Dr. Charles H. Quinlan was born in Albany, New York in 1821; he died in Evanston in 1897. During his nearly 80 years, he became one of the most important contributors to the founding of the City of Lake Forest.

After graduating from the Albany Academy in 1842, Charles Quinlan trained in medicine and dentistry for four years under his uncle, Dr. Harvey, in Buffalo. He then struck out on his own in the young city of Chicago, establishing a dental practice on Lake Street.

In 1846, Quinlan achieved fame as the first Midwestern physician to administer anesthesia, during an amputation performed at Rush Medical College. He produced the sulphuric ether using instructions sent to him by his uncle in Buffalo. The success of this experiment granted Quinlan greater renown, and his practice increased accordingly. He studied for a degree in medicine at Rush Medical College, eventually earning his M.D. in 1865.

In the late 1850s, Quinlan dabbled in real estate. He invested $1,000 in the Lake Forest Association. Charles, his wife Ruth and their family moved into their new home on Deerpath in 1859. It was one of the first estates built in the newly platted Lake Forest.

Dr. Quinlan’s fingerprints are all over the shaping of early Lake Forest. He was one of 24 voters who approved Lake Forest’s charter in 1861. At that time, Quinlan was elected the first city treasurer. He also served on Lind (later Lake Forest) University’s first board of trustees. A founding elder of First Presbyterian Church, Quinlan was the first Sunday School superintendent and even sold the church the land on which the present building stands. Certainly not least among his contributions, Dr. Quinlan was the only practitioner of medicine and dentistry here in the 1860s.

A devastating fire in 1869 ravaged the Quinlan home on Deerpath. The family rebuilt the house and sold it. In 1874 Dr. Quinlan acquired a hotel in Evanston at the northeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Davis Street, which he called the Avenue House. The next year, the Quinlans relocated to Evanston.