Navigation Menu

Girl Scout Cabin at Maple Grove Forest Preserve

Location: 1602 Maple Ave Downers Grove IL

Building style/form: Cabin

Date built: 1926

The former Girl Scouts cabin in the Maple Grove Forest Preserve was the inspiration of John “Daddy” Wells. The site of the cabin was recognized as the 2022 Historic Site of the Year by the Downers Grove Historical Society.

John, as a prominent resident of Downers Grove, was concerned about the growth of the village and wanted to make sure enough land would be set aside for the creation of forest preserves in the county. By 1920 land was being purchased in Downers Grove to establish the Maple Grove Forest Preserve, and John became caretaker of the area.

It was in Maple Grove that he proposed building a cabin for the use of the local Girl Scout troops. After the deaths of his two young daughters, Gracie and Amy, he was committed to having the cabin built to provide a place for the Girl Scouts to hold activities in the forest preserve. Raising money from local businesses and residents, the cabin was dedicated on July 26, 1926, and dedicated to John by naming it the Daddy Wells Cabin. The Girl Scouts also honored him by giving him a special Thanks Badge, the highest honor to be given to someone who helps the Girl Scouts. Wells did not forget about the Boy Scouts. In 1925 he helped raise several thousand dollars for them to purchase improvements at their cabin in Maple Grove. He felt scouting in Downers Grove helped train the youth in many good qualities and keep them physically fit and morally straight.

Sadly, the cabin burned down on a Saturday night in 1969. The cause was believed to have been vandalism. Damage was so extensive, with the inside being completely gutted, that the cabin was not rebuilt. It had been in continuous use since the 1920s by generations of Girl Scouts.

John lived in Downers Grove for more than 50 years, and when he died in 1932, he was buried in the Main Street Cemetery next to his daughters and mother. The Girl Scouts did not forget about him, and every Memorial Day they brought flowers to his grave. In 1982, the scouts realized Daddy Wells was sharing the monument with his other family members, so they decided to raise money to place a special monument from them on his grave honoring his devotion to the Girl Scouts.

In 2025, while researching the cabin, Downers Grove Museum curator Nina Fuscaldo discovered a 1926 newspaper article describing a time capsule buried in the concrete base of the flagpole. The time capsule reportedly contained papers related to the early Girl Scouts in Downers Grove. Escavations in 2026 recovered a damaged time capsule, and sadly the enclosed papers were lost to posterity. The excavation did uncover other artifacts connected to local Girl Scout history and the flagpole’s construction, including a Girl Scout pocket knife. The remains of the time capsule are preserved at the museum.