The Elgin Area Historical Society and Museum is based in Elgin, Illinois. Our site has information about the Society and Museum, pictures, and links to other historical sites on the web. Use the menu on the left to move through the site. If you're interested in Elgin past and present, bookmark this page and come back once in a while. For details on upcoming events, click the Calendar button in the menu at left.
For additional information on these events, call the Museum 1-847-742-4248.
April 8 - May 31: Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center, Northbrook:
Stories of Immigration, Identity and Assimilation: The Jewish Experience in Elgin
This exhibit has moved to the Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center, 300 Revere Dr., Northbrook, IL 60062, 847/205-9480. The exhibit tells the history and stories of everyday men and women in the Elgin Jewish community.
June 14: Garden Party/Bell Dedication at the Museum
June 19: Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Brown Bag Lunch at the Museum
12 noon at the Museum. Ron Lange discusses Elgin Sports. Bring your lunch, beverage & cookies provided.
July 17: Hampshire German WWII POW Camp Brown Bag Lunch at the Museum
12 noon at the Museum. John Fenzel discusses the POW camp in Hampshire IL. Bring your lunch, beverage & cookies provided.
August 21: Tin Pan Alley : Popular Music Brown Bag Lunch at the Museum
12 Noon: Bring your lunch, beverage & cookies provided. David Nelsom discusses old popular music and Tin Pan Alley.
September 28: Cemetery Walk
Bluff City Cemetery, Noon ‐ 3 PM
October 5: Elgin History Fair, Lord's Park Pavilion
Lord's Park Pavilion, 12:30 - 4 p.m.
November 9: Anual Dinner/Auction
Program: Bill Briska presents the history of the Elgin Mental Health Center
December 6: Annual Holiday Tea
Program: Elgin Choral Union and talk on Frank Kratkey, ECU’s co‐founder, 1947
Museum Exhibits
The Elgin Area Historical Society museum, located at 360 Park St., Elgin, has three new exhibits for 2008, showcasing Elgin leisure time activities:
- Piano in the Parlour features a Seybold piano made in Elgin and popular sheet music from back in the days when families created their own musical entertainment
- At the Ballet: Lisa Boehm's Nutcracker is all about the Lisa Boehm Dance Studio of Elgin. The studio staged productions of The Nutcracker for 33 years and provided ballet education to hundreds of students. The exhibit draws upon material from the studio, including original costumes.
- 100 Years of Wing Park Golf commemorates this year’s 100th anniversary of Wing Park golf course in Elgin, which has the distinction of being among the oldest municipal golf courses in the country. The exhibit features an interactive putting mat and provides information on the course’s architect, who also designed Medinah Country Club, Villa Olivia, and courses in Scotland and Mexico.
The Museum has five permanent exhibits that tell the rich history of our community. Visitors learn about the City's beginnings, architecture, road race, Hiawatha Pageant and the Elgin National Watch Factory and industry. Temporary exhibits highlighting local history are regularly featured.
In the permanent exhibit rooms, children can get behind the wheel of a reproduction road race car or have their picture taken with Ralph Mulford, winner of the first road race held in 1910. The Watch Factory room features a wall mural of the clock face that once graced the watch factory tower and the 13th watch produced on the famed assembly line.
Visitors are invited to view a 6-minute introductory video. The nationally distributed video, Circle of Time, the story of the Elgin Watch Factory, produced by the Society and Grindstone Productions in 2002, is also available in the Museum Store.
Listen to our informative radio program each weekday on radio station WRMN online at 12:25 PM. Click the link, then click "Click Here for Radio Show" when WRMN's website is displayed in your browser.
Educational Programs
Looking to plan a special field trip or outing? Our interactive educational programs on Elgin area history for school, youth, and adult groups are just the ticket!
If you have comments, questions about Elgin history, or suggestions on the content of this site, email us. We'd love to hear from you.
