05/25/2026
A History of Diamond Lake Chapter 5
The Diamond Lake Area Becomes a Tourist Destination
John Holcomb's son, James, was employed on the Illinois Central/Wisconsin Central and Chicago and North Western railroads. In 1885, he donated 20 acres of land to the Wisconsin Central Railroad, and a train depot was built. The Holcomb's then platted a new 300-acre subdivision in 1886 which encompassed much of what is now downtown Mundelein.
Once connected to the train system, Holcomb and the Diamond Lake community began to thrive. The Rouse family raised oats, corn, wheat, barley and cattle on a 300-acre farm. Farmers including the Rouses began shipping milk, ice and other products to the city by train.
Diamond Lake had become a very popular tourist retreat area especially after a train depot was located nearby for transport back and forth to Chicago. Landowners began to capitalize on the influx of people escaping urban areas for weekend getaways, and they opened resorts and hotels. Recreation at the lakeside resorts featured hunting, camping, swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, horseback riding, bicycling and playing croquet.
George Ray built a huge house with 19 rooms in the early 1890s. He put a sign on the main highway to advertise his new enterprise, Lakeside Cottage Resort. He charged $1.50 a day or $8 a week for boarders, which included 3 meals a day, with room and bath (a wash basin and a chamber pot).
People came to Lakeside Cottage Resort from all over, by horse and carriage, and even by bicycle to enjoy Harriet Rouse Ray's fine Sunday chicken dinners. Some later famous guests included Lt. George Patton, a young Benjamin Kubelsky (before he became performer Jack Benny) and Mrs. William Wrigley.
In 1900, Charles Tattler established a hotel and dance parlor in the prior Singer Hotel, one of the largest in southern Lake County. It tragically burned to the ground in 1901. Tattler rebuilt in 1905 and renamed it the Diamond Lake Hotel and the grounds Diamond Lake Park. It was also known as Tattler's Grove. Tattler had many misfortunes and in 1908 moved west after one of his children died in a tree-cutting accident. A. Allenbach and Company later managed the hotel, which then became Crane's Diamond Lake Health Resort and Cottages.
A key winter industry was ice cutting on Diamond Lake in the early 1900s. Once lake ice measured 12" thick, it was sold to locals and industry in Chicago. Ice was scored, cut, wrapped in straw, covered with sawdust, and stored in barns or ice houses until summer or shipped to Chicago as needed. The lake could only provide limited ice because rushes bordering the lake made getting clean ice difficult. This ice industry waned once refrigeration began after WWII.
Holcomb was renamed Rockefeller in 1885 in hopes that the Rockefellers would invest in the town. In 1909, Rockefeller officials wanted to incorporate into a Village, but residents were concerned that the local population was not enough: 400 people were required to form a village. George Ray agreed to persuade those who lived on Diamond Lake to expand the Rockefeller population within village limits to both sides of Lake Street all the way to Diamond Lake Road. In return, the Diamond Lakers gained running water and indoor bathrooms for their resort and other businesses. In 1911, they received electric service and in the 1920s sewer, and gas lines. Five months later the town was renamed Area.
Around that time the community began thriving with two grain elevators, several stores and hotels, but saloons and bars were prohibited by a provision of the deed from John Holcomb. Many laws are still on the books from the earlier days, such as no filth allowed on public streets, no driving animals on sidewalks, no dog fights or c**k fights, and no loud talking or obscene behavior on streets and public places.
In 1903, George Ray built a boat house for his two eldest sons, Will and Lloyd, so they could turn it into an enterprise. They began a refreshment stand with boat rentals right on the lake. In 1908, they upgraded to an ice cream parlor and called it The Anchor. The hotel business tapered off by 1913 and Lakeside Cottage closed in 1916 but The Anchor was a mainstay on the lake.
After that, the family built a dance pavilion next to the boat house, which was later referred to as The Ray Brothers Pavilion. During the 1920s, the Ray family hauled 50-80 people in open trucks from the train station to have picnics. They sold soda, ice cream and candy, but no liquor. People danced and boated for entertainment. On summer Saturdays, a three-piece band entertained 100 or more people.
The Whitney home was originally built in 1857, and offered "Meals at All Hours" in 1912 and most likely boarding as well.
In 1916, the Charles Bartlett family sold a portion of their land on the lake's west side to a non-profit hunting and fishing lodge. Scouts camps were popular on the South Lake shore from about 1920 to 1929. One camp called Camp Ken-Jockety, a Native American name meaning "far from the crowd" was popular during the 20s, and was likely located on the southwest lake shore between West Shore Park and Oak Terrace. It cost each scout $12 for two weeks.
The Bilinski family owned a store and lakefront property but sold it all in 1911. It later became a hunting camp with lodges until 1930 when the Hinderyckx family bought it. Belgian bricks were said to have been acquired from a 1933 World's Fair building and the family used the bricks to build Old Flanders tavern.
The Hinderyckx family also provided beachfront cottages until the 1960s. In the 1970s a small business district was built on their land just across Diamond Lake Road including a grocery store, a dime store, a pharmacy, bowling alley and beauty parlor. After the matriarch, Dorothy Hinderyckx, died in 2003, a trust company bought the land and re-developed it into an updated shopping area at Route 45.
Arthur T. Sheldon opened Sheldon School in 1910 on land that is now University of St. Mary of the Lake and Mundelein Seminary. Sheldon established a local university for building students - men and women- mentally, morally and physically. Its slogan was "Ability, Reliability, Energy and Action," or AREA. With the school's success he proposed Rockefeller be renamed Area. Since he owned 600 acres and the school brought several thousand people, the Village agreed and the name was changed in 1909. The school fell on hard times and closed in 1921.
From: Our Gem: A History and Stewardship Guide for Diamond Lake (PDF), published 2019 with Funding provided in part by the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission through a Watershed Management Board Grant. Researched and written by Tori Traustch.
