Surrounded by the gently rolling hills of the Mississippi River Valley in western Illinois sits a small city on a hill. But unlike the founders of Boston who sought to create a heaven on Earth, the founders of Mt. Carroll, a Midwestern “city” on a hill, had less spiritual motives in mind.
For Mt. Carroll began in humbler circumstances, with the construction of a flour mill. Then, in 1843, it became the county seat of Carroll County. Today, with a population of only 1,700, it remains a small town with a small-town attitude content to live a small-town life.
Mt. Carroll is located about 40 miles south of its better-known neighbor, Galena. Named after Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, it has earned accolades for its many fine examples of 19th Century Midwestern architecture. Indeed, Mt. Carroll has one of the best preserved downtowns of any small Illinois town — so much so that a good portion of it is registered as a National Historic District.
The best way to get a feel for the town is to walk around its tree-lined streets. Main and Market Streets, in the heart of downtown, are referred to as the Commercial Core. “In the 1870s and 1880s a number of structures were faced with a galvanized sheet metal, designed and produced by the Mesker Brothers of St. Louis,” says one of the many historic signs that dot the streets. These decorative metal storefront facades are considered one of the finest collections of the Mesker Brothers works in the country.
The Carroll County Courthouse stands smack in the center of the town square. Built in 1858 of local stone and locally made red brick and renovated in 1976, the 130-year-old courthouse is a handsome structure and an important local landmark. A Lorado Taft sculpture of a cavalryman tops the Civil War memorial in the courthouse lawn. Along the town’s main street, Market, is another architecturally significant structure, the Glenview Hotel, which dates back to 1886. The hotel closed in 1976, and the building itself is for sale.
Mt. Carroll’s residential architecture is just as impressive. The Owen P. Miles Museum at 107 Broadway is an Italianate-style beauty built in 1873 but left vacant for 25 years and whose 13 rooms since have been converted into a local history museum. Miles was the county treasurer and a prominent local citizen.
The items on display are subtle reminders of a different era. Pocket doors lead to an old-fashioned parlor; a brass inkwell, said to have belonged to Robert Todd Lincoln, sits in the corner of one of the rooms; a handpainted child’s chair recalls a time when craftsmanship and attention to detail were considered the rule rather than the exception.
For many years, Mt. Carroll was the home of tiny Shimer College. Back in the 1850s Frances Ann Wood (later Frances Shimer) and Cinderella Gregory established Mt. Carroll Seminary. Enrollment grew, and by 1896 it was known as the Frances Shimer Academy, which was affiliated with the University of Chicago. In 1958 the now-named Shimer College became a fully accredited four-year liberal arts college. Dwindling enrollment led to hard times, though, and the college closed its doors in 1978 (Shimer is now located in Waukegan).
The former campus now houses the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies (203 E. Seminary St.; 815-244-1173), a private, non-profit organization offering programs in training for those in the fields of historic preservation, collections care and conservation of arts and artifacts. Take some time to walk around the 14-acre campus and admire its largely turn-of-the-century Georgian Revival buildings. The campus was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Self-guided tour brochures of the National Register Historic District are available from the Chamber of Commerce office on Market Streett and at local businesses.
Several attractive shops and studios line Market Street. Eagleton Glass Studio (118 W. Market St.) specializes in wall sculptures using hand-blown and kiln-fired glass techniques. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Across the street, The Gift Shop stocks crafts and assorted knickknacks, including the ubiquitous John Deere salt and pepper shakers, as well as gourmet chocolates and gift baskets.
Straddle Creek Natural Foods (112 W. Market St.) is Mt. Carroll’s outlet for health foods. Here you’ll find various jams, jars of apple butter, herbal teas, cookbooks, juices, herbs and spices sold by bulk as well as coffees and teas and even ice cream. Hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Further along Market Street, the Gilded Cage is a haven for antique hunters. You’ll never know what you may find, from old books and hairbrushes (the latter, circa 1930, go for $5) to antique postcards, a child’s iron (circa 1960) for $12, and china, vases and pewter candlesticks. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Next door is the Indigo Sky Gallery, which exhibits contemporary art.
