A village of wooded lots and winding roads about 29 miles northwest of Chicago, between Lake Zurich and Long Grove.
01 — At a Glance
Kildeer is a village in Ela Township, about 29 miles northwest of Chicago. The 2020 census counted 4,091 residents. Gazetteer files put the total area at 4.43 square miles, with 4.23 square miles of land. The village ZIP code is 60047, and some businesses along Rand Road use 60074. Kildeer incorporated on March 22, 1958. Its motto is “A Unique Village in a Natural Setting,” and Village Hall is at 21911 Quentin Road.
02 — History
Kildeer exists because its first residents didn’t want a planned city of 60,000 built around them. They organized, voted at a neighbor’s home and won their case at the Illinois Supreme Court. The village they protected still runs on big lots and open land.
1955
Henry Bosch Jr.’s Boschome Farms, laid out with mostly two-acre homesites, was approved on April 15, 1955. He wouldn’t sell lots to builders, and every buyer had to bring house plans to him for approval before building.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois
1950s
Brickman Builders of Chicago proposed a planned community south and southeast of Lake Zurich with 16,000 single-family homes, 6,000 apartments and duplexes, and an eventual population of 60,000. Residents who’d moved here for the countryside started organizing.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois
1950s
When Brickman’s crew tried to truck a small red barn across the one-lane bridge over Buffalo Creek on East Cuba Road, overhanging oak branches blocked the way. Neighbors said the tree was on private property, and the barn went back to the farm.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois
1958
On March 22, 1958, residents voted to incorporate the Village of Kildeer, with a population of 153. The polling place was the home of longtime resident Dorothea Huszagh, who’d inspired the effort.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois
1960
Brickman sued to overturn the referendum. On June 9, 1960, the Illinois Supreme Court found in favor of Kildeer. He later sold 475 acres to the Arthur T. McIntosh Co., which developed them as the Farmington subdivision.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois
1989
Kemper Lakes Golf Club on Old McHenry Road hosted the 71st PGA Championship in 1989, won by Payne Stewart at 276. The course also hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in the late 1980s.
Source: Kemper Lakes Golf Club: History
Until after World War II, this was farm country and undeveloped land. As demand for housing grew, the area began drawing people who wanted a quieter, more rural life. In 1951 Quentin Road was realigned to replace four right-angle turns with a smooth curve north from Rand Road, and the full road was paved in 1952.
In the mid-1950s Henry Bosch Jr. laid out Boschome Farms, approved on April 15, 1955, with mostly two-acre homesites. He refused to sell lots to builders and approved every buyer’s house plans himself. Long Grove Valley, just to the south, followed in three units approved between 1955 and 1957.
Brickman Builders of Chicago announced a planned community covering 9 square miles south and southeast of Lake Zurich: 16,000 single-family homes, 6,000 apartments or duplexes, schools, a country club and a central shopping mall at West Cuba and Quentin roads, for an eventual population of 60,000. Joseph M. Brickman called it a “billion dollar city.”
Existing residents learned Brickman could incorporate his own village once enough residents lived inside his boundaries. Inspired by longtime resident Dorothea Huszagh, neighbors organized and petitioned for their own referendum. When Brickman’s crew tried to move a small barn across the one-lane bridge over Buffalo Creek on East Cuba Road, overhanging oak branches blocked the truck, a confrontation followed, and police sent the barn back.
On March 22, 1958, residents voted to establish the Village of Kildeer, with a population of 153. The polling place was Dorothea Huszagh’s home. J. Larry Powell was sworn in as the first village president that April.
Brickman sued to overturn the vote. The new board, with no revenue, asked the village’s 45 families to cover the legal bills, and the contributions fell just $362 short. On June 9, 1960, the Illinois Supreme Court found in favor of Kildeer. Brickman later sold 475 acres to the Arthur T. McIntosh Co., which developed them as Farmington.
Kildeer set up a part-time police department in 1975 and made it full-time in 1988, and hired its first full-time village administrator in 1989. In 1996 the village bought five acres on Quentin Road for the Kildeer Nature Center, and that September it placed a plaque on the Cuba Road bridge in memory of Dorothea Huszagh and the neighbors who opposed the 1950s plan.
Kemper Lakes Golf Club on Old McHenry Road brought championship golf to the village, hosting the 71st PGA Championship in 1989, won by Payne Stewart. Today Kildeer remains an island of countryside surrounded by busier suburbs, with open space and private, self-sufficient living at its center.
Source: Wikipedia: Kildeer, Illinois · Village of Kildeer: Nature Center · Kemper Lakes Golf Club: History
03 — Shopping & Dining
Kildeer is mostly homes and open land, so its restaurants and stores sit along Rand Road, in Kildeer Village Square, the Shops at Kildeer and the Quentin Collection. Historic downtown Long Grove is right next door.
