MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. – Located north of Rockford, Ill., McHenry County is composed of several communities considered part of Chicago’s northern suburbs. However, the area is not a heavy traffic area and has several stops that those seeking ag history and agricultural adventures will enjoy. Several members of the Midwest Travel Network were able to experience these agricultural treasures during their conference. The Midwest Travel Network conference was a gathering for travel writers and destinations.

The first find was a retail space, the McHenry Riverwalk Shoppes. The town of McHenry, Ill., is along Boone Creek and the Fox River. The scenic walk is idyllic, and the Riverwalk Shoppes offer 10 shoppes, a variety of retail spaces selected for the 2026 season. The Riverwalk Shoppes are an incubator space for small businesses and entrepreneurs to have a safe space to grow their businesses. While this does not seem like an obvious agricultural connection, several of the shops are based in rural roots and use ag products. Roots & Routes, a husband-and-wife shop, offers laser engraved maps, and their name says it all. The Cake Lady of Spring Grove uses natural ingredients, and the Winter Inn BBQ got its start as a home-based food business on the farm.

Shops on Main in Huntley, Ill., was another stop that was filled with entrepreneurs that go from online, farmers markets and home-based businesses into retail space. The end goal is a brick-and-mortar business of their own. Chef Joanne Thomas uses agricultural ingredients in her culinary offerings, and Pots and Pie Bakery uses locally sourced products as well.

A visit to Tom’s Farm Market & Greenhouses has clear connections that readers will see. A group of Midwest Travel Network members stopped at the market to pick strawberries. They rode a wagon out into a strawberry field pulled by one of many vintage John Deere tractors on the farm. The wagons were filled with both writers and customers all gathering to pick Tom’s delectable strawberries. As one writer on the wagon said as we approached the field said, “You can smell the berries.”

One young woman on her first strawberry adventure was planning to make her first strawberry pie. On the return ride after filling boxes full of berries, one little boy seemed to have eaten many more berries than he picked, his shirt was stained with the evidence. Besides the strawberries and other produce offerings, Tom’s market also has a bakery and café with amazing strawberry donuts. Founded in 1959, this family-run farm is a great ag stop where visitor spied working JD tractors, as well as a very cool International brand truck that was perfect for photo ops.

Breweries are an agricultural entity using grain for production, but the interesting Sew Hop’d Brewery & Taproom is a combination brewery and sewing machine manufacturing plant. Located in Huntley, it is fascinating that this building was originally the home of Borden’s Dairy in 1908. Founded by Gail Borden Jr., he patented a way to preserve condensed milk in 1856. Used as a staple during the Civil War for soldiers, after the war, the company grew to include fresh and bottled milk, cheese and butter. The huge brick building where the brewery is located was chosen because in the early 1900s, Huntley was a big dairy location. The area was selected so the dairy could be close to the milk supplies, and it could be processed quickly. The plant was used for condensed milk production and was a huge factory.

Another McHenry County agricultural connection was the mansion where the conference was held. The Dole Mansion was constructed in 1865 in lovely Crystal Lake by Charles Sidney Dole. He was a Chicago based grain firm owner of the company Armour, Dole & Co., which was one of the largest grain operators in the Midwest. They operated massive grain elevators and were part of the grain trading establishment.

Charles Dole went on the purchase 1,000 acres of farmland, “Lakeland Farm,” where he built the Dole Mansion, a Victorian era Italianate estate. Besides his grain and farming operations, Dole also operated the successful Crystal Lake Ice Co. Over the years, the home became a country club and was a seminary and more. While the home had many owners, one was Ida Ringling, the widow of Al Ringling, of the Ringling Brothers Circus fame. The property eventually became a meeting place, and today they still host farmers markets and other events.

McHenry County still has some of the beautiful dairy barns from the past and countryside that pull agricultural fans to their area.