For the sheer fun of it, spend some time at Raven’s Grin Haunted House (411 N. Carroll St.). Halloween is celebrated in this dilapidated old frame house year-round. Behind a rickety old fence lie various car parts, skeletons, shrouds, baby dolls and an Old Hudson propped up by set of bricks. House tours and hide-and-seek parties are offered. Admission is $8 per person from 7 to 11 p.m. nightly and from 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Several miles south of town is a series of buildings comprising the Oakville County School Museum Complex. The community primarily was settled by Scots and Germans in the early 1800s. The one-story, red brick Oakville Schoolhouse was built in 1888 on the site of an earlier school that was destroyed by fire. There are also two 1840s log cabins, a granary and a working replica of a blacksmith shop. The nearby pioneer cemetery contains graves of many of the earliest settlers. Adjacent is the Oakville Country Club, a 9-hole golf course.
If you visit from June through September and have an itch to see a bit of live theater, make a beeline to the Timber Lake Playhouse (815-244-2035), the oldest (1961) continuously operating summer stock theater in Illinois. Located in a rustic setting 4 miles southeast of Mt. Carroll, it specializes in comedies, musicals and drama.
A fine day outing could be spent at Mississippi Palisades State Park (815-273-2731), located near the confluence of the Apple and Mississippi Rivers and a quick 10 miles west of Mt. Carroll. The 2,500-acre park boasts steep limestone bluffs that overlook the Mississippi, deep ravines and 11 miles of hiking trails that lead from the Mississippi River flood plain to the top of the palisades. Come here to picnic, camp, boat or fish. Be sure to make your way to Lookout Point, an observation platform accessible by both car or foot, built atop the bluffs that offers marvelous views of the mighty Mississippi.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Weekend expenses for two:
Lodging (two nights) …….. $109
Meals …………………… $75
Gas …………………….. $12
Admissions ……………….. $8
Total ………………….. $204
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Mt. Carroll is about 130 miles west of Chicago. For the scenic route, take Interstate Highway 290 west to Interstate Highway 88, then go west to Interstate Highway 39. Go north to Illinois Highway 64 and then west to U.S. Highway 52 and on to Mt. Carroll.
DINING
Mt. Carroll Cafe and General Store, 314 N. Main Street, Mt. Carroll. Open 6.30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 6.30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Friday night fish fry.
Mac’s, 109 E. Carroll Street, Lanark. Open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Roundhouse atmosphere with friendly and attentive service. Specializes in seafood, steaks and pasta.
LODGING
Country Palmer House, 17035 Elizabeth Road, Mt. Carroll; 815-244-2343. This renovated farm house, built in 1911, is a few minutes from town on a two-lane country road. It has four rooms, two for $50 with shared bath, two for $75 with private bath.
The Farm Bed & Breakfast, 8239 Mill Road, Mt. Carroll (actually about 3 miles outside town); 815-244-9885. All three suites — the Barn, Cabin and Stable — come with private whirlpools, as well as patio, VCR, microwave and fridge. Rates range from $110-150. Open April-December only.
Prairie Path Guest House, 1002 N. Lowden Road, Mt. Carroll; 815-244-3462. Three rooms, two for $70 with shared bath, one for $80 with private bath. There is also porch, complete with porch swing, rattan chairs and a checkerboard. Owner Fern Stadel also runs the Prairie Path Sampler, an antiques and quilts shop behind the B&B.
Standish House, 540 W. Carroll St., Lanark; 815-493-2307 or 800-468-2307. Five rooms, one with private bath for $70, four with shared bath for $60; full breakfast.
INFORMATION
Mt. Carroll Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 94, Mt. Carroll, IL 61053; 815-244-9161.
