Bliss Park in Kaneville, Illinois: Dancing Pavillion
Historic Postcards of Bliss Park in Kaneville, Illinois
Bliss Woods Forest Preserve Caretaker's House
This was the Caretaker's House for the Bliss Woods Forest Preserve located at 442 Bliss Road, Sugar Grove, Illinois. "The Chicago, Aurora & DeKalb Railway linked Sugar Grove to Aurora and DeKalb from 1902 to 1928. It started as gasoline driven cars - then went to steam and finally to electric cars. The present gate into the caretaker's residence of Bliss Woods Forest Preserve was the road bed and a stop for the passenger train." From "Sugar Grove, Illinois 1834 - 1984" by Ruth Frantz and Frank Damon. "The present path of the Virgil Gilman Nature Trail going through Bliss Woods Forest Preserve was the roadbed [for the Chicago, Aurora and DeKalb Railway.] The train had a stop in the woods." From "Sin-Qua-Sip: Sugar Grove, A History of Sugar Grove Township, Kane County, Illinois" by Patsy Mighell Paxton. "The Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary Railroad, a freight line, ran to the south of the Chicago, Aurora and DeKalb Railway. The two lines merged just north of Galena Blvd., before heading into Aurora. The entry to the [Village] Bible Church on Rte. 47 [at the location of the Bliss Woods Caretaker's House] was its road bed." From "Sin-Qua-Sip: Sugar Grove, A History of Sugar Grove Township, Kane County, Illinois" by Patsy Mighell Paxton. The Bliss Woods Caretaker's House was demolished as part of the project to widen the bridge on Bliss Road over Blackberry Creek. The resolution approving demolition was passed by the Kane County Board on June 13, 2017. The cost of the building demolition services was $23,400 plus $29,222.75 to pay for sanitary sewer disconnection.
Bliss Woods Forest Preserve, 1938 Concrete Bridge Abutments "John H. Bloomdahl, Contractor, 1938, Geneva, Illinois"
The concrete bridge abutments in Bliss Woods were poured by John H. Bloomdahl, Contractor from Geneva, Illinois in 1938 during the time that the Civilian Conservation Corps was doing work to develop natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a nearby swimming pool in Bliss Woods fed by Blackberry Creek, which is no longer in existence. Only remnants of the concrete work remain.
Grace Bliss - One of the Founders of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Grace Bliss was the wife of Jedediah Harris Bliss, who was the son of Peleg Young Bliss. Sections of the article are transcribed below. NATURE FOR ALL: How the Women of Kane County Championed a Forest Preserve District Kane County Magazine January 2025 Bertha George and Grace Bliss were alarmed. Land along the Fox River was being snatched up for private development. Farms and forests were being bulldozed for industry and housing. Open spaces were shrinking. Where were kids going to find safe places to play? Would there be clean air left to breathe? How far would a family need to travel for a pleasant Sunday picnic? The year was 1922. Bertha George, of Geneva, and Grace Bliss, of Aurora, were two of many civically minded women in Kane County in the 1920s working to improve education, health care and the environment through dozens of women-led organizations. Among the most influential of these organizations were local women's clubs. Both Bertha George and Grace Bliss served in leadership roles of these organizations. In October 1922, the Geneva Republican reported on a meeting of the Kane County Federation of Women's Club that there was "an urgent plea for a forest preserve along the beautiful Fox River before the land is entirely taken over by campers for summer resorts..." Bertha George, president of the club at the time, appointed a committee of 11 women including herself and Grace Bliss to investigate the establishment of a forest preserve district for Kane County.
July 4, 1834 Historic Marker, Bliss Woods
Standing west of the entrance to Bliss Woods Forest Preserve.
JULY 4, 1834 First celebration in Kane County was by residents of Sugar Grove township under an elm tree located on this site. Attending were brothers James, Isaacc, and Lyman Isbell, nephew Parmeno Isbell and James Carman brother-in-law of Lyman. This marker provided by Sugar Grove Historical Society and Kane County Forest Preserve Commission. From "Sugar Grove, Illinois 1834 - 1984" by Ruth Frantz and Frank Damon: "Spring of 1834 - Black Swamp, Ohio, six men happened to make camp together: Asa McDole from Chemung County, New York; brothers James and Isaac Isbell; nephew Parmeno Isbell; James Carmen; and Mr. Bishop, all from Medina, Ohio. Friendships were formed around the campfire when they discovered they all had the same destination. ... The Fourth of July 1834 was a time of real patriotism. James Isbell had gone to Oswego and gotten a bottle of whisky. All drank to 'Hail Columbia' and had a merry time. This was the first Honored National Birthday ever observed in Kane County."
Sign to Kane County Forest Preserve District, Bliss Woods
Sign: Welcome to Kane County Forest Preserve District Campground
Sugar Grove Forest Preserve Swimming Pool, Lewis H. Washburn, Aug. 14, 1938
Sugar Grove Forest Preserve Swimming Pool, David D. Washburn, Aug. 14, 1938
Looking South on Bliss Road. Campground on right side of street.
From Hollmier's back yard, looking North into Bliss Woods Forest Preserve. The garden area is Jack & Kay Morleys. Also the old railroad track goes through there, which now is the Sugar Grove Bible Church driveway onto Bliss Rd.
Kenneth McGill, Sugar Grove Swimming Hole