Mount Prospect Historical Society

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Five Dollar Fives

Join us in months with a fifth Saturday for a brand new program, Five Dollar Fives. This series will feature fun, history-related programs presented by local speakers.

Each program begins at 10 a.m. in Central School (103 S. Maple Street) and costs $5.

April 29, 2023 – Genealogy Research with Anne Shaughnessy: Learn how to get started researching your family history and get some answers to your research questions during a chat with Anne Shaughnessy, MPPL Genealogy and Local History Librarian. Registration is closed.

September 30, 2023 – With its transmitter and antenna tower located in Mount Prospect, WJAZ was one of the big players in the very early days of broadcast radio. Long before television dominated evening entertainment in American homes, families tuned in their radios. Entertainers traveled the country performing “live studio broadcasts” from the few radio stations that were beginning to fill the airwaves. Join Frank Corry, Mount Prospect Historical Society Board President, for his talk about Mount Prospect’s WJAZ Radio, it’s impact on the emerging radio broadcast industry, and its connections to Ham radio.

December 30, 2023 – Archival Crafting with Annette Wegener

Space is limited and reservations are required.

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Mount Prospect Trivia Night

Mount Prospect Trivia Night
Location: Central School/Mount Prospect Historical Society
103 S. Maple St.
Friday, February 3
6:00 pm

Did you know February is Mount Prospect’s ‘birthday’ month? Our Village officially came to be on February 3, 1917. To celebrate, the Mount Prospect Historical Society will be hosting a Trivia Night on Friday, February 3, 2023 at 6:00 pm in Central School. All questions will be based on the history of Mount Prospect. Players (ages high school and up) will compete individually. Pizza and soft drinks will be served. Tickets are $20 per person. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Registration is now closed.

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2023 Events

We are so excited to offer a full calendar of programming in 2023! We want you to save the date on your calendar but we are not quite ready to take registrations. If you would like to be informed of when registration for events goes live, please fill out the form below.

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Needle Craft Night

Get out your needles and thread. The Mount Prospect Historical Society will be hosting Monthly Needle Craft Nights. Join us the second Wednesday of each month in Central School (103 S. Maple St., Mount Prospect) from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Bring your own knitting/crocheting/embroidery project or try our spotlight project each month. All experience levels are welcome. Advance registration is recommended and a $5 donation is suggested.

Join us for the last class of the year on December 13, 2023! We are offering TWO time options in December; 10 am-12 pm or 7-9 pm. We will be making no-sew stars.

We look forward to seeing you at this fun monthly program where you can learn a new skill, chat while working on your own project, or share your knowledge with other needlecraft enthusiasts.

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Summer Programs for Young Historians

Get your young historian ready for summer programming at the Mount Prospect Historical Society!

Cost: $25 per program (fee is non-refundable)

(Are you looking for week-long History Camp? Click here!)

Life as a Prairie Kid I
Thursday, July 20, 2023
9:30-11:30 am
Ages 7+

Come explore life in the late 19th century as a prairie kid. Try old-fashioned chores and games, make a yarn kid, sample homemade lemonade, and plant vegetables.

Life as a Prairie Kid II
Thursday, July 20, 2023
1:30-3:30 pm
Ages 7+

Continue your exploration of life in the late 19th century as a prairie kid. Try your hand at old-fashioned chores and games, make a paper chain and a no bake snack, and learn sewing skills.

The Science of History!
Thursday, July 27, 2023
9:30-11:30 am
Ages 7+

This year we’ll explore weather in our popular STEAM based program: Rain sticks, weather vanes, and rain gauges. We’ll even make rain and lightning!

If You Lived During the Gold Rush
Thursday, July 27, 2023
1:30-3:30 pm
Ages 7+

Celebrate the 175th Anniversary of Gold being discovered in this fun, interactive program. Plan your route to head out west. Learn what life was like in a mining town. Pan for gold.

Registration is now closed.

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Ladies’ Craft Night in Central School

Thursday, June 23, 2022
7:00 p.m.
103 S. Maple Street (Central School)
$20

Join us to make felt mini-patchwork encouragement squares using a variety of embroidery and stitching techniques. Beginners welcome. Invite a friend along for a fun night of creative crafting in Mount Prospect’s historic one-room schoolhouse. Cost is $20 per person and includes all materials and light refreshments (lemonade, water, and cookies).

Space is limited. Please register by June 17 to reserve your spot.

Registration is now closed.

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Garden Tea Party and Julia Child Presentation

We are no longer taking reservations for this event. Thank you for your interest and be sure to watch for future tea events.

June 11, 2022
10:30 a.m.

Julia Child — Her Life in France
Lynn Rymarz

Join us for tea in the beautiful gardens on the campus of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. Afterwards, enjoy listening to historic interpreter Lynn Rymarz as she explores how Julia Child discovered her passion for cooking French food in her late thirties after she married Paul Child and moved to Paris in 1948. Hear Julia’s own words as she describes her love of French food and how she became determined to learn how to cook it. Follow her journey into French culture, including her visits to the local markets and into her cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu. She will share her struggles and her successes, including her own cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her television show The French Chef. She will tell you herself she never would have had any of this without meeting the love of her life, Paul Child.

Tickets are $15 per person and space is limited. To reserve your spot use the form below or call 847-392-9006. (Please note, we are closed Friday thru Monday)

In case of inclement weather, the tea portion of this even will be take home goodie bags and “Julia” will start her presentation at 11:30 a.m. in Central School.

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North Shore National Historic Landmarks Bus Tour 2022

The Society has planned its next bus trip for Saturday, May 14, 2022. We will be exploring historic delights in the northern suburbs of Evanston and Wilmette.

In the morning, tour-goers will tour both the picturesque home of Frances Willard, a founder and president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the mansion of Charles G. Dawes, who served as Calvin Coolidge’s vice president.

Frances Willard House

The Frances Willard house was built in 1865. The author and activist lived and worked in this house during the years of her presidency of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). For many of those years, the house also served as an informal national headquarters for the WCTU and a boarding house for its workers.

Vice President Charles G. Dawes House

The nearby lakefront Dawes mansion was, from 1909 until his death in 1951, the home of Charles Gates Dawes and his family. Dawes earned the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize for his plan to alleviate the crushing burden of war reparations that Germany was required to pay after World War I. He also served as President Calvin Coolidge’s vice president and as a general during World War I .

Baha’i House of Worship

After lunch on your own in Evanston, the tour will continue north to Wilmette’s renowned Baha’i House of Worship, an architectural masterpiece built over a 30-year span from 1921 to 1951, where we will be treated to a private tour. It was dedicated in 1953 and has received many architectural awards. In fact, in 1978 it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places and in 2007 the Illinois Bureau of Tourism named it one of the “Seven Wonders of Illinois.”

Tickets for the May 14, 2022 trip are $67 per person which includes tour admissions and bus transportation. The tour bus will depart from the Historical Society, 101 S. Maple St., promptly at 9 a.m. and is expected to return back there by 5 p.m. Lunch will be on your own. Comfortable clothing and shoes are strongly urged.

Also, be aware that the Society will follow all CDC COVID-19 recommendations in effect at the time of the tour, so please be prepared to wear a mask on the bus and during the tours, if that is required at the time.

Space is limited and tickets are non-refundable.