Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
One of 13 National Register listings published here for McHenry County · listed in 2007 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Algonquin Township in History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885 names Algonquin. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
This township is perhaps more broken than any other in the county. While its general surface features are comparatively level there are many bluffs and hills to be found in the vicinity of Algonquin Village and along the Fox River. The township is nearly equally divided in prairie, timber and bottom lands, thus furnishing alike advantages to the stock and grain grower. In section 6 lies the noted Crystal Lake which extends across into Grafton Township. The outlet to this lake furnishes quite a valuable stream which courses its way through the township in a southeasterly direction till it joins the Fox River at Algonquin Village. Big Spring Creek running across the southeast corner of the township, also furnishes fine water privileges for stock. The placid stream known as Fox River, with its low banks, resembling the River Nile in its calm, steady flow through the low lands, passes through this township in a southwesterly direction, entering on section 17, range 8, and passing out on section 3L
Passage source: History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885.
The name Algonquin was suggested as being appropriate by Samuel Edwards, from Philadelphia, who had at one time been a sailor on a boat called the Algonquin. This name was accepted by the citizens of that township, at a meeting held for that purpose. Prior to this it was called Fox Precinct.
Passage source: History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Algonquin Township - 16,941 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Christian Geister House in 2009, burning about 3 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 February 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | D |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Christian Geister House: 6 producers, 4 past producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin Pit #5 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Algonquin Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Algonquin Sand & Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Carpentersville Pit #25 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Cary Plant & Portable Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Crystal Lake Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Dundee Pit Meyer Material | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Dundee Pit Road Mat'Ls Corp | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Hoffman Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Steffen Brothers Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Algonquin, the town this property stands in, in 31 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Hail | Algonquin | $50,000 | Extensive siding damage to homes was reported from wind blown hail. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | $1,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A tree was down onto 3 cars along Webster St in Algonquin. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Large branches were broken from the tops of trees near Main St and Cary Rd in Algonquin. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Tree damage was reported north of Algonquin. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A tree was uprooted in the Algonquin Lakes Subdivision near Algonquin Road and Lake Cook Road. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Photos shared via social media showed several trees and a light pole down around the Algonquin and Lake of the Hills area including one large tree that fell onto a shed. Minor roofing and siding damage to one building was also noted. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | An 8 inch diameter tree limb was blown down. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A tree was snapped. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A photo shared on social media showed large tree limbs blown down across a driveway. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A tree was uprooted and another tree was snapped. |
| May 2020 | Funnel Cloud | Algonquin | - | A funnel cloud was reported near Algonquin. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Large tree limbs were blown down onto a car. |
| November 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across portions of southeast McHenry County. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. |
| April 2016 | Hail | Algonquin | - | Quarter to half dollar size hail was reported in Algonquin, including quarter size hail near the intersection of Route 31 and Algonquin Road. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Algonquin | - | Several reports of one to two inch diameter hail came in from Algonquin. |
| September 2005 | Hail | Algonquin | - | Penny to quarter size hail reported near Route 31 and Route 62. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | A 6-inch diameter tree limb was blown down and blocking traffic on Route 62. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| April 2023 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Algonquin | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Col. Gustavius A. Palmer House | 5.8 miles | 1985 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 07000453 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| McHenry County | All 13 listed properties in this county. |
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