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player ready...The Grove Arrival Day was celebrated March 12 at the Glenview Public Library with a lecture and celebration of the 181st anniversary of arrival of the Kennicott family at The Grove.
In 1836, John Kennicott came with his family up the Mississippi to settle in Illinois as part of the westward expansion, according to Kris VanVoorhis, Grove program supervisor.
For 20 years, the Kennicotts and their children lived in a log cabin at The Grove.
“Dr. John Kennicott was a horticulturist and the first and only physician in Northfield Township,” VanVoorhis said. “His son Robert would go on to become the first naturalist in Illinois and the founder of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.”
Organizers say that the Grove Heritage Association has retained 145 of the original approximately 250 acres owned by the Kennicotts. This living museum functions as a protected ecosystem, with sandstone trails and an ecohabitat of predominantly burr oak trees providing sanctuary for birds, butterflies and other species. A restored house originally built for the family in 1856 still stands today, and other buildings have been added to the property over the years.
Today, the GHA works to bring the history of the Kennicott family to life.
The Grove offers a number of classes and activities for visitors to learn about the daily activities of a pioneer family. Schoolchildren can visit the Kennicott house to learn to cook on a wood-burning stove, churn butter, weave on a loom or to make candles, and adults can take a blacksmithing class or attend interactive evening dinners featuring Kennicott family recipes.
The Arrival Day event included Korean translation.
Tom Miller and Joan Murphy of Glenview attended the event.
“My daughter was married at The Grove,” Murphy said. “We are also birdwatchers and we like to walk the trails, so it has been important to see this protected environment evolve over time.”
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.