Grand Detour was founded in 1835 by Leonard Andrus (1805–1867) of Vermont. In 1836 Andrus welcomed his friend and fellow Vermont native John Deere to the town, where Deere built a house and established a forge. Deere manufactured pitchforks and shovels, and in 1837 he invented the first successful steel plow. The first was sold in 1838.
The John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour is operated by the John Deere Company. The John Deere House and Shop is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it joined that list in 1966, the year the Register was established. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
The village soon grew to include a dam, race and sawmill, a flour mill and several stores.
Passages that mention Grand Detour, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sketches of the history of Ogle County, Ill., and the early settlement of the Northwest1859 · page 69Read the page →
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The village of Grand Detour was laid out in 1836, when there were but a few log cabins. In '37, three frame buildings were put up — one for a store, which was occupied by a Mr. Palmer, which was also purchased by Mr. Cumins in '38 : the other two were dwellings. There was als® a store, started in '36, by House ^'
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Sketches of the history of Ogle County, Ill., and the early settlement of the Northwest1859 · page 70Read the page →
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Grand Detour is admirably situated as a manufacturing point. Its water power, which has hardly begun to be developed, is one of the best in the State. Rock River affords excellent facilities for shipping manufectured fabrics to all parts of the West and Southwest, while, being only four miles from Nachusa Station, oh
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Grand Detour, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1911
1933
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1933
2007
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