Millburn is a former

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Lake Villa Township and Newport Township, Lake County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. Millburn is located at the junction of U.S. Route 45 and County Routes A10 and A14; it lies within the village of Old Mill Creek and borders Lindenhurst to the west. It is south of the Illinois-

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state border and west of

Waukegan Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its popu ...

History

Millburn Historic District 2012-09-29 18-52-21

Millburn was founded in 1837, when brothers George, Robert, and Peter Strang came from

Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to settle in

. They sought work on the

Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago ...

, under construction at the time. After working for a year, the family issued claims on territory in Lake County, then returned to Canada. In 1839, they returned to their claim with their parents, a fourth brother (Jake), and their parents. The family was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent, which lured other settlers of Scottish origin to what was then called Strang's Corners. By 1840, the First Congregational Church was founded.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
/ref> Jake, Peter, and George Strang participated in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. Jake appears to have accumulated significant wealth from it, judging by his ability to design a high-style house shortly afterward. Robert Strang remained in Millburn and opened a store in 1856. He is generally credited as the father of the settlement because he was the only one of his brothers who remained in Millburn without interruption and his store was the first in the vicinity. Robert's son John M. succeeded him in running the store.

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Richard Pantall was another early settler. He opened a general merchandise store in Millburn in 1862. Pantall was named postmaster and used his store as the town post office starting in 1864, a role it maintained until 1904. James Jamieson came from Scotland in 1859 and later served as Lake County Treasurer. The small settlement is unusual as an example of a mid-19th century rural community near

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. Although one of the roads through the village became U.S. Route 45, the village maintained its heritage. The oldest remaining buildings date back to 1856. The entire village was listed by the

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on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 18, 1979.

Buildings

Almost all of the buildings in Millburn are part of the historic district. The only exception is a house on the southeast corner of Millburn Road and Route 45. *Jake Strang House, 1856 *Robert Strang Store, 1856 *John M. Strang House, 1880 *Robert Strang House, 1867, designed by William Mavor *Pantall–Martin Store, 1862, built for Richard Pantall *James Jamieson House, c. 1868 *18980 Millburn Road, c. 1865 *Dr. David B. Taylor House, built after 1865 *Samuel Smith House, possibly 1905. The south half may date before 1858. *George L. Stewart House, 1870 *William Stewart House, date unknown *Millburn Congregational Church, moved from Oak Park in 1937. A school addition was constructed in 1968. *George Jamieson House, 1892 *2nd building north of Millburn Road on Route 45, date unknown. Some sections may date before 1860. *Arthur Johannsson Filling Station, c. 1930 *Richard Pantall House, 1868 *Edward Martin House, 1908

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Lake County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1837 establishments in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois