The North Wall (the point) shows the importance of transportation to the area. We see the train coming through on the CB&Q railroad. this was an
important feature of the point because it allowed them to transmit and receive services as well as goods. It was also able to transport people.
Many people even today take the Burlington into the city of Chicago to work.

In this panel we see the point. This was the important "village center" of Lace. we see the smithy, old lace school, the Creamery, the town hall,
general store, and the post office-all important businesses for the community of lace. To give you an idea of exactly where the point was located in
relation to today's busy roads, The Creamery-Cheese Factory was located on 75thstreet where McDonalds is today.

Originally built in 1859, Lace School was destroyed. it was rebuilt on top of its original foundation in 1925. It was used as a functioning school until 1965
and Darien's city hall from 1969 to 1971 also the first Darien police department with a jail

Andrus Boy Delivering the Mail
On the South Wall, we see some other very important aspects of our history. We see the Andrus boy swimming the canal to deliver the mail.
It is not a very wide body of water to swim and not real deep, but it sure must have been cold.

I & M Canal

The south wall of the mural is very important in the history of Darien because it shows the Illinois & Michigan Canal. This Canal was built on land purchased
from the Native Americans and was the reason many immigrants moved to this area. There were jobs to be had and many came to work on the I & M Canal.
This Canal connected Darien and the other settlements to city of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Equally as important, it connected Chicago to the rich farming
land in the West. The Canal eventually reached the Illinois River and the great Mississippi River. The goods (like food, supplies for building, etc.) could be
transported back and forth making it possible for the settlers to move West.

As you can see on our mural, we have depicted a barge being pulled by a mule. This is how the boat or barge would be moved down the canal. It was a very
efficient way to transport anything including passengers. It must have been fun taking a trip down the canal back then. You would see lots of wildlife and
probably bring a picnic lunch.

White Deer

A man who invented the skinless hotdog owned much of that property, and he made it a home for some very unusual wildlife. The first time people saw the
white deer that Mr. Gustav Freund brought to his home to live with could not believe their eyes. These white deer live there even today coexisting with the regular
brown deer and both roam free on Argonne’s forest grounds. These white deer are not native to the U.S. but come from exotic places like Africa. They are smaller
than our native brown deer and are often called “albino deer”;
however the term is not appropriate for this type of deer. They do not have pink eyes, like regular albinos, but simply have white fur rather than brown fur.

Old Cass School

In the mural you can see a small white school building. This school was the one room school house. Not pictured in the mural is the school that took its
place. This school (that took the place of the one room schoolhouse) is still there today but not pictured in the mural. The school is no longer a school.
Today this building is an office for the Carmelite Little Flower Society.The priests needed an office and the old school sat vacant. Our new school was
already built but, our school needed funds to build our gymnasium. Our school has really changed since then. Can you imagine our school without a gym?
Once the priests purchased the school, Father Chanley set up his office in the old Cass

The East Wall tells the story of early settlers as well as the history of transportation in the area. Darien would not have thrived and
continued to grow without the development of transportation.

The farm seen in the distance is that of the Smarts. Mr. Smart settled here with his wife. A picture of this farm can be seen in the Darien Historical Society,
located in Old Lace School on Cass Ave. We have pictured this farm in the mural because of its importance. He had “Gold Fever” and traveled to the west
to pan for gold. He struck it rich and came back to Cass and bought up as much acreage as possible. Any student living in Smart Oaks or any of the
surrounding area is probably living on Smart land.

The Smarts were hard working people and they have one of the more interesting stories to be told. Not only is it the most interesting, but it is the most
romantic.One day Josephine Smart walked down to the same old oak tree she was so familiar with. This oak tree was her old friend and she loved to sit
under the oak and sing on hot summer days. She had the most beautiful voice and on one summer day she happened to be singing her heart out when
a gentleman by the name of Martin B. Madden happened to be passing by. Martin Madden had business to do with Mr. Smart at the farm. He heard this
angelic lovely voice coming from an ancient oak. It was “love at first hear”! Mr. and Mrs. Smart introduced Martin to Josephine and the two were meant to
be. They were soon married and Josephine sang to him everyday for the rest of their time spent together.

Martin Madden was an interesting character. It is said that he came to the United States from England. He was Irish and left his country to make a better life
for himself. He found a job on the I and M canal as a mule driver. This was a very important job. The I and M canal connected Cass with the Mississippi
and Lake Michigan. This meant that from Cass you could get to Chicago, the nearest big city and also you could get anything from Chicago to the West and
visa versa. (for more information on the I and M canal see info on the South Wall)

One day Martin had an accident. The mule rope accidentally became wrapped around hisleg and he suffered a severe leg injury. The injury was so bad that
the Doctors decided they would need to amputate Martin’s leg. This was terrible, but from this terrible experience a good thing came to be.Martin was the first
recipient of Workman’s Compensation in the state. This means that he suffered an injury while on the job and the I and M canal gave him money to help him start
a new life. Martin was very smart. Even though Smart never finished school in Ireland, he decided to take the money the State of Illinois had awarded him and return
to school to get an education. He knew he would need to depend on his intellect rather than his

Cass Cemetery

The Cass cemetery is North on Frontage road, two blocks west of Bailey Road. it is the final resting place of the settlers such as,
Andrus, Smart, and the Oldfield families.

Frink Stagecoach Line

It was established in 1834. Each day, sixteen stage coaches traveled along route 66.There was a stop at the Tremont Inn.

Native Americans

The Blackhawk Treaty was signed in 1834. This made it safe for settlers to settle in Cass from the Native Americans. The Native American
tribes in the area were the Pottawatomie, the Sauk, and the Fox.

Meyer Woods Barn

It is on Oldfield Road which is 1/2 a mile from North Frontage Road. it was built in 1913. it was constructed by wetting and heating large
redwood beams with wood pegs and dowels. There are no nails used at all!!

The Tremont Inn

The Tremont Inn was made by Thomas Andrus. He arrived to Cass in 1835 with his family. He thought it was a good idea to build an inn.