Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
One of 98 National Register listings published here for Lake County · listed in 1994 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Waukegan Township in The Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois, published 1877 names Waukegan. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
About the year 1838, Burleigh Hunt, formerly of Canada, came and built a house on the south side of the river, near where is now the residence of Judge Blodgett, at the southwest corner of State and Liberty streets, in Tiffany's Addition to Waukegan.
Passage source: The Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois, published 1877.
About the same time, Dr. David Cory came and made a claim of Govern¬ ment land on the northeast quarter of Section 21, and built a house of hewn logs near the present residence of I. R. Lyon, on State street, just north of Clayton street. He was the first physician who settled in this township. It is proper to remark, in this connection, that Mrs. Cory, widow of Dr. David Cory, who still lives in Waukegan, is now the oldest resident in the city, in point of time of residence.
Passage source: The Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois, published 1877.
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 Waukegan Township - 14,048 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Hotel Waukegan between 2003 and 2015, burning about 1,203 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 July 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 12_2571 |
| 5 April 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 15-314 |
| 28 April 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | ZION |
| 17 March 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | SOUTH |
| 19 November 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | STERNO |
| 19 November 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | MOTEL |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Hotel Waukegan: 2 past producers, 1 producer, 1 plant. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Tungsten, Iodine. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotts North Chicago Iodine Plant | Iodine | Plant | ||
| Fansteel #1 Tantalum Plant | Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Tungsten | Producer | ||
| Gurnee Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gurnee Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waukegan, the town this property stands in, in 20 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 9 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | Lightning | Waukegan | $500,000 | Lightning struck the roof of a million dollar home, causing serious damage to the roof and attic. Total estimated damage - $500,000.00. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | $3,000 | A large tree was blown down at the corner of Harding Street and Alexander Court. The tree was partially uprooted, lifting a sidewalk. The tree also fell onto power lines. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | A microburst caused extensive tree damage between May Street to the north and 8th Street to the south and Jackson Street to the west and McAlister Street to the east. Trees fell on homes and cars causing damage and several roadways were blocked. |
| January 2023 | Hail | Waukegan | - | Photos were shared that showed hailstones approximately one inch in diameter. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | A tree was blown down on Lewis Avenue north of Washington Street. |
| February 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | Trees were blown down. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Waukegan | - | Nickel size hail was reported at the intersection of Jackson Street and Belvidere Street. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph near the intersection of North Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue where multiple 30-foot long branches were blown down. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | Wind equipment at Waukegan Harbor measured a gust to 62 mph. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | Strong winds knocked moored sailboats against piers causing damage. One boat clocked the winds at 70 mph. Tree limbs were blown down in Waukegan. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Waukegan | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Heavy Rain | Waukegan | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Waukegan Public Library | 0.1 miles | 2013 |
 | Waukegan Building | 0.2 miles | 2002 |
 | Karcher Hotel | 0.2 miles | 2002 |
 | Near North Historic District | 0.7 miles | 1978 |
 | Joseph T. Bowen Country Club | 2.0 miles | 1978 |
 | Holy Family Church | 2.5 miles | 2003 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 94001269 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Lake County | All 98 listed properties in this county. |
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