West Lake Forest's pioneers faced considerable challenges in establishing their farms. The prairie sod was tough, requiring multiple teams of oxen to plow so the wheat, flax seed, oats or corn could be planted. Later farmers raised sheep and stock; many, like the Conways, turned to dairying. Wood was chopped and used for nearly everything: housing, fuel, marking off property, penning in animals – and to sell at market.

Isolated a day's journey from town and a mile or more from the nearest neighbor, settlers endured the hazards of their new terrain. Wolves presented a threat to both sheep and citizens – John Doyle's children recalled a pack surrounding their cabin one scary night. In the early days, few had horses, so trips to Chicago or Little Fort for supplies were often made on foot. A big snow, such as the long winter of 1842, could cut the pioneers off almost entirely.

By the 1850s, with the development of mills in the area, frame homes like the Lancaster farmhouse (below) began to replace the settlers' log cabins. Many of the old log structures were well-built, and often retained as outbuildings, like on the Patrick Dawson property, seen above in 1918.

Ann Devon Redmond, pictured in 1918 at age 80. The daughter of Irish immigrants Ann Fagan and Michael Devon, she was thought to be the first European-American child born in Deerfield Twp. in 1838.

Martin Melody and his sister Ellen Doyle in 1918. Their father Patrick settled near the intersection of Waukegan and Rte. 60 in 1841. Melody Road takes its name from their family.