Events

SOLD OUT!

The Society has planned its Second Hopefully-Annual bus trip on Saturday, August 28, 2021. This year we will be exploring historic delights on the South Side of Chicago – first, the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House on the campus of the University of Chicago and then the Pullman neighborhood where Pullman railroad cars were once built.

The Frederick C. Robie House in the Hyde Park neighborhood was built between 1909 and 1910 and was placed on the very first National Register of Historic Places list in 1966. At the time that he commissioned Wright to design his home, Robie was only 28 years old and the assistant manager of the Excelsior Supply Company which was owned by his father. He and his wife, Lora Hieronymus Robie, a 1900 graduate of the University of Chicago, selected the property in order to remain close to the campus and the social life of the University.

After lunch on your own near the University, the tour will continue south to the Pullman neighborhood.

Historic Pullman was built in the 1880s by George Pullman as workers’ housing for employees of his railroad car company, the Pullman Palace Car Company. He established behavioral standards that workers had to meet in order to live in the area and charged them rent. The distinctive rowhouses were comfortable by standards of the day, and contained such amenities as indoor plumbing, gas, and sewers. 

This was the site of the two-month-long Pullman Strike in 1894 that eventually required intervention by the US government and military. After Pullman died in 1897, the Illinois Supreme Court required the company to sell the town because operating it was outside the company’s charter. In 1889, the town and other major portions of the South Side were annexed by Chicago and within ten years, the city sold the houses to their occupants. 

Tickets for the trip are $65 per person and include 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 still required.

Unfortunately, this event is sold out.

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History is for kids, too! The Mount Prospect Historical Society is pleased to announce the return of many of our popular summer programs, some with new, updated formats. Programs are for boys and girls age seven and up.

In adherence with current CDC guidelines, the programs will be held on a slightly different timetable than year’s past, with individual sessions being held every-other-week from late June through July. 

Our always popular Prairie Girl programs have been renamed Prairie Kids. Boys and girls are invited to take part in these fun, step-back-in-time experiences. Participants will try their hand at chores of yesteryear, explore what it was like to travel and live on the prairie, learn the importance of gardening and farming, and craft their own old-fashioned toys. Life as a Prairie Kid I will be offered on Thursday, June 17. Life as a Prairie Kid II will be held on Thursday, July 1. (Content for each of the Prairie Kid sessions is different.) *PRAIRIE KID II IS SOLD OUT*

The exciting Science of History program is back, as well. This STEM-based interactive program has been delighting kids in past summers with themes such as catapults, waterwheels, log cabin building, and rockets. This year we’ll explore “Boats, Ships, and Other Things that Float”. Be sure to join in for oceans of fun on Thursday, July 15.  *THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD OUT*

To complement the science program this year, we’re presenting “Crossing on the Mayflower and Life in Plymouth “. Learn what it was like to be a kid on this famous cross-Atlantic trip. Experience what life was like in the New World when the Pilgrims finally reached land. This program will be held on Thursday, July 29. 

All sessions will be held on the Society campus (101 S. Maple, Street, Mount Prospect) from 9:30 to 11:30 am on their respective days. Space is limited to ten participants per session and registration is required. 

Cost is $25 per person for each session or $20 if registering for more than one program. 

We’re so thrilled to be opening our campus again and bringing history alive for all ages. We look forward to having many Young Historians join us this summer on our exciting adventures through time!

Join us for a virtual tea on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 1:00 pm.

The reviews are in for Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick, by Andrea Friederici Ross. All agree it is fascinating! Be treated to a unique experience as Edith, portrayed by Ellie Carlson of Ellie Presents, herself walks off the page and onto your Zoom screen, and the author enlightens you about the odyssey of Edith’s life. Get ready for questions about King Tut’s child bride, James Joyce, Brookfield Zoo and wealth unimaginable. This is a video presentation followed by live Q&A; an opportunity to meet the author and the subject of her work at the same time. Reading the book ahead of time is not required, but is strongly encouraged.

You can purchase the book through Amazon here.

Ellie says, “Andrea is wonderful at explaining her process…You will learn so much!

I love playing Edith, she was a singular person and the opportunity to bring her to life is empowering. She is so profoundly unlike all my other ladies that I marvel at how she could have been real, but she was!”

Cost: $10, payable with credit card through PayPal (you do not need a PayPal account). You can also pay with a credit card or check by calling the Society during office hours (Tues-Thurs, 9-4) at 847-392-9006. Space is limited and reservations must be made in advance by May 1.