Max Mcgraw Wildlife Foundation - (847) 741-8000

Now simply known as McGraw, the Foundation sits on 1224 acres of hardwoods, prairies, lakes, gravel pits and streams, near the Fox River in Dundee, IL. McGraw has stayed true to its founder’s mission. There is no finer escape.

Max McGraw was the archetypal American success story. From his humble beginnings as a small town boy born in Clear Lake, IA (b. Feb 1, 1883) Max never ignored an opportunity to improve himself. Like his life-long hero, Thomas Edison, Max had a fascination with all things electric. By the time he was 17 he had saved some $500 from his route delivering newspapers on horseback. And, with his experience from working on electrical projects for neighbors and friends opened and electrical contracting firm. And he never looked back. Max went on to exponentially grow his business with speed and perspicacity, eventually moving to Chicago and merging it with the Edison Company to form McGraw-Edison and, later, Centel Corporation. But he refused to allow his remarkable success to keep him far from the land and, in 1937, began buying property along the Fox River in Dundee Illinois. He supervised the “re-birth” of the more than 1,400 acres from flat farmland to something more resembling how the property might have looked before its first tree was felled, its first line of land furrowed. He meant it to be a hunting and fishing club for his pals and called it the “Fin ‘n Feather Club.” Max was a man of leadership and legacy and, so, he turned what was an exclusive club into the Max McGraw Wildlife Federation, dedicated to enabling its members to hunt and fish on pristine property quickly being surrounded by urban sprawl.

For more information on membership, hours and activities visit www.mcgrawwildlife.org or call Charlene Figueira, Member Relations and Marketing, at 847-741-8000 x38

Tags: Hunting and Fishing,Wildlife Sanctuary,Outdoor Recreation