West Chicago City Museum
About the West Chicago City Museum
West Chicago City Museum is a dynamic history and art center that inspires and involves the community through research, programs and exhibits. It was established as a department of the City of West Chicago in 1975. Its function is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret materials that document the history of West Chicago and the surrounding region.
The Museum is housed in the former Turner Town Hall, a National Register site. The building was constructed in 1884 and served as the seat of local government for more than 90 years. The Town Hall also housed the community's police and fire departments and served as a site for cultural events. Today, the building houses two floors of exhibits relating to West Chicago's rich history. Special events throughout the year celebrate that history.
Follow Museum happenings at the Friends of the West Chicago City Museum Facebook page.
Contact Information
Sara Phalen
Executive Director
City Museum
132 Main Street
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-3376
Hours of Operation
Thursdays and Fridays - 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Saturdays - 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Those interested may schedule an appointment for a tour or research at other times by calling (630) 231-3376 or emailing wegohistory@gmail.com.
Visit the Friends of the City Museum’s website, www.wegohistory.com, for the Museum’s free eBook and more.
Museum Resources
Permanent Collection
- 34,000+ permanent collection: The City Museum collects items of local history from pre-historic times through the present.
- Items include local organizational history, community businesses, family history, house history, and “old-time” items.
- Large collection of photographs included.
Research Collection
- The City Museum also collections items important for local history research, including newspapers dating back to the 1860s, house/building history, phone directories, business history, general news items.
- Obituary cards and obituaries, extensive genealogy files for over 3,000 local families.
- Historical Preservation files: all city properties indexed in the 1990s, detailed information about properties in the Turner Junction Historic District & East Washington Residential District.
Website Resources
- Local history e-book with links and additional information and Educational Programming, including Digital Mini Kits (hot-linked resources designed as in-classroom supplements) available at www.wegohistory.com.
- West Chicago family tree is being populated with Museum research and permanent collection files at ancestry.com.
Self-Service Research Station
- Research library: non-lending library of research books on local history, Chicago history, Illinois history, Midwest history and railroad history.
Staff Research Requests
- Public research requests on any local history topic, takes anywhere from 1 week to 6 months. Appointments are encouraged (family history, building history, history topics).
Exhibits
- Semi-Permanent Local History Exhibit
- Rotating Exhibits on variety of topics, changed at least once a year
- Traveling Exhibits topical exhibits that are put up at locations throughout the community
Tours
- School Tours welcome students and groups to downtown West Chicago and the Museum (various stops-we plan the days for groups).
- Historic Walking Tours throughout various parts of town and downtown.
- Topic Specific Tours – haunted, prairie, etc.