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In the summer of 1919, a small group of visitors arrived in Sandwich with a purpose that was unusual for its time, they came not to build, but to remember.
Led in part by Mrs. James A. Patten , the group traveled through northern Illinois identifying historic sites, recording early settlements, and encouraging communities to preserve their past. Their visit to Sandwich connected local landmarks, Freeland, early cabins, churches, and collections, into something larger: a growing awareness that history itself was worth saving.
It was an early effort to document the region before its oldest stories disappeared.
THE 1919 ARTICLE
Published: The True Republican (Sycamore, Illinois)
Date: July 30, 1919
Influential Chicago people toured northern Illinois to obtain historical data and encourage communities to mark and preserve important sites.
The article records several stops in the Sandwich area:
- The George Beveridge place near the U.P. Church
- The site of the first white man’s cabin in DeKalb County
- Local historical collections assembled by H. W. Fay
The group continued on to Shabbona Grove, Princeton, and other locations tied to early settlement and Native American history.
By 1919, Sandwich’s earliest chapter was already fading into memory. The visitors focused on places that connected directly to the town’s beginnings:
Freeland / Beveridge Settlement
One of the earliest centers of activity in the area, associated with the Beveridge family and early settlement patterns north of Sandwich.
U.P. Church Vicinity
A landmark of both religious life and geographic identity in the Freeland area.
First Cabin Site (DeKalb County)
A powerful reminder of just how early organized settlement began in this region.
H. W. Fay’s Historical Collection
Already, local historian H. W. Fay was doing the work of preservation, collecting documents, artifacts, and stories that might otherwise have been lost.
WHY THIS MATTERS
This was not just a visit—it was part of a broader shift.
In 1919, communities across Illinois were beginning to realize:
History could disappear if no one recorded it.
This effort represents one of the earliest organized attempts to:
- Identify historic sites
- Preserve local memory
- Encourage community participation in history
Long before formal historical societies and museum programs became widespread, people like Fay, and visitors like Patten, were laying the groundwork.
Mrs. JAMES A. PATTEN’S ROLE
Mrs Patten, the wife of James A. Patten, often remembered as the “Wheat King,” appears here in a different light.
Not as the wife of a grain trader, but as a participant in preserving history.
Her presence in this effort connects:
- Local roots in Freeland / DeKalb County
- Later success in Chicago
- A return, of sorts, to the places where their story began
CONTINUE THE STORY
FACTS AT A GLANCE
- Date: July 30, 1919
- Source: The True Republican (Sycamore, Illinois)
- Purpose: Historical survey and preservation effort
- Key Visitor: Mrs. James A. Patten
- Local Stops:
- Beveridge place (Freeland area)
- U.P. Church vicinity
- First cabin site
- H. W. Fay collection
- Significance: Early organized effort to document and preserve local history
RESEARCH & SOURCES
- The True Republican (Sycamore, Illinois), July 30, 1919
- Patten obituary, December 1928 (The True Republican)
- Family genealogical records (Patten family lineage materials)
- Local historical context and site identifications
- Contributions and research guidance from regional historians