A retired firefighter uncovers Diamond Lake’s hidden history

Perhaps the most enduring memories of Diamond Lake in Mundelein come from summer days past, when throngs of exuberant visitors from Chicago and elsewhere enjoyed the lakefront resorts, dance pavilions and other attractions.

In fact, at one point a railroad spur ran to the south shore to accommodate visitors, and the area that eventually became the far south side of Mundelein has a storied history as a destination for recreation, entertainment and more.

But there’s more to see and know about the spring-fed lake, which was formed by retreating glaciers about 14,000 years ago.

This story is now featured in the special exhibit “Lost and Found Artifacts of Diamond Lake” at the Mundelein Heritage Museum.

The exhibit includes arrowheads, hand tools, belt buckles, oar locks, coins, keys, jewelry, vintage bottles and a variety of other items discovered on the shore and lake bottom by metal detecting enthusiast John Hynds.

While the compact museum, housed in a renovated former train station, has long displayed images and memorabilia of the Diamond Lake days in the dance hall, the special exhibition of Hynds’ loaned items has proved so popular that it has been extended until next year .

John Hynds, a retired firefighter and metal detector enthusiast, has recovered hundreds of items from Diamond Lake in Mundelein.
Courtesy of Mundelein Heritage Museum

“It takes you through the eras and some of the key points,” said Mike Flynn, president of the Mundelein Historical Commission. “We have a lot of people coming by just to look at it. Everyone finds it fascinating.”

Hynds, a retired firefighter from Hoffman Estates, began prospecting for metals as a hobby in 2017.

“The more success (I had), the more I wanted to find better, older things,” he said.

Hynds, a longtime resident of Sylvan Lake in unincorporated Fremont Township, said he was a former lake manager and was deeply involved in fishing and ecology. About five years ago, he happened upon the book “Our Gem: A History and Stewardship Guide for Diamond Lake” and decided to try out his skills there.

Early on he discovered a button from the 1860s from a coat from the Union Civil War.

He later found a pocket watch that probably belonged to John Singer of the Singer sewing machine family. Singer converted a house on the lake’s eastern shore into a resort in the 1890s, near what is now a public beach operated by the Mundelein Park & ​​Recreation District.

“This is where archeology came into play,” Hynds said. “That really piqued my interest.”

He began collecting a variety of items, including some from the mid-19th century.

“I never know what I will find. That’s the fun and I learn about history that way,” Hynds said. “It’s like an archaeological dig to find out who was where and what they were doing.”

Hynds said he knew about the Mundelein Heritage Museum but had never visited. As his Diamond Lake finds multiplied, he decided the time had come.

“He brought a few things just to show us. We said, ‘Wow,'” Flynn recalls.

Curated by History Commission member Barb Zander, the exhibit and explanatory text provides a visual record of how Indigenous people, current and past residents, and visitors have used and thrived on the 153-acre lake.

So far, Hynds has focused his search from the boathouse on the public beach to the north and east to the former Singer Resort site.

“I haven’t gone to the other parts (of the lake) yet, but I plan to,” he said.

The museum, located at 601 Noel Drive, is open to the public on Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. The season ends on December 14th and the reopening takes place in mid-March. There is no entrance fee.