Naperville Heritage Society celebrates 40 years

Back in 1969, when the Naperville Heritage Society organized to save historic St. John's Episcopal Church from the wrecking ball, more questions existed about the society's plans than members could answer.

Where would the church be moved? What would be the cost? Where would the money come from? Who would maintain it?

"The city appropriately was suspicious of this little group with no credibility and no money that wanted to do something as ambitious as this," recalled Duane Wilson, the society's first treasurer.

The money was raised and St. John's Church was moved to the grounds of what is now Naper Settlement, Naperville's 19th-century living-history museum village at 523 S. Webster St. The church, renamed Century Memorial Chapel, is now a popular site for weddings and one of 30 historic structures on the 12-acre grounds.

The society that started as an all-volunteer group boasts 53 employees, 24 of them full-time, and 1,400 volunteers offering educational programs and special events. Not content to rest on its laurels, it has drawn up a long-range plan to take it into the next 25 or 30 years.

Wilson confesses he could not have imagined the results of that effort when it was launched 40 years ago.

"The result of that far exceeds our expectations. It's just thrilling to see," he said.

The Naperville Heritage Society will mark the 40th anniversary of its incorporation with a members' event on Thursday, Feb. 5. The anniversary also will be recognized at special events throughout the year, with the heritage society participating in the St. Patrick's Day and Labor Day parades in Naperville.

Naperville Community Television, Channel 17, will air a documentary on the heritage society's history in June.

Throughout the year, visitors to the settlement who were born in 1969 will receive free admission, except for special events, and a souvenir Conestoga wagon pin. A commemorative magazine on the anniversary also is available to anyone upon request.

The beginning

The move that launched the Naperville Heritage Society started after word got out that St. John's Episcopal Church had been sold to Prescott-Myers Insurance and would be torn down. Naperville resident Jane Sindt ran a newspaper ad depicting a wrecking ball next to the 1864 structure and called a meeting.

Wilson and his wife, who were members of St. John's, attended the second meeting of the fledgling preservation group. Wilson, an accountant, soon was named treasurer of the newly incorporated nonprofit organization.

Most people in the group barely knew each other in the beginning, but they shared a common purpose that soon won support among other people in town, Wilson said. For many Naperville residents, the Gothic revival church on Jefferson Avenue near Ellsworth Street had been a local landmark as long as they could remember.

"There were those who just hated to see it bulldozed," Wilson said. "Many of the old-timers of Naperville responded to the idea that this was a charming building that should not be destroyed."

But the obstacles to saving it were formidable. The city agreed that the church could be moved to city-owned property near the Martin Mitchell Mansion at Aurora Avenue and Webster Street, but the society was responsible for paying the $30,000 cost.

To help raise the money, heritage society members held the first Naperville Heritage Society Antiques Show and Sale in the fall of 1969, an event that became a popular and successful fundraiser for 30 years.

"That first year, we netted $6,000. We were thrilled about it," Wilson said.

The city also allowed the heritage society to include a solicitation in electric bills that went to every property owner in town. Civic groups got on board, and donations came in from everyday folks.

"Less than a dozen were over $100," Wilson said.

After the heritage society raised $25,000, Billy Greene of Aurora contributed the last $5,000. In June 1970, the church was divided into three sections and moved one mile through downtown to its present location.

Other structures soon began to join the church on what is now Naper Settlement grounds. The city already had moved Andy's Popcorn Stand (now the stonecutter's shop) to the property. The house once owned by local Judge Robert Murray was next.

"It was obvious by this time maybe we should develop a group of buildings," Wilson said.

Architect and Naperville native Tom Brown of the San Francisco firm Brown/Heldt draw up a master plan for Naper Settlement while working on another project for the city. A city ordinance established the settlement as a planned unit development in 1976.

The heritage society's vision for a museum village took hold.

"The skepticism diminished and eventually evaporated," Wilson said.

For the first 10 years, the heritage society's efforts were all volunteer. The group grew beyond a few preservationists to a fellowship of friends, Wilson said.

"People worked because they like the association," he said. "My very dearest friends are those we were associated with early on in the Heritage Society."

More leadership

It was that esprit de corps among the volunteers that impressed Peggy Frank so much when she became the heritage society's executive director and first, full-time professional employee in October 1979. A native of Chicago, Frank was working for the Historical Society of Delaware when she spotted the ad in the National Trust for Historic Preservation publication.

Frank confesses she had to look Naperville up on a map, but soon found it was not far from Clarendon Hills, where her parents had moved.

