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The Chain O'Lakes, or simply "The Chain", is a waterway system in northeast Illinois composed of 15 lakes connected by the Fox River and man-made channels. Encompassing more than 7,100 acres (29 km2) of water, 488 miles (785 km) of shoreline and 45 miles (72 km) of river, the Chain is the busiest inland recreational waterway per acre in the United States. Located in Lake County and McHenry County, and being a popular outdoor recreation area for the Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas, the lakes have drawn weekend crowds of 30,000 and holiday crowds of more than 100,000 people. Chain O'Lakes State Park borders three lakes at the northwest corner of the system. The Fox Waterway Agency, a special local governing body, is responsible for oversight of the Chain O'Lakes. Geography The Chain O'Lakes is composed of ten lakes connected by the Fox River and another five lakes by small canals and channels (with limited access). Of the ten lakes connected by the Fox River, three of the lakes are natural water bodies: Grass Lake, Lake Marie and Nippersink Lake. The other seven lakes connected by the Fox River are Bluff Lake, Fox Lake, Pistakee Lake, Channel Lake, Petite Lake, Lake Catherine and Redhead Lake. The remaining five lakes of the system are Duck Lake, Long Lake, Spring Lake, Dunns Lake and Brandenburg Lake. The Chain O'Lakes system begins at the Illinois/Wisconsin border. The Fox River travels down near the border between McHenry County and Lake County in Illinois as it flows from the state border to Grass Lake, the first lake in the Chain. Grass Lake is the shallowest lake on the Chain, with an average depth of 3 feet (0.91 m) but is the third largest lake on the Chain, with an approximate area of 1,360 acres (5.5 km2). Pistakee Lake and Fox Lake are the two largest lakes on the Chain, each with an area of 1,700 acres (6.9 km2). Grass Lake directly connects to Fox Lake, and both lakes connect to Pistakee Lake through Nippersink Lake. The Fox River exits the Chain O'Lakes at the southwest corner of Pistakee Lake. Lake sizes The following table lists the sizes (and depths if given) of nine of the fifteen lakes on the Chain. The information provided is from the Fox Waterway Agency website. Grass Lake In the late 19th and early 20th century, Grass Lake was a "stretch of wild rice and lotus", with lotus beds blossoming in it that constituted over half of the total in all the lakes.: 113  In the early 20th century some boats, due to the shallow water and density of lotuses, had to use a pole ("poling") rather than oars ("rowing").: 121  During the 1950s through the 1970s, much of the lotus disappeared due to human traffic but there has been a revival in recent years. There is a historical location in Grass Lake, derived from the tourists who came to see the lotus. At first, this location was known as "Rohema", but also as "Shorty's", after the owner Shorty Shobin. Shorty, however was not the only entrepreneur on the lake. Jack O' Conner owned a houseboat about 100 yards from Shorty, and one night in a card match they wagered their businesses. O'Conner won, and moved his business to the island, naming it Lotus Lodge Hotel, then Hotel Blarney, and finally, Blarney Island as it remains today.: 117  Local communities Several towns and cities surround the Chain O'Lakes. Although open to some interpretation, towns bordering the Chain O'Lakes include Fox Lake, Fox Lake Hills, Lake Villa, Antioch, Spring Grove, Pistakee Highlands, Johnsburg, Volo, McHenry, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, and Ingleside. Central to the system is the town of Fox Lake, between Pistakee Lake and Fox Lake. Major roads Several major highways and state routes cross over and travel around the Chain O'Lakes. The following table lists the major roads in the Chain O'Lakes region and a brief description about the location of the route. History Early history The Chain O'Lakes were formed when the Wisconsin glacier melted, leaving behind many of the lakes now present in the Fox River Valley, including those in the Chain. The Chain O'Lakes region was originally inhabited by various Native American tribes. During the first European visits to the area, the central Algonquian tribes inhabited the region, including the Miami, Mascouten and Potawatomi tribes. The first European explorers to the region were French trappers and traders in the mid-17th century, including Joliet and Marquette. In the 19th century, a few Europeans began to settle the area. Included in these early settlers were the Dunnill family and Converse Marble, both of whom settled near the border between Pistakee Lake and Nippersink Lake. At that time, the only connection between the two lakes was the Fox River (commonly referred to as the "long channel"). In order to benefit both of their properties, the Dunnills and Converse Marble dug by hand a new channel between the two lakes which became known as "the Cut" (most likely meaning "shortcut"). The "Cut" caused a strong current and fresher water along the east shore of Nippersink Lake. Today, the channel has become deep and wide, being heavily traveled by boaters. Until the 1880s, European settlements remained sparse in the area due to the difficulty of travel resulting from the wetland areas surrounding the Chain. In the 1890s, the area started to become a popular retreat destination for Chicagoans, with many visitors traveling to the region to take boat trips to see Fox and Grass Lake's "Egyptian Lotus" beds. Early 20th century The Chain O'Lakes region saw a boom in development at the start of the 20th century with the introduction of the Milwaukee Road railroad in 1901. The railroad crossed the Chain at its narrowest point between Pistakee Lake and Nippersink Lake, the current location of the US Route 12 crossing. A station was built near the crossing, named Nippersink Point, which would become the center of the Fox Lake community. The railroad provided effective access to the area for Chicago residents, leading to a boom in tourism. This led to the development of several new resorts, which supplemented older resorts such as the famous Mineola. However, the boom in tourism drew the attention of Lake County leaders, who ordered raids on the numerous unlicensed drinking and gambling establishments. To avoid further raids and fines from the county government, several resort leaders united, incorporating the town of Fox Lake in 1907. When it was incorporated, Fox Lake only had a few hundred residents, but its summer season population was estimated at 20,000. The new town government placed very few restraints on its resorts, with 48 liquor licenses issued just prior to Prohibition. Even after Prohibition, enforcement was relatively low in the region, helping to draw Chicagoans interested in drinking and gambling. Given the lax alcohol enforcement laws, the region is also famous for its hosting of Prohibition-era gangsters, including Al Capone, who owned .... Discover the Paul J Jakstas popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Paul J Jakstas books.