Current Exhibits at West Chicago City Museum

Women and children of the Pineda family, image from our community cookbook “Key Ingredients”

Coming Soon: Women of West Chicago

Opening on Thursday, March 24th, join us for a look into the lives of Women of West Chicago throughout the community’s history.

Building Community

This exhibit is on the second floor of the museum. It is presented in English and en español.

Building Community explores the founding and evolution of the town of Turner, Illinois. Originally referred to as "Junction," Tuner was the location of the first railroad junction in Illinois. We are the birthplace of the Burlington Santa Fe railroad, as the first run by locomotive on that line went from Turner to Aurora. Turner changed its name to West Chicago in 1896 in an effort to draw more industry to the area. This semi-permanent exhibit also chronicles the experiences of the early settlers. How did they get to the area? What did they bring? What did they build? What did they do for fun?