The Milk Pail Restaurant, formerly known as the Country Tea Room, is a historic restaurant (

tearoom A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

) in unincorporated Dundee Township, Kane County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was originally a farmhouse for Increase C. Bosworth, who operated the farm as a creamery. He sold it to

Max McGraw Max McGraw (1 February 1883 – 26 October 1964) was an American entrepreneur who founded McGraw-Edison and Centel. He financed marketing of the first domestic toaster, the Toastmaster. He was also a conservationist and hunter. Early years Ma ...

in 1926, who converted into a teahouse restaurant. To meet the demands of the changing tastes of travelers in the 1930s, the teahouse was converted into a full restaurant, featuring game from McGraw's nearby game preserve. The main building was listed 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 ...

in 1999.

History

The northern Fox River Valley was first settled in the 1830s. Originally profiting from its natural resources, the region eventually expanded into manufacturing, even earning connections to the

Chicago and North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

in Carpentersville. Increase C. Bosworth, a wealthy businessman from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, settled in the area in 1837. He purchased a property from a Mr. Clark in 1860. He constructed a farm by the 1860s that featured a farmhouse,

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

, and creamery. The house was in the gablefront style with

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

details.

Illinois State Route 25 Illinois Route 25 (IL 25) is a state route in northeast Illinois. It runs north from U.S. Route 34 in Oswego to Illinois Route 62 (Algonquin Road) in Algonquin. Illinois 25 is in length. Route description Illinois Route 25 was opened in Augus ...

was to be built in the early 20th century to serve the east side of the Fox River, running from Oswego to

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

. Bosworth's residence was located on grounds adjacent to the planned highway. Seeing an opportunity for development, Max McGraw purchased the property in 1926. McGraw was beginning to accrue great wealth in manufacturing, due to the success of his

Toastmaster Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the mid-20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arrangin ...

products. He added a single-story extension later that year. Route 25 was opened in 1929, and the Country Tea Room, like many roadside restaurants in its day, flourished. The road was an important shipment route for dairy products and provided a route for tourists seeking to visit

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 ...

to the north. Customers enjoyed toasting their own bread with McGraw's invention, and some bought Toastmasters for their own homes. When the restaurant first opened, dining options for automobile travelers were limited to picnics or fancy hotels. Roadside restaurants filled the need for other options for travelers in the 1920s and 1930s. McGraw also maintained the dairy operations of the farm until 1939. By the end of the 1930s, roadside eateries were spread throughout most major highways. To stay competitive, restaurants needed to provide variety for their patrons, to stand out from other establishments. The Country Tea Room initially struggled with this change, but was able to reinvent itself as the Milk Pail Restaurant, a full restaurant with unique entrees. Part of the property was converted into The Fin 'n Feather Catalogue, which sold smoked

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

, some of which featured on the Milk Pail menu. McGraw bought the surrounding land, named it the McGraw Wildlife Foundation, and opened it as a private game preserve. The main building was added to the

on February 25, 1999. Today, the Milk Pail remains open and is a popular local location for wedding receptions. The original building faces east while the 1926 addition faces south. The barn, creamery, and stable that once served the farm still stand to the southwest, although they have been modified throughout their existence and do not contribute to the site's historical value. A parking lot lies to the main building's north and east. The two-story house as a small one-story addition that was built before the early 1900s. The Country Tea House extension in 1926 was built on the west side of the house. The

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

, wood panel house sits on a stone foundation. A chimney is found on the north side of the building. Windows on the east and south elevations feature wooden

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

s, those on the north side do not. Asphalt

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...

adorn the roof.

References

{{reflist 1860s architecture in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois Restaurants in Illinois Houses completed in the 19th century Restaurants established in 1929 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1929 establishments in Illinois Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places