Celebrating 19 Years as Barrington’s Signature Magazine
Celebrating 19 Years as Barrington’s Signature Magazine
Welcome! You have moved to the Barrington area and your new home is in Cuba Township. It might be in the Village of Barrington or North Barrington; in Lake Barrington, or Barrington Hills; Tower Lakes, or by the Fox River in Port Barrington. Or you might be in that ribbon of unincorporated land that weaves between village entities. Everywhere you are in Cuba Township, you will soon discover that you have chosen a place that embraces its prairie past.
You are settled in with all the amenities and necessities of contemporary life for you and your family—shopping, schools, healthcare, the library, restaurants, churches, and transportation. You have most of it nailed, all within a few minutes from home.
Then, as my husband and I did 40 years ago, you start to explore the landscape tapestry that is Cuba Township. It is a microcosm of “America the Beautiful” where expanses of restored prairie approach gentle hills with ancient oaks standing proud. A winding, flowing creek and lakes that appear on the oldest of maps, and smaller ponds, home to a variety of birdlife. To a river, once the route of explorers, Indigenous peoples, and pioneers into this idyllic environment, this is a heritage beyond measure.
Perhaps you will live as we have on a little Eden, where the deer nibble the spring buds (never mind) and the coyotes slip in and out of the woods on their hunt for food. Ducks and geese, egrets and herons still shelter and nest around waters’ edges. Search the sky for the migrating flocks of Sandhill Cranes, you will hear them long before you see them. These are glimpses of the heritage of your special place.
There have been many good stewards to restore and preserve this environment and protect it from over-development. The Township, the Lake County Forest Preserve, Citizens for Conservation, the Greater North Barrington Area Association, and the Barrington Hills Conservation Trust. For over 75 years, thousands of volunteers have put hands and heart into this ancient soil. If you are staying awhile, why don’t you join them?
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Barbara L. Benson grew up in Kent, England, and later moved to New York. She settled in Barrington and has walked with our history since she first arrived here in 1980.
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