Alexander Stillman and the Stillman Nature Center

Virginia bluebells

These Virginia Bluebells, not indigenous to Illinois, are a remnant of what was on the McCormick Property at 33 Penny Road, which Alexander Stillman came to own. There was a main house, which has since been torn down, but you can still see evidence of a garden, with the snowdrops and violets, daffodils and Virginia Bluebells sprinkled throughout. These are remnants of a legacy Alexander Stillman left behind, although little of it is explained on any printed material or signs.

A mysterious headstone

Even more mysterious are the grave markers that sit in a haphazard kind of way, along the trail...some facing AWAY from the trail.

And then there are the low and close-to-the-ground greenhouses.

Almost hidden cold frames, low-to-the-ground.

And the reaper, like the cold frames, will be practically invisible when the foliage leafs out.

A reaper almost hidden on the property

I can see a few of the pieces from these structures, and can't help but wonder what they were used for and when they were in use. Here is yet another hint of a bygone era and a history, that few know about.

Little bits are hinted at on the Stillman Nature Center site.

LCmdr Alexander Stillman, presumably somewhere around 1942-1945, when he served in the Navy.

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Stillman, picture here, in uniform, date unknown.

The Stillman Nature Center received its name from Alexander Stillman. He was one of four stepchildren of (Harold) Fowler McCormick, the Chairman of the Board of International Harvester. Newspaper archives help us learn that Alex Stillman purchased the South Barrington land from Fowler McCormick in 1951.

The home on the property was built in 1959.

The McCormick farm in what was then Barrington, Illinois, was situated on 400+ acres of land. The McCormicks - Fowler and his wife Anne, had several homes that they maintained - a ranch in Arizona, a farm in Barrington Illinois, a place on the Riveria, an apartment in Chicago, and an estate in Quebec, Canada. One of those properties is pictured, above. Being that the date of the photo is not known, I'm not completely certain if it is the estate that once existed at 33 Penny Road; it could be the ranch in Scotsdale, Arizona.

Baby Guy Stillman and his older brother, Alexander Stillman, New York Tribune

Alexander Stillman was the son of James Alexander Stillman, the chairman of Citigroup, and his divorce from Anne Urquhart Potter Stillman was all over the newspaper headlines in the 1920's, and was the reason they were dropped from the social register. James Alexander Stillman accused his wife of infidelity, and worse-that baby Guy Stillman (Alexander's younger brother) was the child of a handsome Indian Guide from Canada. It was all the stuff of a soap opera.

As Guy aged, he bore a resemblance to the other Stillman children, and after the scandal was over, Anne later became Fowler McCormick's wife.

James "Bud" Stillman (Alex's older brother), attended Princeton, where he was a classmate of Fowler McCormick's. In fact, when Anne Urquhart Potter Stillman eventually did divorce James Alexander Stillman in 1930, the very day of her divorce she married Fowler McCormick, who was 19 years her junior. This interesting fact is not mentioned on James Alexander Stillman's Wikipedia page.

Alexander Stillman was an artist and painter, and self published some books. The 7-car garage on the Barrington property used to house his car collection.

But the details of these interesting facts have faded with the passage of time, and there are few places where anyone can find any mention of Alexander Stillman, except in old articles from the New York Times and elsewhere from either when he was a child, or later, when he sponsored races on the St. Maurice in Quebec with his mother, Anne "Fifi" Urquhart Potter Stillman-McCormick.

"Fifi" McCormick and Alexander Stillman. (A commenter says the person on the right is Guy Stillman.)

All of Anne Urquhart Potter Stillman-McCormick's children were Stillmans. She never had a child with Fowler McCormick - due, in part, to the simple fact that she was 51 years old when she married Fowler McCormick, who was then 32. 

The Stillmans had four children - Anne, James, Alexander, and Guy. Their father died in 1944. Their mother died in 1969, and their stepfather, Fowler McCormick, died in 1973.

What little is known about Alexander Stillman should be preserved.

But the house on the property that the Stillman Nature Center stands on today- wasn't.

Alexander Stillman's grave marker in Honolulu

Alexander Stillman was buried in Honolulu Hawaii, and as of today's date I have been unable to find an obituary. He served in the Navy as Lt. Commander from 1942-1945, and I found a few places on the web where he was referenced, along with a few pictures.

Ball team from Crewmen of the USS Hornet

Front Row (left to right)
Ensigns Wood, Cason, Gee, Carter, Fisher, LT Swenson and C.O. LCDR Tucker lying center front.
Back Row
Ensign Nickerson, LT Bates, Ensigns White, Grant, Christofferson, LT Lynch, LCDR Vose, Ensign King,
(non aviator) LT Stillman, Ensign Auman, (non aviator) LT Cathcart, (non aviator) Warrant Officer Lynn, and
LT Peters (Hornet LSO).

