European settlement of Warren Township began along the Des Plaines River in 1835, when New England farmers arrived to purchase land. In 1843, Jonathan Harvey and his wife, Wealthy, bought the O'Plaine Tavern, a stagecoach stop and inn near the Des Plaines River. The tavern became a town hall for the young O'Plaine settlement, handling business, civic, and social functions. The citizens of O'Plaine were active in the Civil War. Wealthy Harvey Rudd and her second husband, Erastus Rudd, continued operating the O'Plaine Tavern, which was rumored to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. Since 1874, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad had served local farmers and merchants. By 1928, the settlement by the river had grown into an incorporated village and had been renamed Gurnee. With images from the historical society's archives, Gurnee and Warren Township records the evolution of the village and the township's farms and schools over the past 150 years.
Warren Township Historical Society's board and volunteers collaborated to produce this book. The society's museum is housed in the renovated Mother Rudd House, formerly known as the O'Plaine Tavern.