Sugar Grove Historical Society: About
creator: Kaitlin

Sugar Grove and the Underground Railroad
description: Sugar Grove and the Underground Railroad Hello again from the Sugar Grove Historical Society...This time of year it’s nice to remember the good in people and to be thankful for what we have. Here is a story about Sugar Grove and the Underground Railroad. It was around the 1840’s that the Kane County Anti-Slavery Association was organized. Many of the members resided in the Sugar Grove and Aurora townships. There were two routes that converged in Sugar Grove, and it was a secret among a local Sugar Grove family that they had an “active participant” right in their own home. They say the slaves that passed through the area were primarily from Missouri, although it is possible they traveled from the southern states along the Mississippi before reaching Missouri. Once they hit the Sugar Grove area, they would travel east on Prairie road which ended at that time at the farm of John Wagner, on South Lake Street in Aurora. Some slaves were directed which trail to take to stay safe and would walk at night so they were undetected. Sometimes they were given rides in wagons that had hidden compartments. Back then, there would often be a bounty on a slave of $1,000, making it a lucrative job to be a bounty hunter. It seemed to be that people who lived along the route here in the Sugar Grove area were aware of the slaves that were passing through during the night. Most Underground Railroad Station Masters felt the satisfaction of having helped slaves gain freedom far out-weighed the possibly of losing everything they possessed if they were caught. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
creator: Kaitlin

Bliss House Photo: 2010
creator: Kaitlin
date: October 17th, 2010

Bliss House Photo
creator: Kaitlin

Bliss House Photo
creator: Kaitlin

Sugar Grove Historical Society: Sign
creator: Kaitlin

Irv Ochsenschlager: Certificate of Appreciation from Sugar Grove Historical Society
subject: "Sugar Grove Historical Society, Certificate of Appreciation is awarded to Irv Ochsenschlager for his invaluable help up-dating the Sugar Grove Historical Society's Bliss House lease with the Sugar Grove Township. Thank you from all the members." Signed by President Kathleen Whildin and Secretary Sue Jacobson, December 6, 2010
creator: Kaitlin
date: December 6, 2010

Bliss House Museum with Bell from Sugar Grove Normal and Industrial School
subject: Sugar Grove School Bell, Sign installed by Danny Moore (L) and Jim Murray (R) 8-17-17
description: Old Sugar Grove school bell finds new home at Bliss House Published: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 11:39 a.m. CST By CHRIS WALKER - editorial@kcchronicle.com SUGAR GROVE – The old Sugar Grove school bell finally has a new home. Originally located at the Sugar Grove Normal and Industrial School, which opened in 1906, the bell was recently installed in front of the Bliss House. https://www.kcchronicle.com/2016/12/07/old-sugar-grove-school-bell-finds-new-home-at-bliss-house/aozmlu/?fbclid=IwAR1Dpaad-kHEh_J4vcfqJCeGVj1YvSSxk_kNMHTeMB04AcO-XuPym5g89Ss Azim & Sons, Inc., which also relocated the Bliss House from Bliss Road to where it’s now situated at 259 Main St., was hired by Sugar Grove Township to handle the project. “It’s beautiful,” said Tom Rowe, township supervisor. “It does need a sign so people understand the significance of it, and I think that will come in the spring.” The bell had been stored in the old bus barn behind the Sugar Grove Township Community Building as well as in the senior center in the Township Building for eight to 10 years before a proper home was chosen. There had been considerations to display it in front of its old home, but since those are now apartments that didn’t seem to make much sense. “We thought for a while about what we were going to do with this so we contacted the Sugar Grove Historical Society and they had some interest in it,” Rowe said. “Then it was just a matter of getting a quote and getting it done.” No restoration work was needed on the bell as it has withstood the test of time. It can still operate but it’s been installed in such a way that it will not ring. It’s unknown if the bell was installed when the school first opened, although Ruth Frantz, a long-time volunteer with the Sugar Grove Historical Society, has a picture from 1922 that shows the bell. “I’m not sure how long it had been up there prior to 1922,” she said. “I do remember them taking that down because my husband was one of those who helped take it down. You can…
creator: Lisa
date: 2016

