This museum isn't very big and can probably be walked through in right around an hour, but it is a…read morehidden gem. The museum is housed in the old Batavia Train Depot (hence the name!) and does a great job introducing the importance of the early railroad on the area. Some of the displays include an original caboose that you can walk through, a very cool reproduced ticket counter, a working Western Union morse code station, Mary Todd Lincoln's bed and dresser (she was treated at a nearby sanitarium after Abe's assassination), and, in the basement, an exhibit on the general history of the area. Check back often, as they have periodic presentations, as well. My kids absolutely loved the one on antique toys and games the museum put on this past summer. It's an inexpensive way to get the family out and about!

This is a great place to visit and learn about local history. From initial settlement, through the…read moreMary Todd Lincoln years, and up to recent history like Furnas Electric, the Depot Museum has something for everyone. There is also an extensive library for people who are researching their families.

While this says "museum", it is two train cars sitting on a small train track. There are signs…read moreshowing fun facts about the area and a small parking lot. Overall it's a great little side quest to visit if you're in the area. Since it is all outside, there is no actual opening or closing time.

I really wouldn't call this a museum, it's more like looking at preserved history. Off of the minor…read moreroute 66 alignment you'll find this caboose and this very rare train station (it was originally placed a mile and a half from this site) and you can read all of the history that's has been beautifully preserved here. It has parking and it's welcomed for patrons too if you're going to eat at the place next door. Highly recommend for history buffs like myself!

Located across the street from the Kane County Courthouse is the Geneva History Museum. This museum…read moredoes a wonderful job of telling the history of Geneva. One exhibit is dedicated to the exploring history of Geneva from its founding to the present. I loved seeing all of the artifacts and displays in there. Even though I am not a resident of Geneva there were items in the gallery that I recognized. There is are two other rotating exhibits with one being dedicated to educating children. There is an admission fee to enter and a gift shop as well. I wish I had time to see more. This is diffidently a museum that I would like to come back to and see more. I highly recommend the Geneva History Museum!

Sandi and I went down to see what was happening in Geneva for Swedish Days. I hoped that they would…read morehave a special exhibit for the Swedish Days Festival. The museum did not change its course by adding a special exhibit. I enjoyed learning more about Geneva and Hat has been important over the years. The receptionist greeted us warmly. The main historical room gave an overview of the history of the city. The interactive children's with train was enjoyable. The art gallery filled with paintings by local artists was enjoyable. You can even purchase the portraits. On the lower level you can find a genealogy room. If you are new to Geneva and want to learn more about this city check it out.

Great look at life in the 1860's. Award winning restoration of a small typical "overnight"…read morestopping place. Only one in Illinois that is still on it's original foundation. Parking is behind the Tavern or at the History Center, at 800 N Main St, Glen Ellyn.

This is one of the first buildings that was built in Glen Ellyn, and the museum is currently…read morerestored to the mid-1850s. None of the furniture is original, which is typical for small museums like this. There are some nice examples of painted furniture, plenty of trompe l'oeil painted woodgrain, and one original piece, a small needlework sampler presented as a gift to the family. The tavern had an addition built over the original well, which is still spring-fed and has a reproduction well-house built over it. The building is two stories; the tour includes both stories and the back yard (which I missed), including a smokehouse, the kitchen garden, and the privies. Exhibits in the yard are particularly well-labeled; the kitchen garden is kept up by a local garden club. You'll go through with a docent; the gentleman who took me through was very well-informed and a pleasure to listen to, as well as being responsive to questions. The second floor addition to the building includes photos of the area and the inhabitants of the era, including photos of a building which, after serving as a community ballroom, became a brothel, with several photos of the madam and one of the women who worked for her. There are also a few items from excavations on the site, mostly broken dishware. Suggested donation (adults) is $5; $2.50 for students. If you want to hit the gift shop, it's two buildings down at the Glen Ellyn Historical Society; come on a Wednesday or make an appointment, as on Sundays the Historical Society is closed.

This museum is inside Cantigny park and others have written reviews for it under that heading…read more(https://www.yelp.com/biz/cantigny-park-wheaton) but I feel that the museum is a separate entity (it has its own website, phone number, and operating hours). Just know that you have to pay whatever the current parking fee is for the park to even be able to get in and see the museum (I wonder how they'd handle it if you just walked in to the park?). That fee changes seasonally. When I went in late spring, it was a beautiful day and they were charging $15 per car. There seems to be a lot of other activities to do at the park, but I had limited time, so I only went to the museum (walking through the tank park first). The museum is free. On entering the museum, I went to the left, which is a series of displays about more modern warfighters (Vietnam to current). It was good, but my pro tip is to go to the right first. This was an amazing recreation of WWII battle scenes with an extraordinary amount of detail. The park immediately in front of the museum has a variety of tanks and, surprisingly, they let you climb on them. I saw many kids and adults taking photo ops on the tanks.

