Tryon Grove Farm, near Ringwood

The farm, established in 1837 by Bela and Harriet Tryon, retains many of its original outbuilding structures. Both Bela and Harriet were prominent local figures. Bela was the first postmaster of Hebron, one of the first McHenry County Commissioners, and the first Justice of the Peace. As the first European woman to settle in the area, it was Harriet who chose the name for Hebron Township. It was said she made her home the center of hospitality in those early years. Their son Charles, a Civil War veteran, was elected to the Illinois State Senate and served for a time as the County Surveyor.

The residence of Captain Charles Hopkins Tryon is an outstanding example of cross-gabled bracketed Italianate architecture. The entire homestead, extensively remodeled in the 1870s, has good integrity. The original barn was replaced in 1912 and new identical copies of the original cupolas replaced the old in the late 1990s. The remaining outbuildings are in good standing. Several have been restored to their original condition.

John James House, Ringwood

New Hampshire native John James settled here in 1842 where, with an original land grant, he purchased 120 acres of fertile land. Although possessing some Greek Revival and Federal features, the layout and symmetry suggest this house to be of the Georgian architectural style, an uncommon style for the area in this time period. The 1850 building was constructed of fieldstone with massive walls 12 inches thick. Several of the original beveled windows are still in place. Recent remodeling discovered evidence of a trap door in the kitchen and openings in the fieldstone lead to a short five-step staircase under it. This hidden area, perhaps a root cellar, hints at possible Underground Railroad activity. The 1860s saw James very active in local politics. As a founding member of the Baptist Church of Greenwood, he was known as the "overseer of the poor".

Carr- Harrison Cemetery, Ringwood

Joseph Carr purchased land that encompassed the western half of this cemetery in 1837, and in 1842 John Harrison purchased land that included the eastern half.

Typically, when a first death occurred in an area, a suitable piece of land was set aside as a burying ground that would serve the neighborhood thereafter. It was highly unusual for adjoining landowners to develop separate but neighboring cemeteries. Both the Carr and Harrison families were large and this may have been the reason for the separate burying grounds. It was a grim fact that a large family could easily fill a small cemetery given the high mortality rate of the times.

Like so many rural families, the Carrs and Harrisons eventually joined in matrimony in 1860 and the two separate family cemeteries became one. There were several early burials but the deeds for this cemetery were not officially recorded until the 1890s. The ground is still in use and tended by both families 160 years later.

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