History of Black's Cliff Resort

Originally, Black's Cliff Resort was known as Keith's Cliff Resort from 1918 until 1946.

Keith's Cliff was started in 1918 by a Milwaukee Road Railway executive named Clifford Keith. He ran the resort with his wife Lulu and their two sons. The original idea for Keith's Cliff was to be a getaway for railway employees. As the years went by, the Keith family decided to open the resort to the public. In the early 1900's, people had to travel to the area by rail. What is now the Bearskin trail is where the railroad tracks used to lie. The only remaining remnant of the railway connection is a bell that came off of a locomotive. This "dinner" bell is now outside the main lodge and once in awhile is still rung to call The Black Family to the office.

The first cabin to be built was Birchwood in 1918. It was followed by Musky Inn and Chipmunk in 1920. Musky Inn was considered the main lodge until the 1940's when they built an addition onto Chipmunk and made that their lodge. During the mid 1920's, Bayview, Wildflower, and Restawhile were added to the cabin line. These early cabins did not have bathrooms or any running water. In the late 1920's, Wigwam was built and became a community cabin where guests gathered to play games or converse with other guests. In the 1930's, Kaubashine, Holiday, and Shamrock joined the mix. Shamrock was originally built to be the caretaker's cabin and was located next to where the current volleyball court is. In 1959, in order to have a better lake view, it was relocated to where it exists today. At some point the Keith's installed swinging beds on the screened in porches which are still enjoyed to this day

Clifford and Lulu decided to retire from the resort business after WWII. In 1945, a school teacher from Elmhurst, IL, Maynard Black and his wife Millie purchased the resort and renamed the place Black's Cliff. The first thing Maynard did, was install bathrooms in all the cabins. Then in 1951, Maynard built Norway Pines. From 1946 - 1959 Maynard and Millie along with their sons only lived at the resort in the summer, they came up on weekends the rest of the year working on projects around the resort. Maynard enlisted the help of many of his fellow teachers at York High School in Elmhurst to come up on these work weekends to give a hand. It wasn't until 1959, though, that Maynard, Millie, and their two sons, David and Craig, made the resort their permanent residence year round.

In 1971, Maynard and Millie decided to build a house for themselves further down the lake and pass the resort onto their youngest son Craig Black, his wife Trudy, and their three kids Jennifer, Katherine, and Steven. Craig and Trudy made the last addition to the resort by purchasing Eagle's Nest in 1980. Eagle's Nest was built in the 1950's by a couple who frequented the resort, The Baron's. This couple loved Norway Pines so much, they built Eagle's Nest as an exact duplicate on property bordering the resort and enjoyed summers there until 1980. Craig started remodeling the cabins in the 1990's keeping the old charm but making them year round and updating the interiors. Bear Den and Red Pine, 2 homes on lots that Maynard sold back in the 60's were also purchased back from their owners Bill and Holly Campbell and Ard and Ann Price in the early 90's bringing the resort to 11 cabins and 2 homes that were rented out year round except for Eagles Nest.

In 1993, Craig and Trudy's eldest daughter, Jennifer and her husband Troy Gibson, moved to the resort to run the facilities. Jennifer and Troy have raised their three boys, Jake, Ben, and Grant while living and working at Black's Cliff. In 2009 Black's Cliff passed to the next generation through a partnership between Jenny, Katie and Steve. Craig and Lynnette now enjoy their summers in Hazelhurst with Craig doing remodeling projects at the resort, but in the winter they happily pack up and head to Arizona leaving the resort in the capable hands of the next generation.