The Chain O'Lakes, or simply "The Chain", is a waterway system in northeast

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

composed of 15 lakes connected by the Fox River and man-made channels. Encompassing more than of water, of shoreline and of river, the Chain is the busiest inland recreational waterway per acre in the United States."Fox Waterway Agency"
''Fox Waterway Agency.'' 2007. Located in Lake County and McHenry County, and being a popular

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

area for the Chicago and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

metro areas, the lakes have drawn weekend crowds of 30,000 and holiday crowds of more than 100,000 people."Chain O'Lakes."
''Antioch Chamber of Commerce.'' 2009. Chain O'Lakes State Park borders three lakes at the northwest corner of the system."Chain O'Lakes – State Park."
''

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

.'' 2009. The Fox Waterway Agency, a special local governing body, is responsible for oversight of the Chain O'Lakes.

Geography

The Chain O'Lakes is composed of ten lakes connected by the Fox River and another five lakes by small canals and channels (with limited access). ''McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.'' 2006. Of the ten lakes connected by the Fox River, three of the lakes are natural water bodies: Grass Lake, Lake Marie and Nippersink Lake. The other seven lakes connected by the Fox River are Bluff Lake, Fox Lake, Pistakee Lake, Channel Lake, Petite Lake, Lake Catherine and Redhead Lake. The remaining five lakes of the system are Duck Lake, Long Lake, Spring Lake, Dunns Lake and Brandenburg Lake. The Chain O'Lakes system begins at the Illinois/

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

border. The Fox River travels down near the border between McHenry County and Lake County in Illinois as it flows from the state border to Grass Lake, the first lake in the Chain. Grass Lake is the shallowest lake on the Chain, with an average depth of but is the third largest lake on the Chain, with an approximate area of . Pistakee Lake and Fox Lake are the two largest lakes on the Chain, each with an area of . Grass Lake directly connects to Fox Lake, and both lakes connect to Pistakee Lake through Nippersink Lake. The Fox River exits the Chain O'Lakes at the southwest corner of Pistakee Lake.

Lake sizes

The following table lists the sizes (and depths if given) of nine of the fifteen lakes on the Chain. The information provided is from the Fox Waterway Agency website.

Grass Lake

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Grass Lake was a "stretch of wild rice and lotus", with lotus beds blossoming in it that constituted over half of the total in all the lakes.Paul J. Jakstas, ''Postcard History Series: Fox Lake'' (Arcadia Publishing Co. 2006) In the early 20th century some boats, due to the shallow water and density of lotuses, had to use a pole ("poling") rather than oars ("rowing"). During the 1950s through the 1970s, much of the lotus disappeared due to human traffic but there has been a revival in recent years. There is a historical location in Grass Lake, derived from the tourists who came to see the lotus. At first, this location was known as "Rohema", but also as "Shorty's", after the owner Shorty Shobin. Shorty, however was not the only entrepreneur on the lake. Jack O' Conner owned a houseboat about 100 yards from Shorty, and one night in a card match they wagered their businesses. O'Conner won, and moved his business to the island, naming it Lotus Lodge Hotel, then Hotel Blarney, and finally, Blarney Island as it remains today.

Local communities

Several towns and cities surround the Chain O'Lakes. Although open to some interpretation, towns bordering the Chain O'Lakes include Fox Lake, Fox Lake Hills, Lake Villa,

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, Spring Grove, Pistakee Highlands, Johnsburg, Volo, McHenry and Ingleside. Central to the system is the town of Fox Lake, between Pistakee Lake and Fox Lake.

Major roads

Several major highways and state routes cross over and travel around the Chain O'Lakes. The following table lists the major roads in the Chain O'Lakes region and a brief description about the location of the route.

