Wooster Lake

Last updated
Wooster Lake
USA Illinois location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wooster Lake
Location Lake County, Illinois
Coordinates 42°21′54″N88°08′56″W / 42.365°N 88.149°W / 42.365; -88.149 Coordinates: 42°21′54″N88°08′56″W / 42.365°N 88.149°W / 42.365; -88.149
Type lake
Primary outflows Fish Lake Drain
Surface area98.9 acres (40.0 ha)
Average depth16.3 feet (5.0 m)
Max. depth29.8 feet (9.1 m)
Shore length12.03 miles (3.27 km)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Wooster Lake is a lake in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located near Illinois Route 134 and Wilson Road, predominantly in unincorporated Ingleside, northeast of the Village of Volo, northwest of the Village of Round Lake, and southeast of the Village of Fox Lake. [1]

Contents

Characteristics

The Lakes Management Unit of the Lake County Health Department provided a 2003 Summary of Wooster Lake [2] describing Wooster as a glacially-formed, non-public (private) lake encompassing approximately 98.9 acres (40.0 ha) with a shoreline of 2.03 miles (3.27 km). It is reported to have a 29.8 feet (9.1 m) maximum depth and a 16.3 feet (5.0 m) average depth, the 4th deepest (on average) of the inland, private lakes in Lake County, Illinois. It is part of the Fish Lake drainage of the Fox River watershed. The Fish Lake Drain flows from Fish Lake into Fischer Lake, then into Wooster. Water leaves Wooster by a small creek along the northern shoreline and flows into Duck Lake, eventually draining into the Fox River.

Though the private lake has significant depth, in February 2005, Lakes Management - a division of the Lake County Health Department - provided a slide deck presentation highlighting by month the total phosphorus (TP) levels recorded as spilling into Wooster Lake. During significant rain events (such as in June 2004), 20.5 pounds (9.3 kilograms) of phosphorus per day were recorded as spilling in at just this one measured location.

History

As reported by the Lake County Historical Museum's Diana Dretske, Jacob L. Beilhart founded the communitarian group called the Spirit Fruit Society on the shores of Wooster Lake, after purchasing a 90-acre tract known as the Dahlziel Farm in 1905. About a dozen established members of the Spirit Fruit Society moved with Beilhart to Illinois, along with a few new members. Over the next two years the society built a spacious house and later a large barn entirely by hand. The 2½-story residence had 32 rooms, a full basement, and modern (for the time) conveniences. The dining room accommodated up to 100 people. The society continued to live peacefully in Ingleside for several years. They provided for themselves from what came to be known as the "Spirit Fruit Farm", opened the farm and temple to visitors, and produced a newsletter. Beilhart continued to speak to groups in Chicago promoting the ideals of the society.

In November 1908, Beilhart became ill from acute appendicitis. Despite attention from a surgeon who performed an appendectomy, he developed peritonitis and died three days later. In keeping with the society's beliefs in simplicity, he was buried in a plain coffin in an unmarked grave overlooking Wooster Lake. None of the buildings remain, having been covered by a housing development, although Beilhart's grave remains in a brush-obscured corner of the tract. [3] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

Lake County, Illinois County in Illinois

Lake County is a county situated in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois along the shores of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, making it the third-most populous county in Illinois after nearby Cook and DuPage Counties. Its county seat is Waukegan, the ninth-largest city in Illinois. Due to its location, immediately north of Chicago’s Cook County, Lake County is one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area.

Antioch, Illinois Place in Illinois, United States

Antioch is a village in Antioch Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,430 at the 2010 census.

Kankakee River tributary of the Illinois River

The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.

Fort Sheridan, Illinois Unincorporated community in Illinois, United States

Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood within the cities of Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was originally established as Fort Sheridan, an Army post named after Civil War cavalry general Philip Sheridan, to honor his services to Chicago.

Lake Whatcom lake of the United States of America

Lake Whatcom is located in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the city of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) in length and 1 mile (1.6 km) in width at its widest. Lake Whatcom is located and managed within three political jurisdictions: the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, and the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District. The lake is a popular area for motor boating, swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities.

Vancouver Lake lake in Clark County, Washington, USA

Vancouver Lake is located just west of Vancouver, Washington, United States, north of the Columbia River and Portland, Oregon, south of Ridgefield, Washington, and the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

Lake Apopka lake in Florida, United States of America

Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Orlando, mostly within the bounds of Orange County, although the western part is in Lake County. Fed by a natural spring, rainfall and stormwater runoff, water from Lake Apopka flows through the Apopka-Beauclair Canal and into Lakes Beauclair and Dora. From Lake Dora, water flows into Lake Eustis, then into Lake Griffin and then northward into the Ocklawaha River, which flows into the St. Johns River.

Lake Shetek lake of the United States of America

Lake Shetek is the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota, United States, and the headwaters of the Des Moines River. It is located in The Lakes, an unincorporated community in Murray County a few miles north-northwest of Currie. The name Shetek is derived from "pelican" in the Ojibwe language.

