History Resources

Death Notices and Obituaries

Thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteers, the Society is pleased to share an index for the death notices and obituaries found in the Nunda Herald, Crystal Lake Herald, and Northwest Herald 1875-2021. Currently, there are almost 115,000 entries! Because of its size, this has now been split into two sections (A – L) and (M – Z). The compilation of this index has been a tremendous time commitment by our indexers. Thanks to Mert Sarvay, Linda Stengele, Kent Palmer, Sue Knapp & Arlyn Booth who have donated countless hours to the project.

Death Index Current A-L

Death Index Current M-Z

Several “lost” rolls of newspaper microfilms have been recently discovered. These include the Nunda Herald (7/24/1891 – 6/30/1893) and the Crystal Lake Herald (all of 1959). The newspaper images have been digitized and are available for viewing at the Crystal Lake Historical Society’s office at the Colonel Palmer House. The obituaries and death notices for these “lost” years have now been indexed and are included in the above links. If you are a local researcher, you are welcome to come to the Colonel Palmer House to view digitized versions of newspapers (1875 – 1980). If you need to access a more recent newspaper edition, the Crystal Lake Public Library has it on microfilm. If you are a long-distance researcher and need assistance obtaining an obituary, please email the Society info@cl-hs.org with your request. The Crystal Lake Historical Society is a non-profit organization, run entirely by volunteers; donations are appreciated.

Society Newsletter

Index of The Crystal Times, newsletter of the Crystal Lake Historical Society (2001 – current)

Research/Archives Room Resources

The following is a partial listing of research materials available at the Society’s Research/Archives Room at the Colonel Palmer House. Knowledgeable staff members and volunteers are available to assist you with your research project.

Newspapers

Nunda Herald & Crystal Lake Herald – digitized images from 1875 – 1980

Note: Formerly “Lost” issues from 1891-1893 and 1959 have been recovered and are also digitized and available for viewing at the Colonel Palmer House!

Crystal Lake Times – Weekly newspaper (out of print) – Most issues

The Crystal Times – Newsletter of the Crystal Lake Historical Society (2001 – current)

County / Local History Books

1885 History of McHenry County (original and reprint copies) 1922 History of McHenry County (Two-volume set) 1968 History of McHenry County (including separate index) 1995 History of McHenry County 1986 Pictorial History Book of Crystal Lake Postcard History Book of Crystal Lake (published 2009) Family Histories Cemetery Indexes Marriage Records Census Phone Books Yearbooks

Atlases and Maps

1872 Combination Atlas of McHenry County (original and reprint copies) 1892 Combination Atlas of McHenry County 1908 Atlas of McHenry County 1938(ca) Atlas of McHenry County 1893, 1898, 1905, 1912, 1921, 1929, 1936, and 1955 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Crystal Lake & Nunda (digitized images)

File Cabinet Topics

Families Businesses Events Organizations Schools Churches Buildings & Structures Streets / Subdivisions Government Lots of miscellaneous file topics