Jordan Countryman is a former records coordinator for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. With an M.A. in history from Wright State University, he contributed to the District's artifact collections committee, helping to uphold best practices in public history stewardship and connecting DuPage residents to their land through its past.
Sometimes the history of a DuPage forest preserve is simply forgotten, but other times it is purposely kept secret. In the 1940s, McDowell Grove Forest Preserve in Naperville...
Most people know that “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But did you know that in 1893 Christopher Columbus took a train to Dunham Forest Preserve in Wayne?
When an 11-year-old Randy Cochran snuck into Salt Creek at night to pilfer lost golf balls at the private Elmhurst Country Club in Addison more than 50 years ago, he never...
With the passage of time, nature disguises the land’s cultural legacy, covering the marks of human impact and often protecting the past with brush and vegetation, but this can...