“A Sense of Place” is a blog written by the West Chicago City Museum staff and/or members of the Friends of the Museum, to spotlight West Chicago’s local history. Through brief capsules of local history the blog aims to prove that history is not dry and dusty, but alive and entertaining. Scroll to bottom of page to see the latest installments.
Museum Staff
Sara Phalen - Executive Director
Maggie Cappetini - Museum Educator
Contact Info:
City Museum
132 Main Street
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-3376
Hours of Operation
December – February:
Thursdays 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Fridays 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Saturdays closed
March – November:
Thursdays 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.,
Fridays and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
A Sense of Place – 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day
When we honor Veterans Day in 2018 it will also be the honoring of the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day which brought an end to World War I on November 11, 1918. The Great War, which World War I was called, ended on the western front of the war through an armistice between the Allied […]
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A Sense of Place: Honoring J. Wesley Diebold
As our country honors the 100th Anniversary of World War I, the City Museum is honoring those who served during the Great War, including J. Wesley Diebold, remembered here. Wesley Diebold’s story sadly tells the tale of another enemy of soldiers in 1918, the Spanish Flu. J. Wesley Diebold, one of four West Chicagoans who died in […]
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New Installment of A Sense of Place: Remembering World War I
As our country honors the 100th Anniversary of the United States entering World War I, the City Museum is honoring those who fought in the Great War, including Robert Bond, remembered here. Over the next two years, the City Museum will be featuring some of the veterans of World War I on its blog, as well as […]
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A Sense of Place Blog: Zelda DeTray Dunbar
As part of Women’s History Month, the City Museum is featuring a local female artist who lived and worked in West Chicago. Zelda DeTray was also featured during our 2016 Tales Tombstones Tell at Glen Oak Cemetery. Zelda Jewel DeTray was born in Quincy, Illinois, on July 6, 1895. She lived there for just a […]
Read MoreNew installment: A Sense of Place
Helen Hills The Hills family was a prominent family in the early days of West Chicago. The Hills have been featured over the years in City Museum exhibits and in our annual Tales Tombstones Tell Oakwood Cemetery walk. Albert Hills was an important man in the early days of our community. He worked as a […]
Read MoreCrossed Swords – United States Colored Troops
A New York native, William Henry Brown moved with his parents to what would become Junction in the early 1840s. He entered Wheaton College and left after a year to enlist in the Illinois 105th Infantry. William was 22 and like Lucius B. Church (see the Campaign Singer post), was a member of Company B. […]
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