Published by admin on Tue, 10/26/2021 - 5:20pm
Almost two centuries ago John Cragg settled along the banks of the Mazon River.
It was the winter of 1834 or maybe 1835 when Cragg built a two story 20-foot by 20-foot cabin for his family on land he’d purchased at auction in Chicago for $1.25 an acre.
Along with his wife, Agnes and their six children—five boys and a girl—the 325-acre Cragg homestead along what is now Grand Ridge Road in Maine Township was home to cows, horses and chickens, They grew grain and operated the county’s first tavern from the cabin. It was also the site of the township’s first polling place.