Friends of the Old Courthouse is a non-profit organization (501c3) dedicated to educating and raising awareness of the historical significance of the Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House on the Woodstock Square.
FOTOC Mail and Administration Address:
Friends of the Old Courthouse
101 N. Johnson Street, Unit F
Woodstock, IL 60098
Location of the Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House:
The Old Courthouse Center
101 N. Johnson Street
Woodstock, IL 60098
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Friends of the Old Courthouse Board
Julie Miller, President
Julie, the daughter of U.S. Navy parents, spent her childhood in Crystal Lake and Bull Valley, graduating from Woodstock High School. Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles for college, were she met and married her late husband, also Navy. After 35 years living around the country and in Okinawa, she decided in 2015 to go back home to Woodstock. Julie holds a masters’s degree in public relations and mass communication, and is the Owner/Publisher of a military-focused multi-media company. She served as FOTOC’s president from 2016-2021, and returned to that role in late 2022. Julie adores her grown children, musical theater, travel and community service.
Sue Stelford, Vice President
Sue is an Art History Professor with a great appreciation for history and architecture. She lives in Woodstock with her family and has been volunteering since she was a teenager. After serving McHenry County on the boards of the Northwest Area Arts Council, the McHenry County Human Relations Council, and the McHenry County Historic Preservation Commission, she founded the Friends of the Old Courthouse in late 2015 to restore McHenry County’s Old Courthouse and Sheriff’s House. Sue created FOTOC’s annual Gingerbread House Walk and Dancing with the Courthouse Stars and is currently STILL working on completing the community project, Breaking a World Record for Longest Cartoon Strip by a Team. Sue loves to travel, read, and go to the movies.
Matthew Karolczak, Treasurer
Matthew has been a life-long resident of Woodstock. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2014 with his Bachelor’s in Accounting and currently works as an internal auditor. He is also a co-owner of Shattered Terrain LLC, a side business with 2 friends creating and selling modular tabletop role-playing game components. During his grade school through middle school years, he attended art lessons held at the Old Courthouse and developed a love for art, art history, and architecture. Matthew loves going to museums, playing board games, and spending time with his friends and family.
Tom Ellinghausen
Tom is the owner of Forge Technology, Inc. that supplies and supports simulation software and equipment to metal forming industries throughout the United States. He moved to Woodstock in the late 1980s and has raised a family here with his wife, Katherine. Tom served on Woodstock’s Old Courthouse Advisory Commission and currently serves on the Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission and has been with the Friends group since 2016. He is passionate about music, writing, history and all things outdoors and nerdy.
Tina Hill, Secretary
Tina is a former McHenry County Board Chairwoman, who has a
desire for good government and helping people get involved in their
community. Before that Tina was a Legislative Assistant to our local State Representatives. Currently she takes on individual clients who need help reaching a goal for the public good. In her spare time, Tina volunteers for the homeless, breast cancer fundraising, and in her parish, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock.
Ed Urban
Ed has lived in McHenry County in the Marengo area since 1971. He served in law enforcement on the local, county, and state levels for 33 years and retired from the Algonquin Police Department as Deputy Chief. He also recently retired as a corporate internal fraud investigator for a major international insurance company. Ed has served on the McHenry County Historical Society Board and the McHenry County Civil War Roundtable Board. He is a history buff with focus on the Civil War, Old West, local crime history, and from 2011 to 2020 he wrote a local history column for the Marengo-Union Times. Ed has been married to his wife Diane for 34 years and they enjoy traveling, hiking, and visiting microbreweries wherever they can find them in their travels.
Carol Nurse
Carol has lived virtually her whole life in McHenry County. Her family moved from Pistakee Highlands to Alden and then to Woodstock when she was in 7th grade. She is a proud Blue Streak graduate. She then moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University (Psychology) and stayed for 11 years. She returned to Woodstock to raise her children all now Blue Streak Alumni as well, and work as a substitute teacher/tutor. Growing up she attended many events in the Old Courthouse and Jail and then again with her own children. A special memory was meeting the real Dick Tracy and her daughter Tess meeting “Tess Trueheart”. Carol loves history, her 1895 Victorian, giant dogs, and learning as much as she can about her hometown. She especially loves giving tours and spreading her enthusiasm for the Old Courthouse.