A menagerie of Illinois animals is waiting for you to visit them at The Grove Interpretive Center. These live creatures, including snakes, turtles, amphibians, fish, and birds of prey, were Robert Kennicott’s favorites. He was Dr. John Kennicott’s son and Illinois’ first naturalist.

Our Archives Building contains a large collection of Kennicott family letters, artifacts, and photographs. Many items from this extensive collection are on display in the Archives, in one of several rotating exhibits.

Two famous nature authors, Donald Culross Peattie and his wife Louise Redfield Peattie, lived at Redfield Estate in the 1930s. Donald published his book A Prairie Grove, which tells of his experiences living at The Grove, in 1938.

The Kennicotts built a schoolhouse for local children. Despite the scarcity of paper, the students of the Grove Schoolhouse started the first area newspaper, the School Times, and they wrote all the articles. Today the schoolhouse has been rebuilt to Dr. Kennicott’s original specifications, and it hosts hundreds of school children each year.

In 1853, Dr. Kennicott suggested that the State Agricultural Society should hold an Illinois State Fair. In 1854 and 1856, he was the chair of this new summertime event, where ideas could flow openly among farmers. Later his sons, Amasa and Flint, organized floral displays in the Horticultural Building at the 1892 Columbian Exposition.

The Kennicott family donated more than half of the furniture on view in the Kennicott House, and each of these pieces reflects the heart and soul of the family. Don’t miss the captain’s chair owned by Dr. John Kennicott, as well as the wooden examining table from his medical office. The dental drill owned by his brother William, Chicago’s first fulltime dentist, is on display in the Archives Building.

The Kennicott House kitchen was modern in 1856. There was a pump that brought water up from the cistern, and a state-of-the-art stove with six burners and an oven. Mrs. Kennicott also had a summer kitchen attached to the house. The kitchen has been carefully restored to reflect the “modern” conveniences she once enjoyed.

The Grove consists of 143 acres of ecologically diverse prairie grove land, which is preserved and maintained by the Glenview Park District. Beautiful trails have been laid out where hikers can meander among unique plants and trees and watch for deer and other wildlife.

The Kennicott House was nearly torn down to make way for high-density housing. Thanks to a group of passionate preservationists known as the Frog and Fern Ladies, the house was saved and restored. The Redfield Estate, designed by famed architect George Grant Elmslie, was also renovated to show the true beauty of his Tudor-style architecture.

Dr. Kennicott’s vision to promote the value and dignity of the American agrarian lifestyle changed the political landscape on a regional and national scale. His efforts led to the “Illinois Plan” (which fought for the establishment of a national system of agricultural and mechanical universities to uplift the agricultural profession) and the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture.