Laurie Stein, Deputy Director and Head of Curation at the History Center of Lake Forest–Lake Bluff, explores the early settlement of northeastern Illinois with a focus on Lake County and the communities of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. 

Stein examines who the region’s early homesteaders were, what drew them here, and how they laid the groundwork for the communities we know today. Tracing the area’s transformation from the hand-hewn log homes and roadside taverns of the 1830s to the platting of Lake Forest in 1861, this program follows the shift from frontier settlement to planned community, culminating in the rise of elegant estates and a new business district.

In 2026, we honor the 250th anniversary of the United States. As part of the commemoration, the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff is hosting a year-long lecture series that shows how our local history intersected and influenced the nation's past. We'll show how that history ripples through the present and arcs to our future. 

This special 10-part lecture series will bring local and regional scholars to the History Center and will be organized chronologically, giving attendees an overview of the major American events across the past two centuries. The series will cover pre-settlement Indigenous People's history, to early European arrival in the area, local influence and experiences in the Civil War through World War II, and culminates in a capstone community panel, "Shaping the Next 50 Years: A Community Conversation."