[RESCHEDULED] A great experience for you and your children! Parents attend free!

$5/child

Register here

[RESCHEDULED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER]

Victory Gardens were an essential way for civilians to get involved in the war efforts of both World Wars. Not only did the gardens promote patriotism, but they allowed people to grow and stockpile their own food, and for more to be rationed for use as needed throughout the wars.

The U.S. Government promoted Victory Gardens and provided information about how to organize garden plots for maximum growth and yields. Their guidelines are still an extremely effective way to organize your garden plots, even to this day!

Join us as we plant our Victory Garden display outside the museum. You’ll learn all about the history of Victory Gardens, and how you can start your own today!

Kids will have the opportunity to make their own potted plant to take home.

Mr. Reid discusses the construction of paintings and how to tell their age. The American folk painters and academic ones, collecting paintings, and the care and conservation of paintings. It is important to educate the public regarding art to counteract the negative effects of reality TV. Over 80 pictures to share. They will be the subject of discussion from 50 years of studying oil paintings.

More details to follow.

One for All at the St. Charles History Museum St Patrick’s Day Lucky Inclusive Hotspot

Proactively taking steps towards inclusion for everyone.

The St. Charles History Museum will host its annual Lucky Inclusive Hotspot on the day of the St. Charles St Patrick’s Parade- Saturday, March 12th.

Last year we were unable to host due to COVID, but this year we are back and are introducing two new features of this free event.

Beginning at noon, join us for a take home craft and a Leprechaun scavenger hunt within the exhibit.  Starting at 1:30 PM you can enjoy some old-fashioned popcorn while you wait for the parade. (There is a suggested donation of .50¢ per bag.

The Museum will reserve the patio and front sidewalk for those needing wheelchair access. Parking will be in front of the Museum or the Fred Norris parking garage behind the building.

Lindsay Judd, St. Charles History Museum Executive Director, stated: “We’re thrilled to be able to facilitate awareness of the need to be proactive in our inclusivity efforts.”

Meet the author of Refueling the Past. Author Archie Bentz, Jr. will do a brief presentation about his book and then be available for a book signing. The book is available for purchase at the Curious Fox Gift Shop.

Free program presented by the Illinois Road Scholars Speaker Bureau and co-sponsored by the St. Charles Public Library

Prior to 1920, women were denied the vote in the majority of elections in the United States. The struggle for enfranchisement began with the birth of our nation and was strategized differently in our local, state, and federal elections. Despite what people today believe to be a straightforward goal, the path to women’s suffrage was infused with sexism and racism and triggered a fear of feminism whose roots are still seen today. While wealthy women advocates played a vital role in the suffrage movement, they were not the only ones seeking enfranchisement. From attorney Ellen Martin, the first woman to vote in Illinois, to Ida B. Wells, a woman who did not let racism stop her voice, women’s suffrage has been a battle hard fought by a diverse group of activists in Illinois.

About the Presenter

Jeanne Schultz Angel received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in history at Illinois State University. In 1994 and 1996, she worked at a historical archaeology excavation in County Roscommon, Ireland under Dr. Charles E. Orser Jr. She worked at the St. Charles Heritage Center before completing her master’s in history on the anti-slavery movement in northeastern Illinois while being an at-home mother. Her thesis was awarded the “Cavanaugh Award” by ISU in 2005.

In late 2006, she became the Executive Director of the Lombard Historical Society, where she managed two historic house museums in Lombard, Illinois, including the Sheldon Peck Homestead, listed on the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Angel is a 2010 graduate of the prestigious Seminar for Historical Administration and was the Illinois State representative for the American Association of State and Local History “Leadership in History” awards program from 2012-2015. She served as the Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Museums, a statewide museum professional organization with offices in Springfield and Chicago from late 2013 to 2015. In May 2015, she became the Executive Director of the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association in Oak Park, Illinois.

Registration is required, to register please click here or call the St. Charles Public Library 630-584-0076.

This program is co-sponsored by the St. Charles Public Library.

When the RMS Titanic set sail for its maiden voyage in 1912, Alice Berg Johnson and her two children, Harold and Elanor, were returning home to their hometown of St. Charles after visiting Alice’s ill father in Finland. Alice purchased three Third Class tickets to set sail on the Titanic for what would be its first and final journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Johnsons were among the approximately 710 people who made it off the ship alive after the vessel struck an iceberg and sank with over 1,500 passengers still on board.

Join us for this Saturday Speaker Series presentation with Amanda Helfers, Curator of our summer exhibit “Tip of the Iceberg: St. Charles’ Tie to the Titanic”, as she shares her months of research about the Johnson family and their harrowing journey back home to St. Charles amid the most infamous disaster in maritime history.

Register Here - $5

Come plant a Victory Garden with us in this kid and family-friendly program!

Program in Partnership with Heinz Brothers Greenhouse Garden Center - Sponsored by St. Charles Veterans

Victory Gardens were an essential way for civilians to get involved in the war efforts of both World Wars. Not only did the gardens promote patriotism, but they allowed people to grow and stockpile their own food, and for more to be rationed for use as needed throughout the wars.