Bliss House Sign with History of House and Museum for "The Fox Runs Through it: Tales and Trails of the Fox River Valley"
description: Sign in the front lawn at the Bliss House Museum commemorating the history of the house and the creation of the museum as the third place award winner in the 2000 Illinois Governor's Hometown Awards Program. SIGN READS: P.Y. Bliss House The 1838 Greek Revival Peleg Young Bliss House is an example of post and beam construction, which utilizes large wooden timbers joined together with wooden pegs. While this construction technique was commonly used in homes, churches, barns and covered bridges in the nineteenth century, few examples survive today. This building housed the first mercantile business in Sugar Grove Township and was later a residence and Methodist meeting house. While the P.Y. Bliss House was slated for demolition to accommodate a new housing subdivision in the 1990s, the historically- and architecturally-significant building was relocated to Main Street by the Sugar Grove Historical Society to serve as a museum. The relocation and rehabilitation project was the result of a public-private partnership between the Society and the Sugar Grove Township Board, with additional support from the Kane County Historic Preservation Commission and The Custom Source, a division of St. Paul Financial Development Corporation. In 2000, the project received third place in the Illinois Governor's Hometown Awards Program. The Fox Runs Through It: Tales and Trails of the Fox River Valley
creator: Lisa

Bliss House: "The Fox Runs Through it: Tales and Trails of the Fox River Valley"
description: As part of the "The Fox Runs Through it: Tales and Trails of the Fox River Valley", the history of the Bliss House and the creation of the museum was commemorated as the third place award winner in the 2000 Illinois Governor's Hometown Awards Program. Sign in the front lawn at the Bliss House Museum commemorating the history of the house and the creation of the museum as the third place award winner in the 2000 Illinois Governor's Hometown Awards Program. SIGN READS: P.Y. Bliss House The 1838 Greek Revival Peleg Young Bliss House is an example of post and beam construction, which utilizes large wooden timbers joined together with wooden pegs. While this construction technique was commonly used in homes, churches, barns and covered bridges in the nineteenth century, few examples survive today. This building housed the first mercantile business in Sugar Grove Township and was later a residence and Methodist meeting house. While the P.Y. Bliss House was slated for demolition to accommodate a new housing subdivision in the 1990s, the historically- and architecturally-significant building was relocated to Main Street by the Sugar Grove Historical Society to serve as a museum. The relocation and rehabilitation project was the result of a public-private partnership between the Society and the Sugar Grove Township Board, with additional support from the Kane County Historic Preservation Commission and The Custom Source, a division of St. Paul Financial Development Corporation. In 2000, the project received third place in the Illinois Governor's Hometown Awards Program. The Fox Runs Through It: Tales and Trails of the Fox River Valley
creator: Lisa

Carriage Stop from Nicholas Farm on Jericho Road: Display at Bliss House Museum
creator: Lisa

Bliss House Museum
subject: Bliss House Museum Sugar Grove Historical Society
description: If walls could talk, think of the stories the walls of the Bliss House could tell! The white frame structure with the brick filled walls stands on its new foundation south of the tracks on Main Street in Sugar Grove, filled with records and memoirs of over on hundred and seventy years. The move to Main Street in 1997 was the second move for the structure from its original site at the corner of Bliss Road and Merrill Road. It is recorded that on the 22nd day of November, 1838, the frame for the house was erected for Peleg Young Bliss (P.Y. Bliss) by a man known as “ Boss “ Read. The following spring, before the house was completed, the Methodists held their quarterly meeting in one of the rooms. On the first day of June, 1839, P.Y. Bliss filled the new building with such merchandise as was in demand by the settlers of the day, and opened the first mercantile establishment tin Sugar Grove township. The trade extended over a territory reaching from Dundee to Yorkville, and from the borders of Kane County on the east to Johnson and Shabbona Groves, DeKalb County, on the west. According to Mr. Bliss, the annual sales exceeded those of any other in the county by thousands of dollars, which was an astounding accomplishment for that day. Mr. Bliss had stated that in 1838, he rode horseback from his cabin in Sugar Grove to the county court house in Geneva, and saw nor a house nor living soul along the way. That simple statement attests to the remoteness of the area at that time, and may have sown the seed for the need of a general mercantile in the township. Most of the citizenry of Sugar Grove Township was originally of New England stock, with their roots in an area known for their strict adherence to record keeping. There were a few individuals who kept journals or at least passed their family lore on to their descendants, but much of the significant history of the township was lost when no one saw the importance of recording events in those early years. In a clipping from…
creator: Lisa
source: Sugar Grove Historical Society
date: 12-2020
rights: Sugar Grove Historical Society
format: Text
type: Bliss House Museum Text

