The Museums at Lisle Station Park

In March of 1976, the police corralled 14 cows that were wandering on Warrenville Rd! The cows belonged to Cort Johansen. He grew fruit and vegetables and operated Cort's Lowland Garden and Delicatessen the Northwest corner of Ogden Rd and Rt. 53.

Anyone remember the shop or perhaps has a picture of it? If so please share your memories or photographs with the museum.

Our blacksmiths were hard at work last night. Not at the forge, but repairing one of the historical bellows. Bellows bring air to the fire making it hotter!

It's Emoji Day, and here are a few emojis that best describe our historic buildings!

🐄🐂: 1850s Farmhouse
🍻: 1840s Tavern:
🚂: 1874 Train Depot

Lisle Fire Protection District had a Dalmatian called Cinder in the 1970s. Here Cinder, in 1974, sitting in front of the District's brand new unit. This is when the Station was located on Main and Front Street.

John E. Phillips moved to Lisle in the 1950s. He was an artist, many of his works portray everyday scenes. Here is a painting he called Farm Chores, it is unknown if this was painted in Lisle. Though, Lisle was predominantly a dairy farm community and stayed quite rural until the 1950s so this could have been Lisle.

In the past months, Lisle witnessed the co-emergence cicada event that will not happen for another 221 years! Now that we have some quiet, as the cicadas are dying down (literally), we would love to hear your stories and see some photos of your experiences with the cicadas. Feel free to share below or message us directly, the museum will save your stories and pictures to share with generations to come.

The cicadas came out in full force at the museum, image taken of a tree trunk on the museum's campus on May 21.

Lisle Park District dedicated its first park, Connelly Memorial Park at Lacey Avenue on July 5, 1971. Its name is in honor of Robert P. Connelly, a Village Trustee, Lisle Kiwanian, Korean War Veteran, and a holder of the purple heart. On September 22, 1966, he gave his life attempting to save a woman from an on-coming train. The Memorial Garden has grown beautifully. Pictures are of the park now and in 1972, where there was a large sand pit there is now a playground.

Happy Independence Day! In the 1974 July 4th Parade, the Cub Scouts were one of three color guards in the parade. Heading the parade was the recently formed color guard of the Lisle Fire District. Ross Bishop VFW Post’s color guard also participated in the parade.

The museum now has two photographs of the Beaubien Tavern in its original location along Ogden Ave. These were taken in 1955, by that time it was no longer a tavern, but it is believed it was a summer home for a Chicago family.

These photographs were generously donated by Glen Ellyn Historical Society. We are always looking for photographs of Lisle, reach out to the museum if you have any you would like to donate (we will be happy to make copies so you are able to keep the originals).

Lisle's Depot in 1964. Burlington completed renovations during the Depot’s century in use. One major renovation occurred in 1966, when plumbing was installed in the Depot. Up until that point, all patrons and residents of the Depot made use of outhouses behind the building.

photo taken by Marty Bernard

Bunnies cooling off in the shade of the museum's speeder! Looking for a fun outing, want to stay out of the heat, book a guided tour! You will have a chance to see 3 historical buildings, each building has a kid-friendly activity (all building have modern air-conditioning).

Book your tour here: https://museumsatlislestation.org/contact.html

Juneteenth marks the day enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas were told they are free. Two years after Emancipation Proclamation was made effective.

We have a new native plant garden around the Beaubien Tavern! The plants require less water and their blooms provide food for birds, bees and butterflies. 🦋🐝🐦

Eid Mubarak! This evening is the start of Eid al-Adha, the "feast of sacrifice." The Eid is a time of remembrance and to help those in need. It celebrates the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail. Before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, however, Allah provided a ram to sacrifice instead. This story is also found in the Bible, the image is from an 1880s Bible in the museum's collection.

Happy Father's Day! Mark Beaubien fathered 23 children, he owned the 1840's Tavern that is now located at the museum.

Happy Pride Month. The six-color flag has represented the LGBTQ+ community for over 40 years. Now, there are many colorful flags that represent different identities within the LGBTQ+ community, but each one is used to symbolized pride. Here are a few rainbow theme objects we have in the museum collection 🏳️‍🌈

Looking for a fun outing! The museum has three historical building and child friendly activities including an interactive model railroad. Book your tour at the Museums at Lisle Station Park by calling or booking it on our website.

This morning Dupage Art League braved the cicadas and had a session at our museum. Check out all of their beautiful artworks of our museum's historical buildings and park plus one drawing of a cicada!