Chain OLakes group of lakes located in the Lake County, Illinois near the Wisconsin border

The Chain O'Lakes is a waterway system in northeast Illinois composed of 15 lakes connected by the Fox River and man-made channels. Encompassing more than 7,100 acres (29 km2) of water, 488 miles (785 km) of shoreline and 45 miles (72 km) of river, the Chain is the busiest inland recreational waterway per acre in the United States. Located on the border of Lake County and McHenry County, about an hour's drive from the cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford, the lakes are popular with boaters and fishermen, drawing weekend crowds of 30,000 and holiday crowds of 100,000 people. Chain O'Lakes State Park borders three lakes at the northwest corner of the system. The Fox Waterway Agency, a special local governing body, is responsible for oversight of the Chain O'Lakes.

Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois Township in Illinois, United States

Grant Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 26,523. Grant Township changed its name from Goodale Township between 1865 and 1870.

Red Hills State Park

Red Hills State Park is an Illinois state park on 967 acres (391 ha) in Lawrence County, Illinois, United States. The park sits at an elevation of 515 feet (157 m). Red Hills State Park is open for year-round recreation including boating, fishing, hunting, hiking and various winter sports. The park includes a restaurant which is open year-round and has banquet facilities.

Lake Langdon lake of the United States of America

Lake Langdon in Mound, Minnesota, has an area of 144 acres (0.6 km2). Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) charts show its maximum depth of 38 feet (12 m), though it would be classified as a shallow lake with a mean depth of 8.3 feet (2.5 m). It is named for R. V. Langdon, the first township clerk. It is located west of Commerce Boulevard and south of Lynwood Boulevard. Boats on the lake cannot navigate to the nearby Lake Minnetonka, though it overflows into Lost Lake, part of the Big Lake, through Langdon Bay Creek. It also serves as an outlet for Saunders Lake, to its west. The lake has a watershed area to surface area ratio of 6.5:1, meaning that it drains an area about 6½ times its size.

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area park in Illinois

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 1,350 acres (550 ha) in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The park was established in the late 1960s and is named for the natural spring within its boundaries. The park has two artificial lakes and the Fox River flows through the northern end of the park. Silver Springs hosts a variety of activities including fishing, hunting, boating and hiking. The park has areas of native prairie restoration, a sledding hill and a seven-mile (11 km) equestrian trail. The prairie restoration areas hold many species of plants including lead plant, and purple coneflower.

Ingleside, Illinois Unincorporated community in Illinois, United States

Ingleside is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Ingleside is between Fox Lake, Round Lake Heights and Lake Villa.

Moira Lake

Moira Lake is a lake in Hastings County in Ontario, Canada. Located on Highway 62 south of Madoc and Highway 7, it is a recreational lake with cottage development along much of the shoreline. The lake is fed by the Moira River. There is a boat launch and a trail that runs past the lake following the abandoned Belleville and North Hastings Railway.

Skokie Lagoons lake in Cook County, Illinois

Skokie Lagoons is a nature preserve in Glencoe and Winnetka, Illinois, owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The park is bordered by Dundee Road to the north, Forestway Drive to the east, Willow Road to the south, and the Edens Expressway to the west. Within the park, there are seven inter-connected lagoons totaling 190 acres (0.77 km2). Water flows southward from the Chicago Botanic Garden through the lagoons to the Skokie River. The overall water level in the lagoons is controlled by the main control dam at Willow Road. Three low dams keep the water levels below the inner islands. Recreational opportunities at Skokie Lagoons include biking, fishing, boating and birding.

The Spirit Fruit Society was a communitarian group in the United States that was organized after a period of repeated business depressions during the 1890s. The society had its beginnings in Lisbon, Ohio and, over the years of its existence moved to Ingleside, Illinois and, finally, to California. Plagued by rumor, suspicion, and attacks in the press during its early years, the group remained active until 1930. Although it never numbered more than a handful of adherents, the Spirit Fruit Society existed longer and more successfully than any other American utopian group.

Jacob L. Beilhart Founder of the Spirit Fruit Society

Jacob L. Beilhart was the founder and leader of a communitarian group known as the Spirit Fruit Society. Beilhart believed that jealousy, materialism, and the fear of losing another's love were at the root of much of the illness in the world. Under his direction, the Spirit Fruit Society sought to model and practice those beliefs.

Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area

Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area is a state park unit of Minnesota, USA, currently in development. It includes undeveloped shoreline on both Greenleaf and Sioux Lakes, halfway between the cities of Hutchinson and Litchfield in Meeker County. Portions of the state recreation area (SRA) are open to the public for day-use recreation, but there are no facilities yet on site. The park boundaries were set by the Minnesota Legislature and the state is still acquiring land from willing sellers; two-thirds of the property remain privately owned.

Big Hollow School District 38 is a school district in Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois. The district includes parts of the villages of Fox Lake, Lakemoor, Round Lake, and Volo. Since 2007, it has had a single 62-acre (25 ha) campus, at the corner of Fish Lake and Nippersink roads in Ingleside, with three schools: Big Hollow Primary School, Big Hollow Elementary School, and Big Hollow Middle School.

References

  1. Lake County General Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Illinois Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  2. 2003 Summary of Wooster Lake
  3. Murphy, James L. (1989). The Reluctant Radicals. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. ISBN   978-0-8191-7423-9.
  4. Dretske, Diana. "Beilhart's Spirit Fruit Society". Illuminating Lake County, Illinois History. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  5. "Father Jacob Dies". The Ottawa Free Trader -. 27 November 1908. Retrieved 21 May 2012.