Thank you for another entertaining video in your series on Native American Sites in the Chicago Region. I really appreciate the research time and effort that you put into your videos. You present a lot of historical and contemporary information for us to absorb.
Thank you for the research , and information. One note about Bonaparte, and Joliet Road, needs to be made. Bonaparte was at the intersection of today's Park Blvd., and Butterfield road. Joliet road followed Park from the Arboretum entrance, to the north. The Route 53 roadway was built in 1932, north of the entrance to the Arboretum. There is a bridge artifact in the Hidden Lake preserve, that is the original over the river there. It was for a saw mill, and wooded lots that were further south. It still bears the Carnegie steel name. The original bridge for Joliet road was inside the Arboretum, just west of the Park Blvd., and rt.53 intersection. From what I've read the abutments can still be found in the brush. Most of this information was found in "Around the Arboretum" a local history by Richard A Thompson
The original Bonaparte School was just recently demolished. The original school was replaced in 1916, by what is today a theater, northwest of Park and Butterfield intersection. The original was purchased by Thomas Stanton, and moved down the hill to the northeast of Rt. 53 and Butterfield Rd, and was used as a garage. It was among several buildings that were just demolished a couple of years ago, by the park district.
Thanks for watching and for the additional information and observations - all very interesting. We will have to check out the original Joliet Road bridge to see if a portion of it yet remains. We will also need to check out Thompson's "Around the Arboretum" book, to help fill in some of the blanks related to Bonaparte. Thanks again and also for taking the time to comment!
Another great episode. Thanks for your research. On and off, I have been researching old place names in Dupage county, since so many places have been absorbed by larger towns and renamed. Somewhere along the line, I read that Bonaparte was named for a farmer who had that nickname due to his resemblance in either appearance or demeanor to the French emperor. The area also became notorious for a time due to the presence of a moon shining family who had a brisk business entertaining patrons on their property before the regulation of such activities. The small theatre on Rte. 53 just north of Butterfield Road, was previously the Bonaparte School and the last vestige of the town. Thanks again for you fascinating production.
Thanks very much for watching and supporting the channel! Your observations about the Bonaparte name and area are very interesting and add much to the story. We had assumed that it directly tied to Napolean Bonaparte, as the name goes back to the 1840s, very early times in the settlement of the area - and also perhaps underscoring the French representation, particularly among the earliest settlers (eg, DuPage). As I'm sure you are aware, there are other stories, particularly related to the Cutten residence that could have been told - but we did not want to veer too far off the primary subject of Native American sites in the area.
Just another quick note ... it is interesting once you start to delve into this - but there was a bit of a French connection in this area. Multiple families were of French extraction here, either directly or via Canada. There was the Yackley's, from Alsace, France. There were the Beaubiens, the Dumoulins, and the French family, to name a few. So it wouldn't surprise if these emigrant families named the settlement, either directly or indirectly, for their much admired former leader, Bonaparte. We've confirmed that no one with this surname lived anywhere near this area, at least according to census or vital records. However, there were several families of French extraction very close to the settlement of Bonaparte. And Napolean was and still is greatly admired by the French.
Very interesting. I have always thought that the histories of the original small towns and settlements of the era we are talking about that were later swallowed up by bigger towns as transportation became more feasible are almost non- existent or at best very scanty. We belong to the Pioneer Cemetery Association that hold events at the Jewell Grove, Pleasant Hill and St. Stephen’s Cemetery in what used to be Gretna. Though many of our group have done a great deal of work on the histories of the families, there is very little history on the communities that I have been able to find. Dupage Roots has a bit of information, but not much on the “ghost towns” of Dupage.
Great video! The Bonaparte School was moved up the hill to slightly north of the northwest corner of Butterfield Rd. (Route 56) and Park Blvd. It is now the Village Theatre Guild's theatre building.
Thank you for another entertaining video in your series on Native American Sites in the Chicago Region. I really appreciate the research time and effort that you put into your videos. You present a lot of historical and contemporary information for us to absorb.
