In 1837 William Dwyer, his wife Mary, and her brother, Dr. Richard Murphy, established a claim to the property on this site and created what was known as the Dwyer Settlement. The Dwyer homestead included a tavern and one of the three stage stops along the Green Bay Trail in Lake County. It became known as the center of social activity, nurturing political, intellectual, and religious ties in the newly settled area. The Dwyer settlement was the site of St. Ann's Church and Cemetery (1844), the first Catholic parish in the area.
William Dwyer served as the first road supervisor for this portion of Green Bay Road and served as a tax collector. Dr. Murphy, a physician, was appointed first magistrate for the area and as deputy to the Federal Marshal, recorded the Lake County census for 1840. Murphy served for six years (1839-'45) in the Illinois State Legislature, drafting the first Illinois public school law, and acting as chair of the state finance committee. Dwyer and Dr. Murphy were instrumental in the 1839 formation of Lake County through the division of McHenry County, as well as in moving the county seat from Libertyville to Waukegan. The Tavern was the first polling place in the area and the site of the first Shields Township meeting on April 2, 1852. The Dwyer settlement gave a permanent character to this area and from it grew the community now known as Lake Bluff.
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