The original Schock's property was developed by Carl Baer in the mid-1920s.  Carl built the two larger greenhouses (now known as the north and south houses) and a house (now Our House Antiques & Treats) on the property in 1926.  The house served as a home to Carl and his family as well as to the Schock family in later years.  Mr. Baer used the greenhouses to grow cut flowers such as carnations, snapdragons and mums to sell on the wholesale market.  Dirt for the growing benches was dug and brought up from the banks of Tyler Creek, which runs along the back of our property.  The greenhouses were heated by a huge coal-burning boiler that had to be continually stoked.  It has since been converted to gas (thank goodness!).  All this was done when it cost 10 cents to ride in a long car from Elgin's Town Square to McLean Boulevard, which was then a farming area.  Carl later built the "little" greenhouse right along McLean Boulevard which he used as a hobby greenhouse.  The boiler for that greenhouses is still in place in a cellar under the room to the north of that greenhouse (now The Potting Shed, an extension of the Our House cafe).  Clinkers (remnants from burned coal) can still be found where they were dumped along the edges of all the greenhouses, for fill around the foundations.  Cisterns used for collecting rain for watering are still seen between the two larger greenhouses, along with other various bells, buttons and wires, many of whose functions are still unknown to us!

Richard and Frank Schock bought the property in 1953 and built the retail floral business until July of 1991 when Richard sold the business to Josh Sherman.  Josh's wife Mary soon became an equal partner and vice president of the business.  The business has grown from its beginnings as a small retail florist.  The 10-acre property is home to 30,000 square feet of greenhouse facilities that are filled with annuals, perennials, and seasonally home grown plants.  In addition, Schock's now has four unique shopping areas:  The Gift Shop, The Barn, Our House Antiques & Treats, and Extreme Surroundings.

  In Loving Memory of Tootsie Roll Sherman