Another relic of the Fabyan’s time along the banks of the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois, is a bear cage.

To be more exact, it’s a former bear cage, now used for picnics at the forest preserve. A nearby sign tells the story:

This picnic shelter actually began as a large cage built to house the Fabyan bears. It was built around 1920 to replace the first bear cage, which was a wire-and-wood structure. [Perhaps the bears had a habit of escaping that cage.] The first inhabitant, Mary, was a female American black bear. Later, two American brown bears, Tom and Jerry, lived here. During the Fabyan period, the cage did not have a roof. Spikes may still be seen along the top of the inside walls. These were meant to keep the bears from climbing out of their cage. The bears also had a large tree branch placed in the center of their cage so they could climb on top and look out over the estate. What a surprising sight this must have been to passers by.

At one time or another, the Fabyans also kept alligators and a monkey — and the latter lived in the house. The docent was happy to point out a room where he spent much of his time. Sure, things were different then. But I’m hard pressed to think that having a monkey in your house would have ever been a good idea.