Lake Forest College - Forester Yearbook (Lake Forest, IL)

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v A. l -pn I . , fr ii? 2 . P, 'i T 1. -use er- fe ' 5 -'Y ef .. V -Y Q LJ A The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest If the question now is asked, l-low did it come about that There ever was such a place as Lake Forest? the stones at The Lake Forest Church may cry out and say, We can give you the answer. Then those stones, if allowed Ta speak, will Tell how when they were originally built into the structure of The Second Presbyterian Church ot Chicago, standing on The corner of Wabash Avenue and Washington Street, meeting after meeting used To be held within their walls To consider what could be done to advance Christ's interests in The North- west Through The purchase of a Town site, The erection of homes and The creation of an educational center. Here we stand, These stones may proceed to say, aT The very heart of Lake Forest. We deserve to stand here. Within us The whole idea ot Lake Forest was pondered, prayed over and de- veloped. And Then These stones may add, We look upon our history as most interesting. Previous to The great Chicago fire of 1871 people, calling us 'The Spotted Church,' and see- ing The black oil oozing out of us, used to say, 'lf ever There comes a Terrible fire, These stones will go up in smake.' But we passed Through The great tire absolutely uniniured, and Though every building about us was destroyed and all our in- terior construction was consumed, we remained as erect and sound after The Tire as before. Everybody remarked as they saw us, 'Look at the walls of The Spotted Church! ls it not amazing that those oilyx stones did not burn?' 5 Nor are those stones willing to resume their wanted silence until they have further declared, that when they were To be Taken down from the walls they were purchased Tor The pur- pose ot building a church at Winnetka, where they rernafned, near the steam railway track, Tor years, that then they were purchased again, tor the purpose of building a house on the bluff at Lake Forest lnear Mr. Alfred L. Bakers, where, atte' being dressed, they remained a few years longer: and that then they were purchased once more, This time To be worked again into a church, within which children and childrens chl- dren at the original Chicago congregation now worship, Nor can these stones be silenced until they are allowed To say one additional word, namely, 'lt was wEthin us that ai The preliminary action took place whereby a plan To buy The site ot the present Lake Forest, erect its parks, create its edu- cational institutions and organize its lite was eFTecTed .... -Pastor James G. K. McClure, History of the Presbyterian Church, 1905

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Out of The old Presbyterian Church sprang the Town of Lake Forest hS d b Chl-1fCh in 1 1 s 'Q 4

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.ivlifffili N' G ...Q Q. N 3 4 :.lf'.l 1 in V9 il' Drs. Patterson and Curtis went prospecting on all the roads leading out from Chicago, One day they came out on the North-Western Railway, and persuaded the conductor to stop and let them oft opposite where the McCormick farm now lies. They struck through to the lake, were surprised and delighted, first at the deep ravines, and even more at the high blufts on the lake front, and so located a site, The land company bought l,3OO acres, now covered by Lake Forest, and set oFl, torever, the present College, Seminary and Institute parks. The remaining acres were divided half and halt, between the University and the land company, The tovvn vvas platted and laid out by a landscape gardener that sumrner . . . -John J. Halsey History of the University The Forester, vol. l, 1892 6 A. 1 4.- Hxz WQZLJQ ' a-','Ti:w.t.i 5.6. . t if . Ski