Historical Society Unveils New Museum

Thirty years and three name changes after it was created, the remains dedicated to preserving the area’s past.

It was fitting, then, that a day before Valentine’s Day, the group unveiled a new slogan during a grand opening/30th anniversary celebration at its new home at the Community Service Building, 10 Montrose Drive. The building formerly housed the .

“Preserving the Heart of Romeoville” sums up the group’s mission, according to President Nancy Hackett.

“Now that’s going to be part of our logo,” she added.

The group moved into the building last fall after making a return to its roots. Created as the Romeoville Historical Society in 1980, it became known as the Fountaindale Historical Society in 2004. But ater the Romeoville library de-annexed from Fountaindale, members didn't want to leave the village, so the name changed again. This time, it became the Romeoville Area Historical Society.

On Sunday, local officials including State Rep. Emily McAsey, D-Lockport, volunteers and community members turned out to tour the historical society’s new home, which includes a museum dedicated to Romeoville’s past.

Hackett said the unveiling had to wait until the museum—and its countless artifacts—was ready for public viewing.

“We hadn’t set up the museum in time” for an open house held at the building in November, Hackett said. In fact, the museum is likely to remain a work in progress as its collection continually expands.

“It will never be completely set up because people keep donating,” Hackett said.

Donated items run the gamut from literal pieces of Romeoville history, like bricks from the old village hall that was torn down in 2010, to uniforms and artifacts from residents’ military service to reminders of the days when most students attended classes in one-room schoolhouses.

On Sunday, Hackett and fellow historical society members welcomed visitors to the new museum as members of Girl Scout Troop 562 gave guided tours, pointing out some of the more remarkable items on exhibit.

Scouts Elizabeth Hermosillo and Shannon Davison spent several hours at the museum Saturday under the tutelage of Hackett, learning all about the collection.

“We were here yesterday for three hours each,” Hermosillo said.

The girls said there were definitely items in the collection that caught their eye.

“I like the jail door,” Davison said, referring to an iron door, complete with a key, from the original Romeoville village hall on 135^th Street east of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. The door was restored after the village hall, which served Romeoville from 1895 to 1960, burned down.

Davison was also fond of an old cash register once used at the Lockport DuPage Grain Elevator.

“It’s so old and pretty,” she said of the ornate machine.

The Feb. 13 event was also a celebration of the group’s 30^th anniversary—albeit a bit late, Hackett said.

“The first meeting was sometime in February 1980,” she said. “So we’re a year late.”

The museum is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays. Tours are also available by request by contacting Hackett at 815-886-0273.