Thanks for the kind words and glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks too for continuing to support our channel.
Thank you for such an amazing video
Very glad that you enjoyed the video - and thank you for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment! We very much appreciate it!
7:52 what a Beautiful house!!!!!!!
Thanks for commenting! Yes, very nice house and estate.
Thank you for the research , and information. One note about Bonaparte, and Joliet Road, needs to be made. Bonaparte was at the intersection of today's Park Blvd., and Butterfield road. Joliet road followed Park from the Arboretum entrance, to the north. The Route 53 roadway was built in 1932, north of the entrance to the Arboretum. There is a bridge artifact in the Hidden Lake preserve, that is the original over the river there. It was for a saw mill, and wooded lots that were further south. It still bears the Carnegie steel name. The original bridge for Joliet road was inside the Arboretum, just west of the Park Blvd., and rt.53 intersection. From what I've read the abutments can still be found in the brush. Most of this information was found in "Around the Arboretum" a local history by Richard A Thompson
The original Bonaparte School was just recently demolished. The original school was replaced in 1916, by what is today a theater, northwest of Park and Butterfield intersection. The original was purchased by Thomas Stanton, and moved down the hill to the northeast of Rt. 53 and Butterfield Rd, and was used as a garage. It was among several buildings that were just demolished a couple of years ago, by the park district.
Thanks for watching and for the additional information and observations - all very interesting. We will have to check out the original Joliet Road bridge to see if a portion of it yet remains. We will also need to check out Thompson's "Around the Arboretum" book, to help fill in some of the blanks related to Bonaparte. Thanks again and also for taking the time to comment!
Another great episode. Thanks for your research. On and off, I have been researching old place names in Dupage county, since so many places have been absorbed by larger towns and renamed. Somewhere along the line, I read that Bonaparte was named for a farmer who had that nickname due to his resemblance in either appearance or demeanor to the French emperor. The area also became notorious for a time due to the presence of a moon shining family who had a brisk business entertaining patrons on their property before the regulation of such activities. The small theatre on Rte. 53 just north of Butterfield Road, was previously the Bonaparte School and the last vestige of the town. Thanks again for you fascinating production.
Thanks very much for watching and supporting the channel! Your observations about the Bonaparte name and area are very interesting and add much to the story. We had assumed that it directly tied to Napolean Bonaparte, as the name goes back to the 1840s, very early times in the settlement of the area - and also perhaps underscoring the French representation, particularly among the earliest settlers (eg, DuPage). As I'm sure you are aware, there are other stories, particularly related to the Cutten residence that could have been told - but we did not want to veer too far off the primary subject of Native American sites in the area.
Just another quick note ... it is interesting once you start to delve into this - but there was a bit of a French connection in this area. Multiple families were of French extraction here, either directly or via Canada. There was the Yackley's, from Alsace, France. There were the Beaubiens, the Dumoulins, and the French family, to name a few. So it wouldn't surprise if these emigrant families named the settlement, either directly or indirectly, for their much admired former leader, Bonaparte. We've confirmed that no one with this surname lived anywhere near this area, at least according to census or vital records. However, there were several families of French extraction very close to the settlement of Bonaparte. And Napolean was and still is greatly admired by the French.
Very interesting. I have always thought that the histories of the original small towns and settlements of the era we are talking about that were later swallowed up by bigger towns as transportation became more feasible are almost non- existent or at best very scanty. We belong to the Pioneer Cemetery Association that hold events at the Jewell Grove, Pleasant Hill and St. Stephen’s Cemetery in what used to be Gretna. Though many of our group have done a great deal of work on the histories of the families, there is very little history on the communities that I have been able to find. Dupage Roots has a bit of information, but not much on the “ghost towns” of Dupage.
Great video! The Bonaparte School was moved up the hill to slightly north of the northwest corner of Butterfield Rd. (Route 56) and Park Blvd. It is now the Village Theatre Guild's theatre building.