The Elgin Area Historical Society is a non-profit organization that preserves and presents the history of the Elgin, Illinois

Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...

 area. Located at 360 Park Street in Elgin, Illinois on the Elgin Academy

Elgin Academy (Elgin, Illinois)

Elgin Academy is an independent, coeducational, college-preparatory school in Elgin, Illinois.The Academy was established by charter of the Illinois General Assembly in 1839 to provide students with a classical education. The Academy's original building, Old Main, was constructed in 1855-6, and is...

 campus. The historic "Old Main" building houses offices, research facilities, the museum, and a gift shop.

History

The Society was created in 1961 through the efforts of local authors and historians such as LaRoy Morning, Madeline Sadler Waggoner, Karl Lehr and E. C. Alft

E. C. Alft

Elmer C. "Mike" Alft, Jr. is a local historian and former mayor of Elgin, Illinois. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College in 1949 and received his master's degree from Syracuse University in 1950...

. The Society lacked a permanent home for many years and stored its donated artifacts in the homes of Society members and in the basement of Elgin’s Gail Borden Public Library District

Gail Borden Public Library District

Gail Borden Public Library is a public library district located in Elgin, Illinois, USA. District boundaries include the cities of Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood, and Hoffman Estates...

.

Building

The Society has occupied its current home, Old Main, since 1987. Old Main opened on December 1, 1856, as a private school, the Elgin Academy, and is noted for its Greek Revival design. Old Main was Elgin’s first building entered on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. In 1911 lightening caused a fire that destroyed Old Main’s roof which was replaced without the building’s distinctive gabled roof and cupola. The Elgin Academy continued to use the building until 1969 when financial pressures and new safety codes led to its abandonment. The Academy offered Old Main to the City of Elgin which in 1976 decided that its preservation would be an appropriate bicentennial community project. Prominent Elgin merchant John Spiess proposed a “Buck-a-Brick” fund raising campaign selling 150,000 bricks being laid in Fountain Square Plaza Mall. The successful campaign enabled Elgin to take ownership of the building and, despite another fire in 1978, restore the building’s exterior in 1979-80. In 1981 the City of Elgin leased Old Main to the Society. With additional funds raised by the Society and from state and federal sources and with many hours of volunteer labor by members of the Society, Elgin’s Golden K Kiwanis Club and Gifford Park Association, Old Main’s interior was refurbished for museum use. The Society moved into Old Main’s first floor in 1987 and has used all three floors since 1991.

Library

The Society maintains the Reber Research Library. The Library is named in honor of Clarence Reber, a former president and devoted advocate, collector and cataloger for the Society. The Library’s collections span Elgin’s history but feature the old Elgin photographs from the collection of Elmer Gyllek, thousands of photographic negatives donated by the Elgin Courier News, local probate and divorce records, and rich resources for research on Elgin homes. The Library also holds production records for most Elgin National Watch Company watches made before the 1950s and offers research services providing information on specific watches.

Museum Exhibits

The Society, through a small professional staff and significant volunteer assistance, maintains a museum of Elgin history on two floors of Old Main. The museum provides a general review of Elgin’s history while presenting expanded displays on significant community experiences such as the local watch industry, the Elgin Road Races, and The Song of Hiawatha

The Song of Hiawatha

The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem, in trochaic tetrameter, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, featuring an Indian hero and loosely based on legends and ethnography of the Ojibwe and other Native American peoples contained in Algic Researches and additional writings of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft...

 Pageant, a local event based on the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...

 poem that entertained Elginites for over 50 years. Additionally, the Society has partnered with sponsors to produce traveling historical exhibits including Deep Roots, Green City: City Planning in Elgin and The Jewish Experience in Elgin: Stories of Immigration, Identity, and Assimilation.

Activities and Education

The Society conducts tours, general and annual meetings, and “brown bag” lunches featuring presentations on historical topics. The Society especially emphasizes its outreach to school children and the educational community. The Society has partnered with Elgin Area School District U46

Elgin Area School District U46

Elgin Area School District U46, often referred to as "U-46", is a unit school district headquartered in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. Covering , the district serves portions of eleven communities in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties. School District U-46 serves over...

in the American History Partnership and the U-46 Roadmap of American History Project enhancing teachers’ knowledge of traditional American History and social studies. The Society also offers educational programs for children including a summer history camp, history-themed scavenger hunts and opportunities to experience Elgin’s watch-making and architectural history.

Cemetery Walk

Each autumn since 1988 the Society has conducted a walk in Elgin’s historic Bluff City Cemetery. The Cemetery Walk presents costumed actors portraying the lives and personalities of some of the cemetery’s residents and includes other displays on cemetery customs, styles, and ceremonies of the past.

Publications

The Society preserves and presents Elgin history through publications and other media. Among the works with which it has been involved are:

Alft, E. C., A History of Elgin History. Elgin: Elgin Area Historical Society, 2011.

Alft, E. C. and William H. Briska, Elgin Time: A History of the Elgin National Watch Company: 1864-1968. Elgin: Elgin Area Historical Society, 2003.

Alft, E. C., Hispanics in Elgin: A Brief History – Los hispanos en Elgin: una breva historia. Elgin: Elgin Area Historical Society, 2010.

Alft, E. C., Elgin: A Women’s City. Elgin: Elgin Area Historical Society, 2008.

Bennett, William E., Elgin, Illinois: “Wish You Were Here.” 2001.

Edwards, Jim and Wynette, Images of America: Elgin Illinois From the Collection of the Elgin Area Historical Society. Arcadia Publishing, 1999.

Stroud, Steven R. There Used to Be: A Look Back at Elgin’s Architectural Heritage. Vol. 1, 2005; Vol. 2, 2007; Vol. 3, 2010.
Circle of Time: Elgin and the Watch Company, video, 2002.

The Crackerbarrel. A bimonthly newsletter on Elgin history, published by the Society since 1962.

External links

• The Elgin Area Historical Society, Official Website
• The Elgin Area Historical Society, Facebook page
• There Used To Be website
• 50 Years of Stewardship: The Elgin Area Historical Society video