Fall is officially here! It was a busy summer at the West Chicago City Museum and as we return to our normal Museum Mondays, we wanted to highlight all that happened during the warm months and preview all the fun fall history events ahead!

Rooted in Place: A New Exhibit

In May, we opened our new main floor exhibit, “Rooted in Place.” This exhibit explores the many ways land has been used over time—from Native American stewardship, to early settlers, to the industrial era. It invites visitors to reflect on how the land has shaped our community and continues to do so today. It was a fun summer to hear visitors’ stories as they explored the exhibit and shared their West Chicago stories with us.

Food Fest Fun

August brought one of our favorite community traditions: Food Fest! More than 200 people visited the museum during the event. It was a joy to welcome so many neighbors into our space—some browsed exhibits, some explored the library, and others simply stopped in to connect. The afternoon was full of curiosity, conversation, and community spirit.

Train Saturdays

Another highlight of the summer was our Train Saturdays on Turner Court. Our historic 1860s CB&Q Train Depot opened its doors to welcome visitors, giving the community a chance to step back in time and experience one of West Chicago’s landmarks. During the celebration, we were proud to showcase the photography of Phil Weibler, in a railroad art exhibit at 203 Turner Court, just across the street from our train depot.

Phil Weibler with his photographs on display at 203 Turner Court (basement of Main Street Gallery).

Fresh Updates Around the Museum

Summer wasn’t just about programs—we’ve also been busy behind the scenes making the museum more inviting:

New colorful entrance at the City Museum

Museum Store Refresh: Our store got a bold redesign and now greets you with a bright blue pop of color right at the entrance.
New T-Shirt Release: We introduced a t-shirt celebrating West Chicago’s legacy. While our city has carried three different names over the years, it has always been united by one lasting story. The T-shirt launched with some other fun store items!

FALL EVENTS COMING SOON

We are heading into fall busy as ever! We hope to see you in the museum soon or at one of our upcoming events! And we’ll see you right back here on Monday for our next Museum Monday post!

1950s Tasting Party

THIS SATURDAY we are holding our 1950s Tasting Party with history presenter Ellie Carlson on Saturday, September 27th from noon-2pm. Oh it was all about the canapes and the cocktails! At least that’s the idea one would get from the 1950s cookbooks. But there was much more to 1950s cuisine and this class will introduce you to some of it in an amusing and entertaining way. Please don’t forget the Frankfurter Aspic! To register for the event before we sell out reserve your ticket today here! or email us at wegohistory@gmail.com.

Tales Tombstones Tell

For our 36th Annual Tales Tombstones Tell the we will be telling the stories behind some prominent street names and landmarks!

Join us and our wonderful volunteer cemetery walk interpreters that will tell the story of those who helped name our community!

Tours leave from the Oakwood Cemetery entrance at Garden Street starting at 6:30pm and every 10 minutes after, with the last group stepping off at 7:30pm. The event is free and open to all, donations are appreciated.

Happy Fall!