Three Lake Forest Families Contributed to City's Original Buildings, Infrastructure

An immigrant from Newfoundland, a Presbyterian minister, and the city’s first constable and postmaster - all three arrived in Lake Forest in the earliest years of the city’s history.

Their ancestors were honored Sunday by the with the Centennial Family Award at a celebration held at Lake Forest Academy.

The annual award is presented to families in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff that have lived in the community for 100 years or more.

“Each year, more and more families are eligible,” said Historical Society Curator Laurie Stein in her presentation of this year’s award to the Baldwin, McClure-Stuart, and Pratt-Strenger families.

While all three families arrived in Lake Forest at different times, under different circumstances, all three seemed to share a common bond – each had founding members who were responsible for the construction of significant buildings or neighborhoods throughout the city.

The Baldwin Family

Patrick and Mary Baldwin arrived in Lake Forest in 1891, amid a wave of immigrants from Newfoundland to Lake Forest. They settled in the southeast section of town near Washington Circle and Ryan Place.

Since so many settlers from Newfoundland settled in that area of the city, it gained the nickname “Codfish Town.”

“In the evenings, the scent of codfish wafted through the neighborhood,” Stein said.

Patrick and Mary Baldwin had seven children, and most of their Lake Forest ancestors come from their two sons, Nicolas and Edward.

“You can assume that with seven children, that Mary Baldwin had a bevy of grandchildren,” Stein said.

Throughout the generations, countless members of the Baldwin family have attended and graduated from .

Once grown, Nicolas Baldwin became a cement contractor, and eventually laid the foundation for the homes in the Villa Turricum neighborhood.

Edward Baldwin was a plasterer, but it was his sons, Edward Jr. and George Baldwin, who founded Baldwin Brothers Plastering, which in 1923 became . Today it is one of Lake Forest’s oldest family businesses.

The nomination for the Baldwin family was submitted by descendent Rosemary Baldwin Huhnke.

The McClure-Stuart Family

Dr. James McClure, a Presbyterian minister, was once a star baseball player at Yale University. In 1881, his athletic notoriety stood out to Charles Holt of the, where he was invited to give four trial sermons.

“It seemed an unlikely prospect that he would end up in Lake Forest,” said Stein, explaining that McClure’s family had long standing ties on the east coast.

As pastor, he spearheaded an effort to replace the small and drafty Presbyterian Church with its current building in 1887.

“He made 19,211 house calls to his congregation,” said Stein. “Making many friends in the process.”

Also, while serving as pastor, McClure became actively involved with his church’s neighbor, , where he was responsible for the construction of at least a dozen buildings on campus.

In 1913, McClure’s daughter, Harriet, married Robert Douglas Stuart, whose family had an oat milling business, that later became part of Quaker Oats.

Robert was named as ambassador to Canada by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. His son, Robert Stuart Jr., was appointed by Ronald Reagan to serve as U.S. ambassador to Norway.

The McClure-Stuart Family was submitted by Margaret Stuart Hart.

The Pratt-Strenger Family

Patriarch Francis Nelson Pratt arrived in Lake Forest in 1857, and served as the city’s first constable, postmaster, and depot master, in addition to constructing some of the town’s first buildings and bridges.

After spearheading the construction of the Lake Forest Academy building, he immediately started teaching mathematics there.

His son, Charles Pratt, opened up a laundry business in the city, which had the first horse drawn laundry wagon to go through Lake Forest.

In 1917, Charles’ daughter, Frances Pratt, married Henry Strenger, who ran in 1911. H.T. Strenger Plumbing was Lake
Forest's longest-running family business until it was sold in 2001.

Frances Pratt Strenger became a pillar of the Lake Forest community, and was known to many as “Ma Strenger.”

“The UPS man often made her home the last stop, so he could stop by for a highball,” Stein said.

Frances and Henry’s son, Marshall Strenger, served as mayor of Lake Forest from 1987 to 1990, and Marshall's brother, Donald, served on the Lake County board for 22 years.

Continuing their commitment to community service, Gale Strenger, a member of the fifth generation of family members in Lake Forest, was elected Shields Township Supervisor in 2009.

The Pratt-Strenger Family was nominated by Gale Strenger Wayne.

For more information on the 2011 Centennial Family Award winners, or for more information on Lake Forest history, visit the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society website at www.lflbhistory.org.