1673; they established trade relations with the Ojibwe. They were traveling west to find the mouth of the Mississippi River to map its entirety and to spread Christianity. Consistent with Native American history in the United States, the tribes in Illinois were devastated by decades of war, diseases, and the ever-encroaching American settlers. The settlers caused a dwindling of food and game; in 1829, a group of Illinois River Potawatomi signed a land cession treaty that included what would become Lake County in exchange for annual delivery of $12,000 in cash and 50 barrels of salt, $12,000 in gifts, and an exclusive blacksmith shop for them. The Native Americans' efforts to remain on their land failed because of the pressure of westward migration, aided by the recent opening of the Erie Canal. They signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, which ceded all their lands in Illinois and Wisconsin and opened the area to white settlement. Some Native Americans who left the area would move onto reservations in western Missouri and Kansas, while others went north into Canada or resettled in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. The first white settler in Vernon Township was Daniel Wright, who arrived in 1833 and established a cabin and crops with the help of remaining natives. The first settlers in Buffalo Grove were homesteaders from New England who received land grants from the government. They stayed for five years and sold their land to Catholic German immigrants fleeing poor living conditions. The primarily agricultural immigrants subsequently established the St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church and St. Mary's School in the 1850s; they still stand today. Buffalo Grove expanded throughout the 19th century with the additions of the first school (St. Mary's School), the Firnbach Tavern, and the Weidner General Store. The General Store served many purposes in the town, such as the post office, train ticket office, polling place, and first town telephone. Before World War II, Buffalo Grove was entirely rural, consisting of less than 150 people, mostly dairy farmers. Incorporation and post-incorporation All farmers eventually sold their land to developers like Al Frank, president of Buffalo Grove Home Builders Inc., who started developing his 100-acre purchase in the 1950s for World War II and Korean War veterans. The demand for single-family homes near Chicago led to a wave of "suburban settlers" in Buffalo Grove; they lived in Frank's 1,000 square foot homes. Frank was instrumental