were cast and Amarias White was elected the first Village President.
Nahum White (father of Amarias) built a dam and then a saw mill on Squaw Creek. In 1850 the smallest cut they could make out of logs was one inch.
1958 Sandra Jo Anderson was crowned the Golden Jubilee Queen
The first bank in Round Lake, The Bank of Round Lake was chartered in 1909 and voluntarily dissolved December 14, 1939.
The Bank of Round Lake was originally located in the northwest corner of Paddock’s Hardware Store.
W.A. McClintock was the first elected police magistrate.
In 1901 Armour and Company opened its ice house in Round Lake. It was said to be the largest ice house in the world and produced 100,000 tons of ice each winter.
The Ice House fire, August 19, 1917, started in six places at the same time. That is the reason it is believed to have been arson by the union workers.
The building used to house the seasonal workers is now known as Alpine Country Club.
In 1907 construction began on the Forest Glen Creamery owned and operated by the Claus Junge family.
Forest Glen Creamery opened in 1908. Early in the morning farmers would bring their eight-gallon cans to the creamery to be loaded onto the Chicago bound train.
July 12, 1910 Electricity arrives in Round Lake for the first time.
June 30, 1938 Four feet of water flooded Cedar Lake Road.
July 12, 1956 The Round Lake Area Civil Defense Tower was built.
June 14, 1974 The first Round Lake Area Park District Meeting was held.
The Round Lake fire department was formed February 14, 1912. On July 3, 1936 the Round Lake Area Fire Protection district was formed.
The Round Lake Area Library opened its doors for the first time on December 2, 1972.
The Round Lake High School R-Lettes won the US Championship on July 28, 1960.
On April 24, 1934 four men attempted to rob the Round Lake bank. Luckily the bank was equipped with bullet-proof glass on the cages, tear-gas guns, a revolver and an alarm system.
George B. Kirkpatrick was named the first postmaster on November 16, 1901.
Jack Benny visited Amann Hall on June 9, 1914.
Construction of the post office at Nippersink and Lincoln began in April, 1962. It opened in November of that year. The postmaster was Joseph Molidor.

Calendar of Events

2008-05-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Village of Round Lake Centennial Celebrations

Feb 23 - Ice House Festival 1pm – 4pm South of Village Hall

Mar 14 - Flashlight Egg Hunt 8pm Hart’s
Mar 15 Egg Hunt 11am Woods
(Collaboration with RLA Park District)

Apr 19 - Arbor Day 10am at the Village Hall

June 27 & 28 - Streets of Summer at Goodnow and Avilon Streets

Aug 5 - National Night Out

August 16th - 7:30 PM Ice Cream Social and Movie Night at the Police Department / Public Works building

Sept 6 - Founder’s Day Ball 6pm at Maravela’s in Fox Lake

November Food Drive - to support various local food pantries

Dec 5 - Tree Lighting at 6pm at the Village Hall

We are in the process of adding additional events so check back for additional events and updates

QUESTIONS? http://www.eroundlake.com/

Centennial Kick Off Celebration

2008-05-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

February 23, 2008 – The Village kicked off its centennial celebration with an Ice House Festival. The day’s activities included games for the kids, hot chocolate and cookies for everyone, as well as a story teller named Marcia Gutiérrez. Ms. Gutiérrez shared stories about the history of Round Lake including information about the Armour Ice House and its effect on the growth of Round Lake, in addition to the story of the first train station being built in Round Lake.

The festivities culminated with the completion of an ice sculpture by Nadeau's Ice Sculptures, Inc in the shape of a steam engine being completed. The Mayor and many of the trustees witnessed its completion and officially opened the year long Centennial Celebration.
Many events are scheduled throughout the year so be sure to look at the calendar for upcoming events in honor of our Village’s 100th Birthday

Round Lake Is Celebrating 100 Years

2008-04-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

In the 1890s, when officials of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad extended a branch line from their Milwaukee-Chicago main line at Libertyville Junction (later Rondout) to Janesville, Wisconsin, western Lake County farmers gained easy access to Chicago, landowners near Hainesville such as Amarias M. White knew that a railroad station would increase property values.

In a classic ploy, White offered the railroad free land in exchange for a station. He also drew up a town plat to show railroad officials that profitable traffic would come through his station site. White succeeded, and Round Lake, named after the nearby lake, not Hainesville, whose inhabitants failed to offer the railroad anything, became the area station on the "Milwaukee Road."

White's promise came true in 1901 when the Armour Company decided to harvest ice from Round Lake for their refrigerator car operations. They erected a massive ice storage building holding over 100,000 tons for shipment in spring and summer months.

In 1908 White and his partners acted to incorporate the station area. The proposed village population was too small to meet incorporation requirements, so area farmers were included in the village with the understanding that, once incorporation was successful, their farms would be disconnected. On January 7, 1909, Round Lake incorporated with White as village president. Soon after, those farmers who wished to disconnect were allowed to do so-an act which prevented present-day residents of the village from having any public access to their namesake lake.

A fire in 1917 destroyed the Armour operation in the village, although a dormitory housing winter ice cutters survived. Noticing vacation resorts which had sprung up around the lake, the Armour Company remodeled its dormitory into a rural summer retreat for company employees. The praise showered on the Round Lake environment by them helped bring a slow trickle of nonagricultural residential growth to the village.

With post-World War II expansion into the suburbs, Round Lake's Armour-era reputation as a rural refuge acted as a magnet for development. People began moving into the unincorporated area around the lake and demanding municipal services. The village of Round Lake failed to make those annexations. As a result new communities, using the words "Round Lake" in their corporate titles, arose. This resulted in a duplication of political hierarchies and village services which still exists.

Since the 1970s, Round Lake has embarked on an expansive annexation program. With ongoing development of those areas, Round Lake is expected to continue to grow.