Restaurant & tasting room
A full restaurant with a wine tasting room, weekend brunch and a monthly wine club.
20423 N. Rand Rd., Kildeer, IL 60074
Visit WebsiteSushi & hibachi
Fresh sushi and sashimi plus hibachi grills where the chefs cook at your table, in the Shops at Kildeer.
20505 N. Rand Rd., Unit 214, Kildeer, IL 60047
Visit WebsiteBreakfast & lunch
A family-owned brunch spot open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with pancakes, paninis, homemade soups and loaded bloody marys.
20393 N. Rand Rd., Kildeer, IL 60074
Visit WebsiteNatural & organic grocer
A full Whole Foods Market on Rand Road for weekly groceries, prepared foods and specialty items.
20281 N. Rand Rd., Kildeer, IL 60074
Visit WebsiteFurniture, décor & gourmet
Globally inspired furniture and home décor, plus international foods, wine and entertaining supplies, in the Shops at Kildeer.
20505 N. Rand Rd., Suite 240, Kildeer, IL 60047
Visit WebsiteCustom picture framing
Family-owned custom framing with more than 25 years of experience, run by owner Christine Johnson in the Quentin Collection.
20771 N. Rand Rd., Kildeer, IL 60047
Visit Website04 — Education
Kildeer is split between two school systems. Depending on the subdivision, children attend Lake Zurich Community Unit District 95 from kindergarten through high school, or Kildeer Countryside District 96 and then Stevenson High School in District 125.
Boundaries follow the address. Confirm school assignment for each address with the district before you buy.
Search HomesPublic · PreK–5
District 96 serves part of Kildeer, and its graduates go on to Stevenson High School.
Public · Grades 6–8
Fifth graders move on to one of two District 96 middle schools for grades 6 through 8.
Public · K–8
The village lists these District 95 schools for Kildeer homes in the Lake Zurich district.
Public · Grades 9–12
The high school for Kildeer homes in Community Unit District 95.
Public · Grades 9–12
Adlai E. Stevenson High School opened in 1965. Its 42-square-mile district takes in parts of Kildeer and all or parts of 15 other communities.
Independent · Nearby
Carmel Catholic is a Catholic high school in Mundelein. Lake Forest Academy is a college-preparatory boarding school in Lake Forest.
05 — Lifestyle
Most of what people love about Kildeer is outside: wooded lots, a protected nature center, a marsh preserve next door and a championship golf course. Here’s where weekends tend to go.
Five acres on the east side of Quentin Road, just south of West Cuba Road, kept in a natural state with no paths or benches. About 70 plant species grow here, most of them native to Illinois, and the killdeer, the bird the village is named for, is one of its best-known residents.
Nature CenterA 791-acre preserve on West Cuba Road with about 3 miles of trails, including a gravel trail that links to Barrington’s Citizens Park.
Preserve DetailsThe Old McHenry Road course that hosted the 1989 PGA Championship and the 1992 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Club WebsiteA private, member-run swim and tennis club on 10 acres, with swim and dive teams, Har-Tru clay courts, pickleball and a summer of socials, from the Father’s Day Campout to the fall Chili Cook-Off.
Club WebsiteNext door, downtown Long Grove throws Chocolate Fest in May, Strawberry Fest in June and Apple Fest in September, each with live music and a carnival.
Festival InfoNeighboring Hawthorn Woods fills its village barn with handmade holiday gifts from local vendors on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Admission is free.
Event DetailsRecreational soccer for boys and girls ages 3 to 18, serving Kildeer, Long Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Lake Zurich and nearby towns.
Club WebsiteA volunteer-run nonprofit since 1998, with baseball and softball for about 1,000 kids ages 5 to 18 from Lake Zurich, Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods and nearby towns.
LZBSA WebsiteYouth football and cheer for the Lake Zurich area, founded in the early 1970s by volunteer firemen, from Sparks flag football to every level of tackle.
Flames WebsiteThe library on Mohawk Trail in Lake Zurich serves most of Kildeer, with programs for every age.
Library WebsiteNext door, Hawthorn Woods partners with a professional symphony orchestra, founded in 2004, for a concert series in the village.
Concert ScheduleJust east, the society saved the old Drexler Tavern, now Long Grove’s Village Hall, and keeps Archer School and the Ruth Barn beside it.
Historical SocietyUnion Pacific Northwest trains to Ogilvie Transportation Center from 137 W. Wood Street, with 1,368 parking spaces.
Station DetailsAlso on the Union Pacific Northwest Line, at 201 S. Spring Street, with 914 parking spaces and a waiting room open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Station DetailsRoute 53 is the main expressway route, Rand Road (US 12) is the main shopping corridor, and Quentin Road is the main north-south drive through town.
Village OverviewPrivate Client Representation