History

Early history

The Chain O'Lakes were formed when the

Wisconsin glacier The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

melted, leaving behind many of the lakes now present in the Fox River Valley, including those in the Chain."Fox Lake, IL"
''Encyclopedia of Chicago.'' 2005. The Chain O'Lakes region was originally inhabited by various Native American tribes. During the first European visits to the area, the central Algonquian tribes inhabited the region, including the Miami, Mascouten and Potawatomi tribes. The first European explorers to the region were French trappers and traders in the mid-17th century, including Joliet and Marquette. In the 19th century, a few Europeans began to settle the area. Included in these early settlers were the Dunnill family and Converse Marble, both of whom settled near the border between Pistakee Lake and Nippersink Lake. At that time, the only connection between the two lakes was the Fox River (commonly referred to as the "long channel").Walsh, Ray

''Fox Lake — Grant Township Area Historical Society.'' 20 January 2007. In order to benefit both of their properties, the Dunnills and Converse Marble dug by hand a new channel between the two lakes which became known as "the Cut" (most likely meaning "shortcut"). The "Cut" caused a strong current and fresher water along the east shore of Nippersink Lake. Today, the channel has become deep and wide, being heavily traveled by boaters. Until the 1880s, European settlements remained sparse in the area due to the difficulty of travel resulting from the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

areas surrounding the Chain. In the 1890s, the area started to become a popular retreat destination for Chicagoans, with many visitors traveling to the region to take boat trips to see Fox and Grass Lake's "Egyptian Lotus" beds.

Early 20th century

The Chain O'Lakes region saw a boom in development at the start of the 20th century with the introduction of the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...

railroad in 1901. The railroad crossed the Chain at its narrowest point between Pistakee Lake and Nippersink Lake, the current location of the US Route 12 crossing. A station was built near the crossing, named Nippersink Point, which would become the center of the Fox Lake community. The railroad provided effective access to the area for Chicago residents, leading to a boom in tourism. This led to the development of several new resorts, which supplemented older resorts such as the famous Mineola. However, the boom in tourism drew the attention of Lake County leaders, who ordered raids on the numerous unlicensed drinking and gambling establishments. To avoid further raids and fines from the county government, several resort leaders united, incorporating the town of Fox Lake in 1907. When it was incorporated, Fox Lake only had a few hundred residents, but its summer season population was estimated at 20,000. The new town government placed very few restraints on its resorts, with 48 liquor licenses issued just prior to

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. Even after Prohibition, enforcement was relatively low in the region, helping to draw Chicagoans interested in drinking and gambling. Given the lax alcohol enforcement laws, the region is also famous for its hosting of Prohibition-era

gangsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...

, including

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

, who owned a summer house on Bluff Lake near Antioch.Giewald, Sherry
"Antioch's hometown feel attracts residents."
''Daily Herald.'' 21 August 2009. He was also reputed to have visited the famous Mineola Hotel in Fox Lake although no formal documentation for this exists.McCoppin, Robert

''Daily Herald.'' 8 February 2005. Al Capone's major rival, George "Bugs" Moran, supplied beer and alcohol throughout the Chain O'Lakes region, with stories of him staying at a liquor partner's home on Channel Lake and being arrested at Elizabeth Cassidy's resort on Bluff Lake.Keefe, Rose. "The Man Who Got Away, The Bugs Moran Story" Cumberland House Publishing; Nashville, TN. 2005. The region saw its worst Prohibition violence on 1 June 1930, when a mob-related murder was carried out at Manning's Hotel in Fox Lake. Five people were shot with a machine gun, including members of the Druggan gang, of whom three people were killed. Occurring a year after the

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, ...

, the shooting represented the intensity of the battle to control the Chain's lucrative gambling and liquor business. The crime was never solved.

Mid-20th century to present

Following the

roaring twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...

, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

hit the area hard. The numerous resorts around the Chain closed, signaling the end of the region's heyday as a tourist destination. During this time, many of the summer cottages began to be converted to permanent residences, a trend which continued as veterans returned from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following the war, the area began to modernize, transitioning to a middle-class community. In addition to bringing in weekend vacationers, the trains now serve the growing suburban worker population who travel into Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. As of the 2000 census, the population of Fox Lake was estimated at over 9,000 people, a major growth from the few hundred permanent residents when the town was incorporated in 1907."Fox Lake Village History."
''Village of Fox Lake.'' The area now reflects a unique blend of year-round residents and summer vacationers.

Recreation

The Chain O'Lakes allows for a wide range of outdoor recreational activities, including

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, fishing,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

, swimming,

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

, and tubing."Lake Info."
''chainolakes.com'' To complement these activities are many local businesses, including numerous marinas, restaurants and bars, that serve the weekend and summer vacationers. Many of these businesses sponsor special events throughout the summer, including boat races, fishing tournaments and live musical performances. Boating

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

is unrestricted on the Chain, and there are more than 28,000 registered boats on the Chain (as of 2009). Recreational opportunities are also provided through Chain O'Lakes State Park and the adjacent conservation area. Established in 1945, Chain O'Lakes State Park includes a free boat launch and a variety of hunting, hiking and fishing areas. The park includes Turner Lake, a small lake in the park isolated from the Chain itself. Inside the park are four different trail systems, including a quarter-mile trail designed for disabled individuals and an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

trail. Chain O'Lakes State Park also offers a number of campsites and cabins available for a low nightly fee. Horse rentals and boat rentals are provided throughout the summer months. The Chain O'Lakes is a preferred destination for fishermen. Species found in the Chain O'Lakes include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

, various species of

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

, yellow bass,

grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian ...

, and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources report that approximately 10% of their annual muskellunge samples are over , 6 inches long. Northern pikes and muskellunge in the trophy class are occasionally caught on the Chain. A status of the sport fishery of the lakes regarding these fish from 1954 to 2001 can be seen here. A number of

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

have also been found to inhabit the Chain including snakehead and

zebra mussel The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...

. The Chain O'Lakes also hosts a variety of winter activities, including

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

, cross-country

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

Commerce

The Chain O'Lakes is home to hundreds of businesses including marinas, boat vendors, resorts, campgrounds, restaurants and bars. Among the most famous of these is the Blarney Island bar on Grass Lake which is only accessible by boat. The bar is built about a mile from shore on a series of pilings embedded in the shallow lake bed of Grass Lake. Although many facts about the establishment have been lost with time, local legend has it that Blarney Island evolved from a poker bet between Jack O'Connor and Shorty Shobin. In the very early 20th century, Jack and Shorty were rival businessmen on the Chain operating lotus bed tours only a hundred yards apart and the competition between the two came to a head one evening during a

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

game in which each man bet his business. Ultimately, Shorty lost the hand and his business, at which point he got up from the table and entered the backroom of the bar where he took his own life."The Story Behind The Island."
''Blarney Island.'' 2006. Sometime later, after Jack O'Connor lost his establishment to a fire, he used Shorty's location to form Blarney Island (as it was known by 1923.)Dretske, Diana

''Lake County Discovery Museum.'' 13 May 2009. The bar began a boat shuttle service to the island in 1972, started hosting live music in 1975 and started its famous boat races in 1978. It has continued to grow its business throughout the years and has become a staple destination of the region. Another well known former business on the Chain was the Mineola Resort. The Mineola Hotel was built in 1894 by Chicago businessmen and had 100 rooms. It was the largest wooden structure in Illinois and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The resort was popular with the gangsters of the 1920s and the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

stated that the Mineola was "probably the most vicious resort" in the area.Dretske, Diana
"The Era of Illegal Vices."
''Lake County Discovery Museum.'' 3 December 2009. While the Mineola Marina is still an operating business, the hotel was force-closed by a court order on 20 May 2012, due to issues with structural integrity."Daily Herald"
'Mineola Hotel to close for good Sunday, but marina will remain open' 17 May 2012