Research the History of Your Home
This page contains ideas and resources to help you research the history of your Lake Forest home.
If you don't know where to start, we recommend the 2-part article from the National Trust for Historic Places: 10 Ways to Research Your Home's History and How to Research Your Home's History: Part Two.
You can also visit the Library; your Librarians are happy to help you with your research and questions.
City, County, & Other Resources
- Find a description of your home and the names of previous owners with Lake County IL Property Tax Info.
- Discover how your property line has changed from 1996 through 2019 with the Historic Parcel Viewer.
- Search property records with the Recording Division of the County Clerk's Office.
- Browse reminiscences and ask questions on the I Remember Lake Forest When Facebook page.
- (Paid resource) Search the Register of Deeds by address or name. You may find it easier to call the Recording Division of the Lake County Clerk's Office at 847-377-2575.
- (Paid resource) Unearth whether anyone has passed away in the house using the Died in House website.
The History Center Resources
Start your research online with The History Center of Lake Forest–Lake Bluff website including ...
- Look up by address previous owners of home using phone directories (1900–1968).
- Check to see if your address number has changed over the years and what the area looked like previously with Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (1900–1949).
- Browse more than 10,000 photographs from the museum collection.
- Search the 1877 List of Lake County Taxpayers by address or name of previous owners to find the owner's occupation and occasionally biographical information.
- Find information on homes in historic districts with the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic Districts of Lake Forest.
Lake Forest Library Resources
- Search the Historical Lake Forester 1899–1948. (Microfilm from 1949 to the present is available at the Library.)
- Community Cornerstone/SmartSearch
- Explore articles and images, obituaries, and marriage and birth announcements from 1849–1989 with the Historic Chicago Tribune.
- Visit the Library to search Ancestry. You can start with Search > Card Catalog > Location set to anywhere, and enter the home address in the Keyword field. (The full suite of Ancestry features is not available remotely.)
- The Library has several books about Lake Forest neighborhoods, estates, and local architects in the upper level Nonfiction shelves, sections 728 and 977.3. Some frequently referenced titles are below. You can also search in the catalog or visit a Library service desk.