Lake Oliver

Franklin Oliver was the first European settler in the Chatsworth area and is the great-great-great-grandfather of the Kurtenbach family, the developers. In 1831 Oliver was traveling from New Jersey through northeastern Illinois on his way to California when he came upon a natural lake and a large grove of trees that housed a village of nearly 600 Kickapoo Indians.  Oliver and his family befriended the tribe and lived with them through their first Illinois winter. Some newspaper reports indicate that one of Oliver's three wives was from this tribe. After the  Indian village re-settled further west, Oliver acquired some 4,000 acres of the local prairie, including some parcels that comprise the current 900 acre development site. Franklin Oliver spent the balance of his long, contentious and remarkable life in the area of the development site.

A stage coach line, running between Champaign to Rockford before the Civil War, crossed through the middle of Oliver's Crossing.  The stage coach wheel ruts can still be seen in some undisturbed locations. The site has revealed numerous artifacts including  harnesses, arrow heads and hatchet heads over the years.

The development site has been annexed to the Town of Chatsworth and a Tax Increment Financing agreement has been approved by the Town Board. The project engineer, Robert Russel and Associates of Pontiac, Il, is progressing through the design and permitting process for the the 311 acre man-made lake, streets and utilities. Rick Harrison is finalizing the layout of houses and streets. The site developers are actively seeking builders/developers as joint venture partners to help realize the project's full potential.