Thomas Courtney was Blue Island’s first white settler, erecting a one room log cabin on this site in 1834 with his wife and small child. For more than a year the crude cabin stood alone in the wilderness. Trappers and hunters would occasionally take shelter here and Courtney made friends with the Pottawatomi still living near the Blue Island ridge. Ater …

This is the oldest house in Blue Island, having survived three moves and several remodelings.  Zachary Wilson came to Blue Island in 1838 and started to build this home but did not live to complete it. The home was purchased by Germanicus Cooley, who arrived in 1839. Cooley finished the house, which was then located on the east side of …

In 1858, Christian Krueger Jr. founded the funeral establishment that is presently the oldest business in Blue Island, having recently celebrated their 150th anniversary. The Krueger family is synonymous with early Blue Island, and Christian Krueger played an important role in the development of the community. He was a judge of the election held August 22, 1872, to form the …

This home was built for Dr. Aaron Heimbach, a prominent local physician whose family had moved to Blue Island in the late 19th century and sold produce on Western Avenue south of the canal. Dr. Heimbach practiced medicine from offices located in the southwest corner of the home – the house was constructed with an X-Ray room at its center! …

Walter P. Roche was born in Missouri in 1819 and retired to Blue Island in 1855 after a prosperous career as a cigar and tobacco merchant in Chicago. Roche was instrumental in efforts to organize Blue Island as a village and was a member of the first Board of Trustees after incorporation in 1872. Roche held 40 acres west of …