Recently, I was online looking for a wooded place outside the city to get off the train and walk in the woods. I found what looked like an ideal place next to the Desplaines stop. A stretch of woods and river listed as Cook County Park District’s “Northwestern Woods” hugging the Desplaines River https://tinyurl.com/32s7v238 .

Sweet! But what’s this? An aerial view in google maps shows the woods along the river with a spaceship dead center surrounded by tiny-homes. Yeah! I so want to live there! A closer look reveals the spaceship in this cook county park is somehow a methodist church est 1860 and the tiny-homes are cottages for I’m not sure who https://historicpropertyforsale.com/.

The wooded nook of homes can be seen below.

I took a tour of this “Methodist Camp,” somehow in the middle of a public Cook County Forest Preserve. Lovely, quiet, peaceful place surrounded by woods with 30 or so “cabins” with the Des Plaines River running peaceably, when not flooding, along the property edge. Not alot of people live there. Apparently very cheap homes for sale.

Not alot of info to be found about the place. Google revealed a wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Plaines_Methodist_Camp_Ground mentioning lots of contention and lawsuits between homeowners and the city against all. One couple moved in to find their home surrounded nightly by candle lit vigils of Christians chanting the gay away. One article detailing their plight is here https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/cabin-fever/. Yep, they moved in not knowing gay is not ok with Jesus. Another guy in a lawsuit against the Camp HOA claimed he moved in in 2020, “I’ve lived here for four years. I paid $50,000 for the cottage,” said Bilotech. I can’t find anywhere online listing anything there for sale there. Fuck the x-ian neighbors – what a beautiful looking and way affordable place to live. HOA president sales cottages are for sale. I put in a request for their current “packet” on homes for sale.

Des Plaines built a levy to stop the des plaines river from overflowing into the city’s streets and instead flood the village. It’s in court.

from a Wikipedia article,
“Due to excessive urban build-up in the outlying swamp tributaries to the Des Plaines River, the camp is subject to more and more floods each year, rising to levels that put some two-story cottages underwater to the rafters.”

Personally, I did not see any evidence of water rising that high. (it’s Wikipedia!) Flooding leaves very distinctive water level marks on buildings, the water at the camp quickly receded and so damage was minimal – believe me – I know, I lived for years in New Orleans. Residents said, the levee overflow has since been re-directed. 

Most of the houses are in need of some repair and  currently empty.

Some have put their houses on stilts. The camp president said he raised his home himself with 12 hydraulic jacks bought at Harbor Freight and etc. .

Walkabout

 This house is for sale – $75,000 (negotiable). Already been raised on stilts.

spoke to a guy with a house like this. Didn’t want to take a pic of him in front of  his house, He says he paid $60,000 for it 6 years ago. Lives with his wife, two kids, and dog.
 wild wetlands, woods. River in your backyard. Pretty sweet if your asking me.

Click pics below to enlarge