A Tiny Illinois Township On Route 66 Hides Big History, Enchanting Forests, And Impeccable Maple Syrup

Most Route 66 wayfarers roll into Funks Grove, 142 miles after revving up their Mother Road odyssey of neon nostalgia and kitschy Americana from Chicago to California, and make a beeline for the Sirup Camp's impeccable maple syrup, one of the most popular stops on the "Main Street of America." But behind the tiny township lies a big history of Illinois homesteading and agriculture, nestled amid enchanting forests.

Long before 1824, when Isaac and Absalom Funk arrived in central Illinois and settled by an abundant thicket of robust maple trees, the Iroquois produced syrup on this fertile, well-irrigated land. Although the family made syrup and sugar for home cooking, the Funk brothers were first and foremost commercial farmers who grew their cattle, hog, and corn operation into a 25,000-acre enterprise and pioneered cattle-feeding in the Midwest. While Absalom built a meat-packing company in Chicago, Isaac rose to prominence as the area's "Cattle King," and together with his good friend and family attorney Abraham Lincoln, lobbied for the Chicago & Alton Railroad to come through Funks Grove. Isaac also served as an Illinois state representative, senator, and co-founder of Illinois Wesleyan University. His descendants continued to a remarkable record of civic courage and agricultural success, including managing the Chicago Union Stockyards, serving the state, sheltering escaped slaves during the Civil War, and introducing modern soybean processing to the region. 

Isaac's grandson Arthur started merchandising the maple syrup in 1891, and the opening of Route 66 in the 1920s gave the business a significant boost. Even after Interstate 55 opened in the 1970s and siphoned most travel away from the pioneering two-lane blacktop, highway signage and Mother Road revivalism monumentalized Funks Grove into the sweet stuff of road trip legend.

Seven generations later, the Funks still call their grove home, selling about 2,000 gallons of sirup annually, usually by August. The old-timey "sirup" spelling harkens back to third-generation Hazel Funk Holmes' sentimental yet stern declaration that their golden elixir is pure boiled-down maple sap without additives. While Native Americans once used it to season corn, vegetables, fish, and meat, today the Funks Grove Sirup Camp — now a Registered Natural Landmark — also sells candy, cream, sugar, fruit leather, ice cream, and baking mixes. The sweet lineup gives Québec, the "maple syrup capital of the world," a run for its sugar shacks. Nowhere else can you taste this closely guarded heirloom recipe, with some sap still flowing from the same trees tapped by the patriarch Isaac Funk. Using an ultra-precise distillation process, it takes 35 to 50 gallons of maple sap to make just a gallon of precious sirup.

Funks Grove remains one of Route 66's most enduring family legacies, making you feel right at home from the maple grove where it all began to the conserved 1864 ancestral prairie house displaying an impressive assembly of gems, minerals, and keepsakes like Civil War antiques and a still-playing Victrola. The vacated but intact country store and railroad depot are timeless expressions of village life back in the day, while a church constructed by the founders features ceiling beams and pulpit area hewn from local cedar, along with an 1878 pump organ. Rest on log pews carved from American red elm in the outdoor Chapel of the Templed Trees, a welcome respite for all faiths.

There's no sirup without maple, and you can explore the roots of the Funks' crowd-pleasing potion at their Sugar Grove Nature Spaces, which spans more than 1,000 acres of lush woodlands and the state's largest untouched prairie tract. True to the family's nature-first philosophy, the National Natural Landmark offers 8 miles of hiking trails, bird-watching crib, virgin forest, astronomy observatory, blacksmith forge, gardens, and play area — all inviting visitors to revel in the pristine terrain that has long nourished their prized product. Mere minutes from the interstate but a cosmic dimension away, this swath of unfurling green is a magical sanctuary soundtracked by bubbling creeks and 53 bird species, dappled with exuberant bursts of colorful wildflowers. During the four- to six-week cold-weather window each year, guided tours highlight the sugarbush and demonstrate maple tapping and tastings. Although updated technology has made the Funks' work more efficient, they still rely on the same traditional harvesting customs innovated by Native Americans.

What will never change: Turning off Route 66 and trundling up that gravel driveway towards two picturesque houses, gift shop, and sirup camp, framed within stately arbors and of course, maple trees. Also standing the test of time are tales of the Funks helping countless travelers in distress, hearing the new generation proprietors recount family history and tradition, and chatting everything sirup to rapt visitors from as far-flung as Africa, Australia, Japan, and Europe. More than just a retro attraction, Funks Grove embodies the open road's endearing spirit of American adventure. fueled by the generosity of small-town community — a poignant experience that's right up there with Route 66's most underrated stops.