Our Lost Heritage: Earle House and Rand Mill

The Earle House and Rand Mill was unquestionably the richest historical site in the city when it was lost in 1978. Today it is largely forgotten, living on mostly in the fading memories of Des Plaines citizens angry about our squandered heritage.

Here is a list of ideal historic sites; you'll probably agree any of these are places a community would value enough to name a landmark on its own merit.

-The home of one of the village's first doctors
-The home of a leading citizen, responsible for the creation of the high school, library, parks, and forest preserves
-A beautiful Queen Anne mansion with a distinctive copper dome
-The sawmill, one of the community's oldest buildings, which created the railroad ties for the railroad that was responsible for the development and growth of the town; in effect the heart and engine of the village
-A grist mill that ground farmer's grain
-A business operated by the community's first citizen and civic leader
-A park bringing together the three things most responsible for the community's growth: the river, the train, and the highway

The Rand-Earle campus was every one of these things. Was this not a History Campus? Was this not a Riverwalk? This could have been a home run of a historic site. Instead, today we are left with The Landmark, a nice condominium with a sick joke for a name.

Dr. Earle, who could "see more with one eye than most men could with two" - thus why half his face is shaded.

Dr. C. A. Earle

Dr. Clarence A. Earle was one of Des Plaines' first renaissance men, seemingly skilled at everything he tried, and he is accordingly a popular subject in local history books. Don Johnson's 1985 book "Des Plaines, Born of the Tallgrass Prairie, tells us:

"Clarence Arthur Earle was born in Colfax, Indiana, on February 4, 1862, the son of Silas and Mary Ann Hall Earle. His father died when Clarence was only twelve years old, yet despite this damaging setback, Clarence continued his secondary education, graduating at the young age of fifteen. Soon after, he embarked on a teaching career which lasted from 1877 to 1885. Still, he had never been able to suppress his desire to become a doctor and while teaching in Iroquois County in 1882, Clarence studied medicine in the office of Dr. P. Stebbing of Kankakee. Enrollment at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago followed, and by February of 1887 Clarence had obtained his coveted medical degree.

Clarence practiced medicine both as a private practitioner and as an intern [at Cook County Hospital] until 1889, when he and his wife, Helen Pearce Earle, moved to Des Plaines. By the mid-1890s [1892] Clarence's flourishing practice enabled the family to have a spacious home constructed at the northeast corner of River Road and Miner Street.

A dedicated, talented man, Dr. Earle was, in many ways, the epitome of the storied country doctor. He was also pleasantly eccentric. Some of the city's longtime residents have stated that while answering a housecall, the good doctor would simply drive his Model-A up to the front of the patient's house and then absentmindedly jump out, leaving the car standing in the middle of the street with the engine on and the keys in the ignition. The car was destined to either sit in the street for the duration of the doctor's visit or be moved by the first person who happened along. It seems everyone in Des Plaines knew how to handle the situation.

Dr. Earle's duties as a physician were not limited to his own successful practice. He acted as a medical examiner for the Chicago and North Western Railroad, the Wisconsin Central Railroad, New York Life Insurance Company, and the Northwestern Masonic Aid Association. Dr. Earle also served as a staff physician for both the Benjamin Electric Company and St. Mary's Training School. It is a fact long known, though latterly often forgotten, that this "country doctor" was also a nationally known expert on childhood diseases [due in part to his involvement at Maryville]. Dr. Clarence A. Earle's lifetime of service came abruptly to an end when he died on October 28, 1938. He was 76 years of age."

Oh, and where did he park that Model A? In Rand Mill, which he used as a garage.

The 1916 Beaudette book described him thus:

"Dr. C. A. Earle, President of the Maine High School Board, comes from an Eastern family of talented writers. He is himself a historian whose articles are much appreciated. Due to Dr. C. A. Earle's activities and interests are most of the educational advantages of Des Plaines. He is ever ready to assist and encourage the aspiring student. Dr. Earle is an acknowledged authority on any subject upon which he condescends to write. His historical data have made him well known, in and about the country. Libraries seek him for authentic facts. He has a daughter, Miss Gladys, who is teaching school, while one of the sons, Walter, is taking a pre-medic course at the Chicago University. Walter is a member of the "varsity" swimming team and took "first" in the inter-department contests last spring. Percy is finishing his high school course at the Maine and is an athlete. The oldest son, Norman, is in the Naval Service. The examinations both physically and mentally at West Point are known to be the most rigorous of any. Mr. Norman Earle gained a record at West Point of ranking
as second in general scholarship.

Dr. Earle possesses one of the finest historical literary collections in this vicinity, which he continually is increasing."

Dr. Earle earned that position in part for his work pushing for a high school to be built in Des Plaines in 1902. Earle Field, across Thacker Street, was then named for him; Central School sits there now. As an avid teetotaler, Earle Field came with the provision that alcohol never be served there.

In the same book, Earle was credited as the driving force behind the creation of the Des Plaines Public Library. The persistent Earle argued for a library for the populace of Des Plaines, a ”largely foreign sturdy industrious people who are just learning the value of an education.”