Great experience. Admission was $16/car. In addition to the museum, there is a visitor center,…read moreplayground, tank park, walking trail and more. On location is also a golf course and cafe. I would recommend going to the visitors center as a first stop (north parking lot), then make your way to the museum (South Park lot). The museum is sectioned into two parts: WWI, WWII and Vietnam eras and a "modern" section of the 1ID's recent involvements. This museum was very interesting and it was clear that there is a lot of attention to detail in this immersive experience. The grounds were well taken care of and the bathrooms were clean. While there I saw families and people of all ages enjoying the space and learning about the history of the 1ID. Outside of the museum is also steel from the World Trade Center (9/11). Very informative and great way to spend an afternoon.

My husband and I were in Elmhurst looking for something fun to do and the Elmhurst History Museum…read morefit that bill. This is a really neat museum. While detailing the past, it has some current innovations like a large movie screen where you can select different videos on the village's history to watch. The museum features many artifacts from the permanent collection as well as a timeline of village history. While we were there the rotating exhibits were being changed. For a fun day with history, I highly recommend the Elmhurst History Museum!

Ah memories! This is a fantastic exhibit located in the Elmhurst Museum of History…read more You will discover the evolution of the retail industry and brick and mortar stores going back to the 1800s with artifacts,images and memorabilia . Relive the days when people would get dressed up in their Sundays Best for lunch at the Walnut Room located in Marshall Fields. Look at the Sears or Montgomery Wards Holiday catalogs See a re-creation of a Holiday Window from Marshall Fields. The exhibit is open thru Jan 28,2024. Admission is free.

This is my favorite festival every year, and I'm always so excited to go again! It's held in Good…read moreTemplar Park, which is not typically open to the public, and people open up their cottages, many built in the 1930s, as little "shops", so you can both see the cottages and do some shopping. Since Geneva was founded by Swedes and many people who historically had/have cottages (stugas in Swedish) here are of Scandinavian descent, you will see many Dala horses, vikings, gnomes, as well as yarn craft, jewelry, woodworking, candles, vintage books, ornaments, and more. One cottage today had demonstrations by rosemaling painters, the traditional Norwegian painting style often seen on wooden plates, trunks, furniture and other items. I was fortunate to speak with Lynn, who told me about her process (her motto was "Exhale and feel your passion for painting"; she also said not to hold the brush like a pen, in that there is no pressure on it, just guide it. She triple loaded paint colors onto a small flat paint brush and said she makes designs shaped like Ss and Cc, and that there are "no mistakes," if a kid bumps the table or something it can always be fixed or changed.) Another artist whose art you will encounter everywhere at this event is Kathy McPartland; her whimsical gnomes, Dala horses and flowers are on the fliers and signage for the festival, and you can buy her cards, books and prints at this fair. Tina Druce-Hoffman was another artist present who makes beautiful intaglio prints, including a limited edition one for the event. They have added extra vendors in tents around the park, which was something new this year. Overall, I will always come back to this charming event.

So unique! Tiny little cottages in a wooded area along a…read morecreek. Some are private residences but about 20 of them are opened for sale of arts and crafts. $8 to enter in 2018. We had no ideas what Templar's were. Good lessons from the past.

The historical society / museum is in the old Butler School, with a wooden sign out front you'll…read moresee only after you miss the turn. So when you get close and see "Butler School," turn. It's the brick school building and you enter from the side, from what looks like the handicapped entrance. The people there seemed a bit surprised to see me, but were happy to have the archivist (90 years old, been there 25 years!) give me a tour. The archives are on the ground floor where you come in; the main displays are up two flights of steps on the top floor. There's a room on the start of white settlement in the area, with a small section on the Indians who lived here before - lots of arrowheads. There is a small schoolroom section, with a small display on the old Rabbit Hill School that Butler replaced. Then a section on local worthy Michael Butler, who produced the American version of HAIR, a couple of boards of photos of local buildings and restaurants, and then the tour went into more local worthies. At this point I started getting my local families mixed up. The Butler family was very wealthy from a paper factory and Paul Butler, who founded Oak Brook (which only dates back to 1958) pal'd around with movie stars (there's a photo album; he dated Audrey Hepburn for a while; the album includes casual snaps with folks like Rock Hudson) and there's a file on when King Hussein of Jordan visited. Butler apparently donated all his papers to the museum; there are a couple of big oil portraits, and then a whole room of polo memorabilia (you can pick up a polo ball), with photos of people getting prizes from the Queen of England, and a photo of the current King of England from when he visited. The library includes books on folks with a local connection (including, to my surprise, renowned skirt / serpentine dancer Loie Fuller); there's also a book with photos of every known Oak Brook veteran, including the docent (Korean War). Back in the main part of the schoolroom there's a vitrine on the local police; a sleigh (it was December); a display on how Oak Brook was founded (in pieces in haste as the local Oak Brook Terrace Mall was going in); and a rather charming vitrine showing some of the Christmas cards that Paul Butler sent *every single resident of Oak Brook* every year. I learned a lot, though to be honest I knew nothing about Oak Brook's history (polo??) before I came. The docent was very generous and even walked me briefly through the archives (this never happens). If you want to know about Oak Brook, like snapshots of 1950s movie stars, or just want to know about the local polo connection, stop by.