It was all thanks to a blunder, Grace Durand said years afterward, that she was able to expand Crab Tree Farm. One night in 1905 when the family was away, a stock dealer left a group of cows on the Durand property in Lake Forest, with hopes of selling them. Before the Durands returned, the cows escaped and ran loose into nearby gardens and yards. In the wake of the incident, the town passed an ordinance that essentially booted Mrs. Durand and her cows out of Lake Forest.This was not a knee-jerk reaction. Neighbors of Mrs. Durand had grievances that predated the errant stock dealer: “The odor and flies are objectionable.”“The cows litter up sidewalks going and coming from pasture.”“The bawling of cows keeps the neighbors awake nights.”The solution proved satisfactory for all involved. Mrs. Durand purchased the Blodgett farm in Lake Bluff, where she built Crab Tree Farm into a model dairy. And her neighbors could sleep again.