"Des Plaines Public Library is a valuable educational asset for the community. Its existence is due largely to the untiring efforts of Dr. C. A. Earle.

With a courage born of conviction that Des Plaines needed a public library, Dr. C. A. Earle, one of our most aggressive citizens, spared neither time nor energy to awaken the public to a sense of that need.

Although Carnegie Libraries were not ordinarily established in villages of this size, Dr. Earle won Mr. Carnegie's interest as well as that of the community and on May 2, 1906, the first library board was organized."

A 2007 Daily Herald article described his contributions: "Then in 1905, 50 voters in the town that then held 1,666 residents placed the issue of establishing a free public library and a tax to support it on the ballot. On April 18, the voters approved the referendum and the village board unanimously resolved to provide $500 per year every year thereafter to maintain the library.

But even before residents decided in the library's favor, Earle was writing to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, asking him to fund its establishment.

"In February of 1904, Dr. Earle received a discouraging letter from Carnegie's personal secretary, informing him that his request ... was out of the question because Des Plaines was too small a community," said Sandra Norlin, the library's present executive director.

"Undaunted, but polite, Dr. Earle responded. He described Des Plaines as a rural village of 'largely foreign, sturdy, industrious people who are just learning the value of an education,' and, therefore, worthy of consideration," she added.

Earle received a form to fill out, but no encouragement. However, after two years and several more letters, Carnegie finally agreed.

"The commitment by Carnegie and the village's officials allowed the library to become one of many civic improvements -- including new schools, parks, sewers, lights and gas -- to create a community that would, according to Dr. Earle , 'stand without a peer among the villages to the northwest of Chicago'," Norlin said. "

Earle was perhaps the first local historian, writing many articles on history for newspapers and the Des Plaines Historical Quarterly, including one on the origins of the name "Des Plaines". Don Johnson's 1985 book tells us that "Only through his exhaustive research was the pioneer history of Des Plaines preserved for posterity." He descibed his work, saying "To me the collecting of early local history has been an intriguing pastime. I have unearthed interesting records from old attic trunks, from boxes in the lofts of outhouses, corn cribs and garages. In the quest for early local history, the word 'failure' does not exist." He tracked down the Conant Diary, kept by early settler Augustus Conant, the first man to be legally married in Maine Township in 1836, which is one of the key documents of the early history of Des Plaines. The diary was found mouldering in a Rockford garage.

An absolutely tireless progressive, Earle was a vocal advocate for creating the Forest Preserve system in 1910, which he saw as a way to protect rapidly dwindling native species. In 1913 he moved onto drafting enabling legislation for parks in small towns. In 1919 he and other local leaders met and founded the park district. In 1920 he was elected police magistrate.

And of course Earle was an important doctor; he was a member of the Chicago Medical Society and was well known for his work in preventive medicine, scarlet fever, and diphtheria. In his spare time, he was active in the Lions Club, Boy Scouts, and botany.


How fitting it was for such a prominent citizen and historian to build a prominent house on a historic site! The Earle house, built in 1892, was a Queen Anne gem, complete with a copper domed belvedere. Earle couldn't have picked a more prominent or historic site if he had tried; the very nexus of the factors that allowed Des Plaines to exist. The corner of Miner and Rand Road brought together the river, which had attracted the Native Americans to the site, the railroad, which allowed Chicago to prosper, and the roads, which would grow into highways and bring Des Plaines into the mid-20th century. Des Plaines exists largely because it brings together so many modes of transportation; what site could better express that?

Socrates Rand
"Squire" Socrates Rand is often thought of as the "father of Des Plaines" because he was among its first officials and led many of the major improvements that brought the town of Des Plaines into being out of a collection of farms. Among his many accomplishments, he laid out the route following a Native American trail for Rand Road, the principal northwestern road and United States Mail Route in 1845. He operated the first hotel. Later he served as supervisor and overseer of highways and bridges. He served as town treasurer for 20 years. Much later, Rand Park would be named for him. These are just a few of his achievements; let's take a look at the timeline of his life to better understand

1804 - Born in Franklin County, Massachusetts, working on his father's farm and Mill. Was a timber dealer and shipbuilder there and built harbors throughout NY. He attended territorial councils there, where some men told him to go to Chicago. He came to Chicago to work on the harbor in 1834 and bought 320 acres in Des Plaines the next year. He hired a well-to-do man to settle on land west of the river, which induced a band of Germans to settle there. These settlers became supporters of Rand's road building projects.
1835 - Settled on west bank; elected justice of the peace
1836 - Performed first marriage in what would become Maine Township
1837 - Opened home for Episcopal services
1838 - First school in his cheese room, taught by Harriet Rand with about 15 students
1850 - Township of Maine organized; Rand served as moderator at first meeting April 2, 1850
1850 - Married Fanny Wicker
1851 - Postmaster
1851-1852 - Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad builds sawmill with timber donated by Rand; Rand given contract to grade 4 miles of railroad between Norwood Park and Des Plaines
1854 - Job completed, the derelict mill is sold to Rand. Unable to sell the engine, he continues operating itself
1854 - First trains run
1857 - First subdivision of Maine Township, by the Illinois & Wisconsin Land Company, named "Town of Rand" for him. Des Plaines as we know it would grow around this subdivision. Residents would have considered themselves a resident of the Town of Maine, however; Town of Rand was just a name on a plat.
1860 - Provided land for first Methodist Campground, which remained at this location until 1865.
1866 - Sells farmland at corner of Miner and Lee
1868 - Donated timber for German Lutheran Church
1869 - Renamed Des Plaines to match Railroad station, which in turn was named for the river, important for filling up its tank for steam.
1876 - Moved to Chicago
1890 - Died Feb 20
1895 - Widow bought and built house where Des Plaines Theatre now stands

