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Illinois Waters Bibliography: Fox River

A directory of documents on Illinois waters

The Fox River originates in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, entering Illinois in northwestern Lake County at Ottawa (Post, 1997). The Illinois portion of the Fox River basin is 115 miles long and includes portions of Lake, McHenry, Kane, Cook, Kendall, DeKalb, and LaSalle Counties (Fox River Area Assessment, 1998). The Fox River is the third largest tributary of the Illinois River (Post, 1997). The northern portion of the basin, in Lake and McHenry Counties, features more than 400 glacially formed lakes; the largest is Chain O'Lakes in northeastern Lake County (Post, 1997).  There are 15 dams on the Fox river in Illinois, built in the 1800s, initially for milling and later used for power generation (Fox River Area Assessment, 1998). The Dayton Dam was the only dam still generating power as of 1998 (Fox River Area Assessment, 1998) and it continues to produce electricity.

Select studies of the Fox River, in chronological order

black and white photograph showing a river with sandstone bluffs along the bank

Sandstone along Fox River

From the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum; Audiovisual Collection. Date unknown

black and white photograph of a river, with trees on each bank and in the distance

Fox River near Geneva, Ill. 1880

from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

black and white photograph of a river with a railroad bed on the right bank, a town is visible in the distance

Fox River near Batavia, Ill. 1880

from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

black and white wide angle photograph showing a dame across the Fox River, with the Rinehimer Bros. Mfg Co building in the foreground, and Wingold Flour building on the opposite bank

Fox River above dam, Elgin, Ill. 1910

from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Colorful pictoria map, filled with drawings of historic sites and events.

Elgin past and present : 1835-1930

Animated historical map by: Robert Brightman and Robert Gatechair. Produced by the Elgin Branch of American Association of University Women.