The Last Stop on South Elgin's Trolley Line Sits Beside a Soldier's Grave From 1832

A path runs north from the pavilion parking lots at Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve to a stone marker. Under it, according to the account that has come down locally, are two soldiers from General Winfield Scott's army. They marched through the Fox Valley during the Black Hawk War. Nobody wrote down their names.

A trolley stop sits a short walk away. Blackhawk Station is the far end of the roughly two-mile Fox River Trolley Museum line, which starts at the Castlemuir depot on Route 31. Most riders treat Blackhawk as a turnaround point. You get five or ten minutes to stretch before heading back. In fact the ride ends a short walk from the oldest thing along the line, and each stretch of track between the depot and that marker comes from a different century.

The 2026 season has two weekends left. The last regular day is Sunday, October 25.

The Oldest Thing Along the Line Is Near the End of It

The grave dates to 1832, during the Black Hawk War. The Daily Herald reported in 2012 that the stone reads "Blackhawk War July 1832." Atlas Obscura places the soldiers' camp in June of that year. So the month depends on which account you read, and neither source settles it.

The marker is much newer than the burial. Local civic and veterans' groups put it up in 1909, which was 77 years after the soldiers died. The same Daily Herald article says area residents remembered a returning soldier helping to bury his comrades. That memory was passed along well before anyone carved a stone. The soldiers are still unidentified.

The preserve has had its current name since the 1990s, when it was renamed for former forest preserve district director Jon Duerr. To find the grave, follow the path north from the pavilion lots. Atlas Obscura says it begins at the back of the parking lot.

Two Miles, Read Backward

Riding out to Blackhawk takes you past roughly 190 years of history. Starting from the grave and working forward to today, the eras along the line look like this:

1. 1832. Two soldiers are buried near the Fox River during the Black Hawk War.
2. 1909. Local groups put up the memorial marker.
3. May 10, 1926. Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee car 715 carries its first passengers.
4. March 30, 1935. Passenger service ends on the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric line between Elgin and Aurora. About three miles of track stay in use for freight.
5. July 4, 1966. The museum starts running trolleys on that leftover track, beginning with Chicago Aurora and Elgin car 20.
6. 1972 and 1978. The remaining stretch from Coleman Grove to the Elgin State Hospital is bought in 1972. In 1978 the tracks between the current Castlemuir terminal and the hospital are pulled up.
7. June 2002. The Blackhawk extension opens, and the trolley now runs past Coleman Grove into the forest preserve.
8. September 27, 2025. Chicago Aurora and Elgin car 316 returns to passenger service after a full restoration.

Item seven explains the rest. The grave is older than the trolley line by about a century. But riders could only reach it by trolley after 2002, when volunteers extended the track into the preserve. For the museum's first 36 years, the line stopped short of it.

This year added two anniversaries to the list. On opening day, May 10, 2026, car 715 marked exactly a century since it first carried passengers. The museum also held a 60th birthday celebration on July 4, matching the date of its first run in 1966.

The work is still going. The museum's 2026 newsletter says CTA car 45 is getting a full restoration that returns it to its 1966 appearance. Soo Line caboose 130 is being prepared for repainting. Volunteers have also laid new track for a car barn extension and are rebuilding the overhead wire on the car barn lead. In 2025 the museum bought back Rio de Janeiro streetcar 1719 and put it back on the rails, though it still needs restoration.

What the Ghost Train Walk Actually Visits

In October the museum runs evening Ghost Story Trains from Castlemuir to Blackhawk Station. At the station, riders choose one of two options. The first is campfire ghost stories with s'mores, singing led by a "ghostly musician," and treats from Margie's Girls' Kitchen. The second, aimed at adults, is a paranormal walk through the graves in the forest preserve. The museum says the event is family friendly and suitable for all ages, and costumes are welcome.

The burial site at Jon J. Duerr is the 1832 soldiers' grave described above, the only grave the sources document inside the preserve. The museum's event page doesn't say exactly which spots the walk visits, so the stop-by-stop route is the museum's to explain.

People sometimes confuse this site with a different burial ground nearby. Hilltop Cemetery, also called Hillside Cemetery, belongs to the Elgin Mental Health Center and is now owned by the City of Elgin. According to the Elgin History Museum, it was laid out in 1933 and has 974 marked grave sites, almost all of them former patients. The first burial took place on October 27, 1933. No source connects Hilltop to the Ghost Train walk, so it's best treated as a separate place with its own history.

The Calendar From Here

Today is Monday, October 12. The October 10 Ghost Train sold out. Here's what's left of the season:

The 11-to-5 window is when the museum is open. On regular days the last ride departs earlier, as explained below.

Ghost Train tickets are sold online. If any are left on the night of the event, they're sold in person, and every departure boards at Castlemuir. After October 25, the museum is closed for the rest of the year except for special events.

Regular admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3 to 11, and children under 3 ride free. Seniors 65 and older, veterans, active military and first responders pay $8. Tickets are good for the whole day. Trains usually run about every 45 minutes, and a round trip takes 30 to 45 minutes. The last train leaves between 4:00 and 4:15 p.m., so arriving at 4:30 means you won't get a ride. If you walk into the preserve and want to ride back from Blackhawk, buy your ticket at the Castlemuir depot first.

Staying After the Last Train

The preserve keeps different hours than the trolley. Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, at 35W003 Route 31, is open daily from sunrise to sunset under the Kane County Forest Preserve District. That means a Saturday ride can end with an hour on foot, well after the 4:15 train is gone. The preserve has asphalt, limestone and mowed trails, plus a regional trail, picnic shelters along the shoreline, fishing, and restrooms.

There's a waterfall a short walk from the Riverbend lot. The Riverbend Trail connects the Fox River Trail to the village bike trail along Randall Road. In June 2026 the district approved resurfacing that Riverbend satellite lot, which sits south of the main entrance, along with its trail connection. No notice so far confirms whether the work is finished or when it might close the lot, so the main entrance is the surer place to park.

Paddlers should know that the district lists the canoe and kayak launch as open whenever the river is open. The ramp for trailered boats is closed, and an extension is planned. The 2026 budget includes $30,000 for a "Jon J. Duerr Boat Launch Extension." Check the district's preserve page before bringing a trailer.

The museum also suggests the Fox River Trail as a way to arrive, linking it to the Elgin-area Metra stations. Longer term, the street outside the depot is being studied. In July 2026, NITA announced support for a South Elgin corridor plan covering IL-31 and La Fox Street from Bowes Road to the museum, plus part of State Street between Gilbert and Walnut. Its goals include redevelopment and better walking, biking and transit connections. The project is funded at $200,000, with $160,000 from the RTA and $40,000 from local sources. It's a planning study, and work on the agreement and scope was set to start in summer 2026. For now, the depot entrance on Route 31 is the same as it was last season.

Several of us at Swanson Real Estate, Inc. grew up around the Fox Valley. Our broker associate Judy Umbdenstock is a veteran, so a marker for two soldiers on the riverbank means something to us. If you have questions about South Elgin homes, or you've lived near the Route 31 corridor for years and want to talk through what that planning study could mean for your block, please Contact Us.