Serving Fox Lake

Village Government
Fox Lake incorporated under a Village form of government, with an elected village president, six trustees, and a village clerk. The village president is also recognized as the mayor. The following is a list of all of Fox Lake’s mayors for the first 100 years.

The following highlights some of the remembrances during the terms of some mayors.

The first mayor, John Brown, was a storekeeper and original postmaster, who guided the Village through its initial startup years. In 1908 under his watch, the first Village Hall was constructed and the fire department was formed. His administration established the Village’s first law enforcement agency. Brown was also at the forefront of responding to the 1910 Chicago Tribune headline that stated, “Vice at Fox Lake flaunted in the Open.”

Several of the early mayors reflected the resort influence. C. H. Ostrander was well-known in the hotel business, having operated the Lakeside, Waltonian, and Lippincott hotels, as well as the Nippersink Club.

In 1914 an auto trip from Chicago to McHenry took approximately three hours. Road access to Fox Lake was still via unimproved dirt roads, making the railroad the best mode of transportation to the Village.

Louis C. DeProft, the sixth mayor, managed the Lakeside Hotel, and later the Point Comfort Hotel. While DeProft guided many improvements, he was considered by some to be too honest to handle the wild “Roaring Twenties” scene, which included the gangs with their beer runners, alcohol peddlers, and gunmen.

Harry Maypole was a general storekeeper and more notably, the son of a Chicago alderman, who was an early summer resident on the Ingleside shore.

William C. Nagle managed the Harbaugh Lumber Yard and began a road improvement program, which consisted of putting gravel over the previous dirt paths. Sidewalks were still years away. The law was enforced by a village marshal and village magistrate. The marshal’s job also required him to light the street lamps nightly.

Village expansion northward was blocked by the channel between Pistakee and Nippersink lakes. There was no way of going north by road except by way of Johnsburg or Antioch. Some locals feared a new bridge would take business away from the town and argued against constructing one. A $15,000 Village bond was finally authorized and matched by the county for the initial wooden structure. (There was a steel shortage during World War I).

In 1920, Route 12 reached Wauconda. Route 12 going through Fox Lake was initially called Route 60.

Ernest Hummel was remembered by some as “a good mayor for the wide open town that Fox Lake was during the Roaring Twenties era.” After all, he was one of the slot machine operators and his family was prominent in Chicago brewing and political circles. Police Chief Joseph Riggs used a motorcycle with a sidecar to reach problem areas quickly during those hectic years.

George Hollister guided the Village through the early years of the Depression, a bad time for recreational spending. The Village government had little income from its key resort businesses.

Arthur Amundsen was an active mayor during his 14-year tenure. Previous mayors were reluctant to ask for federal assistance for fear of government interference with gambling and other local “activities.” Amundsen requested federal assistance through the CCC and the WPA work projects, resulting in road, seawall, and other major improvements. He also promoted highly publicized events such as a 50-mile bicycle race and fishing derbies.

Louis Krec was the chief of police from 1935 till 1956. In the late 1940s and 1950s, he was known to park by Russell’s Musical Tap on Grand Avenue and Nippersink Boulevard. If you needed the police, you would call Russell’s. Joe Russell would go outside to tell the Chief that he had a call.

During Marius “Bossie” Olson’s term, the Round Hill area was annexed to the Village and the Mineola Woods was rezoned, paving the way for the Woodhills Bay development. Dollar Lake was filled in, allowing for the construction of Lakeland Plaza, which opened in 1963.

During Joe Armondo’s tenure, the Village purchased the Deer Haven family park on Route 59, where a new Village Hall was constructed. The Village boundaries were extended to the north for the construction of Leisure Village and Vacation Village. The land was purchased for the construction of the Village’s first sewer plant. The Village also had a huge 50th Jubilee celebration.

Nancy Koske was the first female mayor, and during her term the Village purchased a former boat marina on Nippersink Lake for the development of the Lakefront Park. The former downtown Community Center building was renovated into a new downtown Village Hall.