Monthly Story - 02-2025

Early Newspaper Description of Marengo, October 11, 1855

The following was taken from a newspaper article provided by Ms. Alice Wagner.

Marengo was described by a writer on October 11th, 1855 as follows: “The village of Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois, is situated in the south-east corner for the township bearing the same name. The Chicago-Galena Union Railroad passes through the northern part of the village, while Pleasant Grove, the largest and noblest of the many groves which adorn and enrich our county, skirts its southern confine. Kishwaukee Prairie lies unfolded in all its loveliness at its very feet, making a panorama of woodland, village and prairie unsurpassed in Northern Illinois for beauty. Nature has indeed been lavish with her gifts here, and the early settlers who cast their lots upon the banks of the Kishwaukee have ever boasted of possessing the ‘Garden of the County’”.