The Rand Mill
The property was first owned by the Thacker family, and in 1851 the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad company purchased it and quickly erected a sawmill to cut ties for the railroad they were extending from Jefferson Park to Crystal Lake. Although it was on the river, it wasn't hydraulically powered - no water wheel here. The railroad job complete, they sold the mill to Socrates Rand in 1854, since he had worked for the railroad and its associated land development company. Unable to sell the engine, Rand continued to operate it as a saw mill until 1861, when he converted it into a grist mill for farmers to grind their grain; grist mills were de facto centers of the community. The mill closed in 1875.

Later, his grandson Robert Dooley, son of Earle's daughter Gladys, would recognize that history, boasting in an ad in 1960's Centi-Quad-O-Rama, "It was with a sense of historic destiny that Robert chose the firm's present location on Des Plaines' 125th Anniversary directly behind the home of his grandfather, Dr. Clarence Earle, one of the city's early historians whose writings furnish the basis for most of the background information available on Des Plaines. The old Earle residence was built on the original site of Rand's Mill, the community's first business and oldest landmark."

By 1970, though, Dooley had changed his tune and sought to have the Mill site rezoned for two four-story apartment buildings. Ironically, Dooley cited the nearby forest preserve - the forest preserve Earle had been responsible for creating - as a factor that would make the site good for apartments. The fledgling Des Plaines Historical Society, then headed by firefighter David Wolf, fought to preserve the Mill. Since the city government was overwhelmingly in favor of rezoning for apartments, the Historical Society fought to preserve it as much as possible; including exploration of moving it to the park next to River Road at Ashland. Neither the move nor the apartments came to pass.

There was talk of moving the Des Plaines Historical Society to the Earle House instead of moving the Kinder House. By 1974, the Bicentennial Commission, then headed by Wolf, was looking at lasting projects to commemorate the nation's bicentennial; the three ideas were: turning the old city hall into a "heritage hall" that could be used by senior citizens, youth groups and for a public information center; a bicentennial park; or preserving the Earle House and Mill. None of these came to pass. Wolf even included this plan in his platform during his unsuccessful run for mayor in 1977.
In March, 1978, after Mayor Herb Volberding refused to issue a demolition permit, Dooley said that he would demolish the mill unless the city paid him $1 million. He did not base this figure on any appraisal; this was simply his demand. He also claimed that the idea of rezoning the parcel for historic preservation was not a sincere attempt to preserve the property, but part of a long campaign by the city to harass him. He sought to demolish it saying that its deteriorating state had prevented him from receiving insurance for the past five years and wanted to develop the land eventually. He did not have anything to say about why he allowed it to deteriorate to that point. On April 3, the city council voted on a two-week demolition delay, and the Landmark Commission planned a hearing for May 24. Dooley lowered his demand price to $575,000 with the conditions that it be used only for a museum and/or park with prohibition of alcohol (in accordance with Dr. Earle's wishes) and a hearing to discuss the offer was scheduled for May 16; a hearing for National Register status was scheduled for June 15.

Then on May 14, tragedy struck. A fire broke out in a second floor bedroom of the Earle House, which had been converted into five apartments, and was believed to be caused by an overloaded electrical socket. There was no indication of arson. The fire burned for an hour and caused $50,000 in damage, which wasn't covered by insurance. Damage was mostly contained to the second floor and wasn't considered a total loss, but the 22(!) people living there were left without a home. Dooley hadn't sought to demolish the home, since the rental income was paying the taxes. Dooley withdrew the $575,000 offer and the home and mill were soon demolished.

As a coda to the story, suitcases and trunks filled with letters and documents that had been collected by Earle were discovered in the charred attic, along with collections of antique tools and medical instruments. They were salvaged by Robert Albrecht, who had demolished the house. Albrecht was disappointed that nobody had discovered the treasure before the house burned; he estimated that only a third was salvagable. Dooley said he didn't want the "junk" unless it was worth something. Albrecht planned to donate the collection to the Des Plaines Historical Society on July 4, 1980, but Dooley then demanded their return; Albrecht feared Dooley would throw them away.

The Landmark Condominums were started later in 1978.

(b&w photos from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's HAARGIS system)