Hoxie Farm/Wampum Lake - Thornton, IL - Illinois Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The marker is located right at the entrance to the park on the west side of the access trail at 598 Thornton Lansing Rd, Thornton, IL 60476. The park is not overly large but features good fishing and small, shallow lake as its focus. The marker text reads:

THE HOXIE SITE, LOCATED ALONG THORN CREEK, WAS THE HOME FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SINCE AT LEAST 1100 A.D. NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES BUILT A LARGE VILLAGE HERE IN THE EARLY 14TH CENTURY THAT SUPPORTED NEARLY 2,000 PEOPLE. ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND HOUSES, COOKING AREAS, AND BURIAL SITES, AS WELL AS OUTER DITCHES OR TRENCHES THAT FORMED PART OF THE VILLAGES' FORTIFICATIONS. BY THE 17TH CENTURY, THIS AREA WAS PART OF THE TRADITIONAL HOMELANDS OF THE COUNCIL OF THREE FIRES - THE OJIBWA, OTTAWA, AND POTAWATOMI TRIBES. MEMBERS OF OTHER TRIBES ALSO TRAVELED THROUGH AND LIVED IN THE AREA AS WELL, PART OF THE MIGRATION OF PEOPLES THROUGH THE CROSSROADS THAT IS THE CHICAGO REGION THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY.

JOHN HOXIE ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY IN THE 1880s. HOXIE WAS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND CATTLEMAN WORKING THE MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD, WHICH HELD CONTROLLING INTEREST IN THE CHICAGO STOCKYARDS. WITH PLANS FOR THE 1893 WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, HOXIE WAS CERTAIN THE STOCKYARDS WOULD RELOCATE AND HE PURCHASED 750 ACRES OF LAND AT THIS LOCATION. HE ULTIMATELY BUILT HIS COUNTRY HOME AND FARM HERE, RAISING PRIZE-WINNING CATTLE. WHEN HOXIE DIED IN 1896, HIS SON GILBERT RENTED OUT THE LAND TO VARIOUS FARMERS.

WAMPUM LAKE WAS CREATED IN THE 1950S WHEN SOIL WAS REMOVED TO FILL PORTIONS OF THE NEARBY 1-80 TOLLWAY. IN 2019, 380 ACRES OF WAMPUM LAKE WOODS WAS DESIGNATED AS AN ILLINOIS NATURE PRESERVE, WHICH PROVIDES THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PROTECTION FOR LAND IN THE STATE.

SPONSORED BY
THE VILLAGE OF THORNTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND
THE ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
AUGUST 2019

County: Cook County Historical Society: Village of Thornton and Illinois State Dedication Date: 9/28/2019 Location: Wampum Lake park in Thornton, IL Website: [Web Link]

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