A Stillman Replacement Crew from the Navy Patrol Bombing Squadrons page of the 102/14 Association

Front Row: Rich Cappeliti, Eugene Thiem, Charles Bell, George Earl, Charles Hemingway
Back Row: Mel Simon, Dale Orr, Gil Braun, Alex Stillman, Robert Davis, Frank Jacobs

BELL, CDR Charles D. Retired chazbell@rmi.net "...I was in LCDR Alex Stillman's PB4Y-1 crew as a radioman (Arm2c) in VPB-102. We were stationed on Tinian and after the landings on Iwo Jima we often flew out of there as a detachment until the end of the war. I would like to hear from anyone else from that crew or from VPB-102. I do know that LCDR Srillman is deceased as is another crewmember, Eugene Thiem. I retired from the Naval Reserve in 1969 with the rank of CDR..." [20JUL98] (VP Navy website, showing shipmates letters summary)

Robert Davis-My PPC(Patrol Plane Commander) was Alexander Stillman (Lt.) of Barrington, Il.

29 May 1945: Alex Stillman and crew on patrol out of Iwo spotted several vessels but was driven back by shore batteries from the Japanese mainland.

During the first two weeks of June, numerous small coastal vessels and Japanese aircraft were destroyed or damaged by L.P.Pressler, T.F.Copeland, Alex Stillman, Gil Stewart, R.M.Barnes, W.R.Morey, E.C.Mildahn, J.L.Scott and crews. (From the VPB-102 Patrol Bombing Squadron Website)

Crab apples beginning to bloom

Although he left no children behind, he left that incredible Stillman Nature Center in South Barrington, and certainly, that was a respectable thing to do. The richness of this spacious land becomes apparent as you walk through the trails. You can catch a glimpse of owls, hawks, and find out about plants that are native, and plants that have invaded.

A woodland path in early spring at Stillman.

The Stillman Nature Center is a genuine preserve, with a caretaker/Executive Director who is not only schooled in forestry, but knows much about birds as his schooling had an emphasis on ornithology. This is a very personal place where you can receive informal instruction on the birds in the area, where this man looks up in the air and identifies the songs and calls of birds flying by.

It is a very inspirational place, also - for artists and painters, and photographers, like me. There is something incredible about the sounds of untouched nature like this.

A deer track in the soft earth

The paths are strewn with pine needles and wood chips...and unlike other preserves that I've seen, this place isn't going crazy with 'burns'. I've found those burns to be quite a turnoff, particularly when I've seen extremely large charcoal stumps, still smoldering. What's also wonderful is finding evidence of the wildlife that walked before you; I found many fresh deer tracks and other tracks on the paths, as I made my way in a state of wonder and excited but quiet discovery.

A muskrat swims in the water, visible from the trail.

The Stillman Nature Center is a distinctively different place from others in the area, with an authentic feel that is difficult to describe.

A birdblind overlooking the water, one of the wonderful surprises. at Stillman

Stillman is not full of concrete and artificial lights, and the sounds of the birds are quite different than the calls I've heard at other nature centers (mostly chickadees)- partly because it is actually a preserve and educational center, with injured raptors on site that lucky people can observe up close in their enclosures. These injured birds help the Executive Director and other members of the Center lead classes for school children and other groups, teaching them about birds of prey.

One of the identifying signs on a bird enclosure, explaining some details about the inhabitants.

But birds of prey are also nesting on the property, and that is an exciting discovery that one doesn't find often elsewhere.

In fact, they campfires on occasion, where people can sit around the fire and hear stories for about an hour, and over the wood shed nearby are a pair of nesting Cooper's Hawks.

It is well worth a visit, an exhilarating experience for bird lovers and nature lovers alike. I would encourage someone going there to make sure they hook up with Mark Spreyer, the Executive Director and caretaker, who can fill in some of the blanks about the rich history of the place (if that is your interest)--and some of the nature sights to watch out for on the property - such as a platform for nesting ospreys. Are they nesting there? What birds are nesting, and where? Perhaps if he doesn't give you outright answers, he might give you clues.

Mark Spreyer, Executive Director of the Stillman Nature Center

Spreyer is a delightful man, and takes time when he sees visitors to speak with them. This also makes a visit to the Center a very memorable and unique experience.

Mark Spreyer walks over to a young family looking at the birds inside and speaks with them.

I am grateful to Alexander Stillman for leaving behind such a wonderful place for people to enjoy.

It is indeed worth the time to go there. A 'hidden gem'.