From the late 1800s until the 1950s, this land was used as farmland, where rich and fertile soil produced corn, soy beans, and other vegetables like the surrounding farm fields that remain in the area today. By the 1960s, it had been converted to a gravel quarry, and the open pit operation continued through the 1970s, producing rock and stone for construction materials in the area now seen as Jericho Lake. By the 1980s, quarry operations had ceased, and the vacant land was purchased by the Fox Valley District and developed into Jericho Lake Park. The lake is maintained as a high-quality fishery featuring Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, and Common Carp, and although it is occasionally stocked, it relies mostly on creel limits and catch-and-release practices to remain self-sustaining. Its depth ranges from three feet near the shoreline to pockets and holes as deep as 26 feet.