Local museums can give families a glimpse into the suburbs' past
While your kids might be studying national and world history in school, there are also lessons to be learned about the past of your own community. Taking up residence in recognized historic buildings built by some of the first settlers in the area, local history museums provide a way for the family to find out more about how suburban Illinois developed and what life was like when your hometown was still being founded.
Arlington Heights Historical Museum, 110 W. Fremont St., Arlington Heights, (847) 255-1225, ahmuseum.org
Hours: 1:30-4:30 p.m. daily, tours at 2 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Admission: $4, $2 for kids
Upcoming events: From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. children 6 and older and adults can have holiday tea in the N.M. Banta House along with sandwiches, sweets and punch. Kids are welcome to bring their own dolls and tour the Martha Mills doll collection and Lorraine Korenthal dollhouse. Registration is $23 or $18 for residents.
Focused on the role of Frederick Muller and his family, a tour of the museum will take you through his home and the site of the soda factory he ran in 1872. Visitors watch a short film on the history of Arlington Heights and then move on to the coach house where Muller kept the horses and wagons he used for his business. Now, instead of animals, you'll find dioramas showing how the area developed including details on the Potawatomie Indians who once lived there, the first library and Meyer's Pond, which is now the site of Village Hall.
Muller's home from 1882 is also open to tour. The newly renovated building shows how the German immigrant and his family of five children lived. Next door is the Banta House, built in 1908 using influences from Frank Lloyd Wright, which provides a nice contrast with the older Victorian-style home. Visitors can also check out a collection of dolls, doll houses, an authentically reproduced 1908 bedroom and a model of the original Arlington Heights train station. For a less authentic but still educational visit, stop by the one-room log cabin and model outhouse that were added in 1991 to help give kids a taste of pioneer life.
George S. Clayson House Museum, 224 E. Palatine Road, Palatine, (847) 991-6460, palatineparkdistrict.com/clayson.html
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Admission: Free
Upcoming events: A free Christmas party from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, will show off different Victorian holiday traditions and includes punch and cookies.
A restored 1873 Victorian Home, the Clayson House Museum shows kids what life was like before running water, gas and power. A one hour tour shows off every room of the home including a parlor, bedroom complete with kids toys and a kitchen with a coal stove, pump for water and kerosene lamps. The second floor is devoted to a library of Palatine pictures and handwritten minutes dating back to 1866. Once you're done with the home head next door to the carriage house, which features an old-fashioned fire pump and the original 2,000 pound brass bell that notified volunteers to come fight a fire.
Robert Vial House, Walker Park, 7425 S. Wolf Road, Burr Ridge, (708) 839-9616, pleasantdaleparks.org/vial_house
Hours: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, call for tour appointment
Admission: Free
Upcoming events: A free Victorian Christmas party from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, will feature snacks, music and people dressed in period costumes.
Built in 1856, the Vial House was originally located on a dairy farm but was moved to its current location in 1989 to make room for a housing development. Over ten years it was restored with the help of a historian and lots of volunteers to its original condition, which included adding back in walls that had been removed and furnishings to reflect the time period. One of the first buildings in the area, guides will take you through the tour and explain information about life at the time and the early history of Burr Ridge.
William Tanner House Museum, 305 Cedar St., Aurora, (630) 906-0650, aurorahistoricalsociety.org
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
Admission: $3, $1.50 for kids and seniors
Upcoming events: The museum is currently closed but reopens with a free open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, with food, drinks and a visit from Saint Nicholas.
The museum building was built in 1857 by William and Anna Tanner, two of the first settlers in Aurora. It was Tanner's third home in the area after moving from New York to open a hardware store downtown. The store was kept in the family for four generations before closing in 1979. The home was donated by two of the Tanner's 10 children and has served as a museum for 70 years.
An example of upper middle class housing, guests can tour 10 of the 17 rooms including the parlor, dining room and kitchen to take in the differences in technology and decorations. The furnishing is from the 1890s, some of it original to the home. For Christmas, the rooms also show off festive works from different designers as part of an annual showcase.