Chain O' Lakes

By Wendy Maston and Robin J. Kessell

The Chain O Lakes region has been one of Chicago s premier vacation spots since the 1880s. The nine major lake basins Catherine, Channel, Grass, Bluff, Marie, Fox, Nippersink, Petite, and Pistakee are all connected by the Fox River waterway and have for over 100 years been northern Illinois s leading destination for inland boaters, fishermen, picnickers, or those just hoping to relax and play at the beach. Luxurious mansions and swank resorts once dotted the more than 6,000 acres of shoreline. Many are gone today; some remain but have been vastly changed, but none are forgotten. Captured here in over 200 vintage postcards are scenes from the chain s heyday, scenes that will seem at once faraway and familiar to the water-skiers, windsurfers, and other outdoor recreationists who populate the Chain O Lakes today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jun 7, 2006
• ISBN: 9781439616802

Wendy Maston

Wendy Maston and Robin J. Kessell, sisters, grew up in Antioch on the northern edge of the vast waterway. Kessell lives there still, while Maston now resides in Fox Lake, in the heart of the chain. Both are longtime members of the Lakes Region Historical Society in Antioch.

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