The U.S. Government promoted Victory Gardens and provided information about how to organize garden plots for maximum growth and yields. Their guidelines are still an extremely effective way to organize your garden plots, even to this day!

Join us as we plant our Victory Garden display outside the museum. You’ll learn all about the history of Victory Gardens, and how you can start your own today! Kids will have the opportunity to make their own potted plant to take home courtesy of Heinz Brothers. The first 30 to register will also get a free Mickey Mouse green thumb t-shirt, courtesy of TechPro-Making IT Work of Geneva, Illinois.

Tickets: $5 per person. Register Below:

On Saturday, May 25 during the St. Charles Fine Arts Show, drop by the St. Charles History Museum to meet with Civil War reenactors who will provide information on the 8th Illinois Cavalry and St. Charles’ connections to the Civil War.

The 8th Illinois Cavalry was one of the most well-known troops in the Civil War, and held their training grounds in St. Charles at the site of what is present-day Langum Park.

This program is free and registration is not required. The reenactors will be at the museum during our regular hours.

May is Preservation Month…

Public parks are a boon to every community. Families gather for picnics, sports and special events. They host marathons and festivals, but are havens for early-morning runners and walkers. Parks offer safe, stimulating places for children to play and grow.

But there weren't always public parks. So how did they come to be?

Join Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley as we welcome Carol Yetken, Landscape Architect and Historian of CYLA Design. Carol will discuss the history of public parks and discuss the unique and leading role Illinois had in the establishment of public parks. She will discuss the design of parks and how they evolved over time. We will conclude with a brief history and discussion of the history of Pottawatomie Park and Golf Course, followed by a short walking tour of Pottawatomie Park.

The event is free, but registration is recommended. Space is limited, so register soon!

To register please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/historic-landscapes-with-carol-yetken-tickets-60192412125

This program has been organized by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley and is in collaboration with the following organizations as part of preservation month.

Help us Kickoff Preservation Month!

Event from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the Carnegie Community Room at the St. Charles Public Library. Register on the St. Charles Public Library Website.

Join Dr. Steven Smunt of the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission for an exploration of historic homes around St. Charles.

St. Charles contains an excellent collection of historic houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Buildings in the historic districts are known for their quality of construction & craftsmanship.

Many are over 100 years old and if properly maintained will last indefinitely. Dr. Steve Smunt, of the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission, will share his experiences in preservation and cover the following topics on old houses:

• Why we love our old houses

• The process of obtaining landmark status: A case study of the Emma Durant-Lane house

• Plaque programs, organizational and official

• The historic preservation movement in St. Charles

• Q&A

This program is in Collaboration with the following organizations as part of Preservation Month.

Join us a the St. Charles History Museum and learn more about the Anti-Slavery movement and the Underground Railroad.

Illinoisans played prominent roles in antislavery movements preceding the Civil War. Understanding the wide range of motivations that might lie behind any given individual’s opposition to slavery – commitment to human rights, belief in racial equality, economic considerations, and religious convictions – is important to understanding the escalation to war. Angel explores the role that the Underground Railroad played in the lives of Freedom Seekers and includes information about several significant slavery and antislavery sites in Illinois, including sundown towns. Her presentation will demonstrate the complexity of responses to the idea of slavery in the early days of statehood and link it to the impact of human trafficking in present day Illinois.

Jeanne Schultz Angel’s work on the antislavery movement has continued since she wrote an award-winning graduate thesis on the topic in 2005. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Lombard Historical Society, where she managed the Sheldon Peck Homestead, listed on the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Angel has extensive experience in museum management, including work as Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Museums. She is currently Executive Director of the Nineteenth Century Club and Charitable Association in Oak Park, Illinois.

Registration is required as space is limited. Members are free and non-members are $5 per person.

Please fill out the form below or call 630.584.6967 to register.

The Lombard Historical Society and Tim Frakes Productions Inc. present a new documentary on the life of Lombard, Illinois’ Sheldon Peck, a 19th century primitive portrait artist, radical abolitionist, conductor on the underground railroad and advocate of progressive temperance and public education.

Largely forgotten and unknown in the century and a half after his death in 1868, Sheldon Peck and his legacy are only recently receiving belated appreciation and recognition of his talent, passion, courage, activism and accomplishments. Sheldon Peck, Portrait of an Ordinary Man in Extraordinary Times, tells the story of a family man who did the “right thing” when confronting the horrors of slavery and whose personal choices honored his sense of moral obligation to his fellow man; a story that will resonate with today’s viewers. Sheldon Peck embraced the important issues of his day in the time of manifest destiny, and was not afraid to speak out or actively pursue justice.

Join us for this special screening and celebration of the local legacy of Sheldon Peck and our local abolitionist figures as part of our Spring 2019 temporary exhibit: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Actions: St. Charles and the Underground Railroad.

Source: Lombard Historical Society Press Release

Please join us for this fascinating and FREE program for members and $5 for non members. Refreshments will be served.

As seated in limited registration is required, please fill out the form below or call 630.584.6967.