When Frank came, several of the buildings were still boarded up and waiting to be restored. Much of the landscaping was nonexistent.

"It was still like a palette where the paintbrush has just begun so we had a lot of filling in," she said.

Among the local residents who helped were local artist Les Schrader, whose collection of paintings depicting the city's past now hang in the Pre-Emption House Visitor Center at Naper Settlement.

"He was great, a town character who was a wonderful resource," Frank said. "A day did not go by without Les coming over to share some tidbit of information or piece of advice."

From the beginning, Frank knew she wanted to bring the museum village up to nationally approved standards of operation. That goal was achieved in 2002 when the settlement received accreditation from the American Association of Museums, a distinction only 10 percent of museums in the United States receive.

Part of achieving accreditation standards was the construction of the Pre-Emption House Visitor Center, a replica of the first hotel in Naperville. To pay for the cost, the society launched its first capital campaign in 1989. The Pre-Emption House was dedicated in 1996.

"There's been a lot of dreams come true over here," Frank said.

The $2.8 million renovation of the Martin Mitchell Mansion was completed in 2003. The mansion and 212 acres around it had been left to the city in 1936 by Caroline Martin Mitchell, the descendant of the wealthy Naperville family who had built the house.

Other achievements, Frank says, include nearing completion of a proper museum storage facility, the thousands of visitors who turn out for special events, and the impression the settlement leaves on schoolchildren who tour it annually.

"The children's amazement, laughter and awe, the click of recognition ... that's been extremely rewarding," Frank said.

Frank said she continues to be impressed with the community's support for preserving its history.

"Not all communities reflect that way on their past," she said.

Looking ahead

The heritage society may be dedicated to preserving the past, but its looking ahead 25 to 30 years in the future. A master plan presented in 2006 calls for a pioneer section, a business district called Scott's Block that would include a 300-seat banquet hall. and a house from the early 20th century. Some of the shops would sell souvenirs and products reminiscent of what could be purchased in Naperville during earlier days.

The Naperville City Council unanimously approved the change in the settlement's planned unit development this past December.

Heritage Society President Chris Birck said for the next five years the society will be occupied with raising money for the first phase of the plan. It will cost roughly $2 million to move buildings and reclaim green space before any new construction begins, he said.

Fundraising will begin after a firm is hired to assess the society's ability to raise the money. Acknowledging that current economic conditions might make it tough to solicit donations, Birck said conditions may be better when the actual fundraising begins.

"Hopefully we will be in a much better economic climate than we are right now." he said.

Special events such as the Summer Nights concerts and revival of Naper Days may mean more potential financial supporters for the settlement's plans, he said.

"Hopefully, that will bring people to the grounds to see what a special place we have," he said.

Frank said she is optimistic about the plans going forward.

"The reality is there always is a challenge," she said. "The current climate economically gives us an opportunity to really do our homework in advance."

All signs point to the Naperville community continuing to be as supportive of preserving its history as it has been in the past, Frank said, noting the master plan has received a warm reception from community groups where it has been presented.

"Probably the biggest frustration when we talk about it is everyone wants it to happen tomorrow," she said.

40 years of preservation

A quick look at the history of the Naperville Heritage Society:

1969: Naperville Heritage Society founded. First Antiques Show and Sale held.

1970: St. John's Episcopal Church, built in 1864, saved and moved to the grounds of Naper Settlement. Renamed Century Memorial Chapel.

1970-74: Four more historical buildings moved.

1975: City ordinance establishes Naper Settlement Museum Board. Master site plan developed.

1975-79: Six more historical structures relocated.

1976: City ordinance establishes Naper Settlement as planned unit development.

1979: City awards heritage society contract to develop and manage Naper Settlement. First professional curator/director hired.

1979-87: Restoration of all on-site structures completed. Five more historical structures moved.

1982: City acquires adjacent land bringing Naper Settlement site to 12 total acres.

1996: Pre-Emption House Visitor Center dedicated Dec. 8.

1998: Paw Paw Post Office interior restoration and furnishings completed.

2002: Naper Settlement receives accreditation from the American Association of Museums.

2003: Dedication of newly restored Martin Mitchell Mansion and Carriage House.

2004: National and state recognition received for the Martin Mitchell Mansion and Carriage House restoration.

2005: Paw Paw Post Office exterior restoration completed.

2006: Long-range plan presented to take museum into the next 30 years.

2009: Heritage society celebrates 40th anniversary.

Courtesy of Naper Settlement