Ducking the Cicadas at Museums of Lisle

Fun fact: the co-emergence we are witnessing in Lisle only happens once every 221 years! Thank you Lisle Heritage Society for organizing the Cicada Lecture last night, presented by Allen Lawrance, Curator of Entomology at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago.

Can you imagine a peony patch in downtown Lisle along Main Street? Until 1960 there was one! It was located where Bank of Lisle stands today. Before being destroyed, many of the peonies were saved by residents. The peony bushes at the museum came from the Yender's garden and could have very well originated from this peony patch.

Come check out the peonies at Garden Gait is on next Sunday, June 9th, from 10am to 4pm. To purchase tickets and for more information: https://www.lislewomansclub.org/garden-gait

Image from Lisle Sun, edition Thursday, May 22,1975.

The area around the tracks were named Lisle Station, this referred to the train depot and all the yard areas, platforms, and railroad-owned buildings around it. Here is a 1919 photo of the Lisle Station (or perhaps Naperville) that gives a sense of what the Station area looked like.

Photo from the Archives & Special Collections, Benedictine University, John Jochman Album, titled 'Commencement 1919.’

The cicadas are coming! Join an entomologist from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to satisfy your curiosity about what is going on during the dual emergence of Broods XIII and XIX periodical cicadas in Illinois-- how are they different from cicadas we hear every year, how does the process of their emergence unfold, and what are they even doing above ground?

When and where: Thursday, June 6, 7:00pm at the Lisle Park District Recreation Center. All ages are welcome to attend this FREE event presented by the Lisle Heritage Society

Memorial Day honors all those that perished during America's Wars. In 1970, Ross Bishop VFW presented an American Flag to the Village of Lisle preceding the annual Memorial Day parade.

This is when Village Hall was on Main Street, you can see the iconic Book Nook behind them. Image published in the Lisle Sun, edition March 25, 1971

The property owned by both the Netzley and Yender family was split by SW Plank Road (today Ogden Ave), just west of Yackley Rd. The Farmhouse was on the north side and Barns and Market were on the south side. The image is of the Yender's Market and Barn circa the 1940s. To learn more about the families come to Tavern Nights on Thursday, May 23 from 6:30-8:00pm. More information at: https://museumsatlislestation.org/events.html

Lisle's Depot at the museum is 150 years old this year! Lisle’s first depot was built in 1864 then was destroyed by a fire 10 years later. The current depot was built in 1874. It was designed to handle transporting goods. Farmers brought animals, grain, and milk here to ship into the city for sale.

The black and white image of the Depot dates to around 1909. Colored image of what the Depot looks like today.

Come join the Lisle Heritage Society this Thursday, January 25, at 7pm in the Lisle Park District Recreation Center to discover the impact of Illinois in the Civil War, specifically around the Chicago & DuPage County areas. Learn how people responded to the draft, emancipation, and other critical issues in the national milieu.

Our program presenter, Jonathan Sebastian, is an adjunct professor of history at Judson University, Experience Facilitator at the Arlington Heights Historical Museum, and Education & Programs Assistant at the Elmhurst History Museum. He also earned his Masters of Arts degree in Public History at Loyola University in Chicago.

This is a free event. Registration is not required.

Did you know that Illinois was the first state to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday?

Five years after he was assassinated, in 1973, Harold Washington, an IL state representative, introduced a bill to make his birthday a state holiday.

Today, on what would have been his 95th birthday, we honor and celebrate the life & legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

📸 Harold Washington with Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow. Source: Harold Washington. Press Office Series. Photographs, Box 56, 1987 February 20.

🍪 Have you been busy baking for the holidays the last few weeks – maybe a few cookies or several dozen?

The beehive oven in the Netzley/Yender House is 5ft deep and would have been used once or twice a week to do the baking and cooking for that upcoming week. The Netzley's were originally from Germany and spoke German in their household. Traditionally, Germans celebrate Christmas today on Christmas Eve.

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday 🎄

Enjoy free, old fashioned festive fun tomorrow, December 2, from 3-7pm at Once Upon a Christmas, a part of the Lights of Lisle Festival.

🎅 Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus in the Depot
☕️ Enjoy hot cocoa or hot cider while you explore the museum
🧵 Create a holiday craft in the Tavern
🔥 Catch a workshop in the Blacksmith Shop
🎁 Purchase one-of-a-kind holiday gifts at the Lisle Heritage Society Gift Shop
🚂 Get a glimpse of our model railroad decked out for the season