The Oak Park and River Forest Museum is a stepping stone to the past.
Exhibits tell the story of the area’s people, community and culture dating back to 1834, when it was first settled and developed. Oak Park became its own town when it separated from Cicero Township in 1902.
The museum building has its own fascinating history. In 2017, the museum moved from the second floor of Pleasant Home at 217 Home Ave. to its current location at 129 Lake St.
“The building was a firehouse in 1898,” said Executive Director Frank Lipo. “The building itself is actually older than the village of Oak Park.”
Lipo added, “When people walk in and find out that there used to be horse drawn fire engines in this building, it’s a real stepping back in time.”
Throughout the museum, there are hundreds of Oak Park and River Forest historical artifacts and documents that were donated and collected by community members, which are arranged on display in various exhibits, with hundreds more in storage.
“It’s people watching out for their own history,” Lipo explained, “I think that the most important thing is that current residents and future residents keep on having a conversation.”
Each artifact collected and displayed by the museum tells a significant story that is important to the history and background of the town. Operations Manager Rachel Berlinski expanded on the importance of storytelling.
“Everything that you see here is telling stories about Oak Park and River Forest, there are so many stories to tell,” Berlinski said.
The Fields Research Center is located in the museum to provide community members with information such as Oak Park housing records, copies of Oak Park and River Forest High School Tabula dating back to its opening in 1873 and various records of Oak Park business. The research center is available to visit and use via appointment for research purposes, or just out of curiosity.
“We have official records of groups like the League of Women Voters and The 19th Century Club,” Berlinski said.
The museum hosts a variety of special events throughout the year. Every October, they host a Cemetery Walk of Forest Park cemetery, where they have a handful of actors portray buried people and help bring their stories to life.
“The internationally famous Haymarket monument is in Forest Home Cemeteries, so we will always feature some people related to the Haymarket Riots,” Berlinski said.
In the spring, the museum hosts a house walk in which they highlight different neighborhoods.
“We work with private homeowners that will open up their house for a tour on the first Sunday in May,” Berlinski said.
Throughout her time working with the Historical Society, Coordinator of Community Outreach Cheri Bentrup has come to believe that visualizing the timeline of the community is important.
“It’s interesting just to see where the community was, how it’s changed, and how that came about and who made those decisions,” Bentrup said.