History of Bliss House. Source: "Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois". 1878
description: On the 22nd day of November 1838, a man popularly known as “Boss” Read, who still lives in Blackberry, erected for P.Y. Bliss a frame house, which is still occupied by its original owner, on its original site. In the Spring of 1839, the Methodists held their quarterly meeting in on of its rooms, before it was quite completed; but religious exercises had been introduced into the township some time previous, the first sermon having been delivered by the devout and conscientious “Father” Clarke. On the 1st of June, 1839, Mr. Bliss filled the new building with such goods as are demanded by the country trade, and opened the first mercantile establishment in the township. Its trade extended over a territory reaching from Dundee to Yorkville, and from the borders of Kane County on the east to Johnshon’s and Shabbona groves, DeKalb County, on the west. No other store in Kane County ever drew such a wide range of custom, and according to Mr. Bliss, the annual sales exceeded those of any other in the county by thousands of dollars. In order to have exceeded the sales of any establishment by thousands, the population must have increased very rapidly during the two or three preceding years, for when, in 1837, a vote was taken for the division of Kane and DeKalb Counties, the ballot stood 170 for to 83 against the erection of the proposed new county. It is known, however, that it had increased thus rapidly, and that real estate had become proportionately dear, while in the main, other property which had been previously introduced into the settlements at a greater expense had become relatively cheaper. Source: "History of Kane County", "Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois". 1878, page 415.
creator: Logan C.
date: 1878

Sugar Grove Historical Society: Brochure
subject: Click on the image to open a PDF of the Brochure.
creator: Sugar Grove Historical Society

Rosie Eroth: Memorial Garden at Bliss House
description: The Rosie Eroth Memorial Garden at the Bliss House blooms and provides colorful accents to the garden. The garden sign is engraved "In Memory of Rosie Eroth".
creator: Tim Wilson
date: Photos taken in 2008.

Sugar Grove Historical Society: Presentation
description: Information about the Sugar Grove Historical Society from a presentation.
creator: Tim Wilson

Sugar Grove Historical Society: Hosting 3rd Grade Class from John Shields Elementary School, 2017
description: The Sugar Grove Historical Society hosted Sarah Linden's third grade class from John Shields Elementary School in 2017. Historical Society Members Sue Jacobson and Lori McCaffrey assisted and told the children stories.
creator: Tim Wilson

Bliss House Museum
subject: Bliss House Museum
description: https://www.sugargrovehistory.org/ 259 S Main St., Sugar Grove, IL 60554 The Sugar Grove Historical Society is typically open Tuesdays from 1pm to 4pm. FIRST SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH APRIL THROUGH SEPTEMBER 10AM-1PM. We are located at: 259 Main Street Sugar Grove Illinois 60554 Mail can be sent to: PO Box 102 Sugar Grove Illinois 60554 Phone: 630-383-6394 Email us at: SugarGroveHistory@att.net If walls could talk, think of the stories the walls of the Bliss House could tell! The white frame structure with the brick filled walls stands on its new foundation south of the tracks on Main Street in Sugar Grove, filled with records and memoirs of over on hundred and seventy years. The move to Main Street in 1997 was the second move for the structure from its original site at the corner of Bliss Road and Merrill Road. It is recorded that on the 22nd day of November, 1838, the frame for the house was erected for Peleg Young Bliss (P.Y. Bliss) by a man known as “ Boss “ Read. The following spring, before the house was completed, the Methodists held their quarterly meeting in one of the rooms. On the first day of June, 1839, P.Y. Bliss filled the new building with such merchandise as was in demand by the settlers of the day, and opened the first mercantile establishment tin Sugar Grove township. The trade extended over a territory reaching from Dundee to Yorkville, and from the borders of Kane County on the east to Johnson and Shabbona Groves, DeKalb County, on the west. According to Mr. Bliss, the annual sales exceeded those of any other in the county by thousands of dollars, which was an astounding accomplishment for that day. Mr. Bliss had stated that in 1838, he rode horseback from his cabin in Sugar Grove to the county court house in Geneva, and saw nor a house nor living soul along the way. That simple statement attests to the remoteness of the area at that time, and may have sown the seed for the need of a general mercantile in the township. Most of the citizenry of Suga…
creator: Tim Wilson
date: Current
rights: Sugar Grove Historical Society
format: Text
type: Text

Bliss House
subject: Front of house.

Blisswood Farms Ash Tray
description: "Blisswood Farms, Res. of P.Y. Bliss, Esq., 1847, The Sizers, Sugar Grove, Illinois"; Ceramic Ash Tray
identifier: 2005-10a (Accession Number)