By Deedee El bego
On January 23rd, I had the pleasure of meeting Denise Wilt, the Social media and Public relations team leader at Naper Settlement. She gave me a tour of the historic Naper Settlement museum and told me about its rich past, as well as what’s to come in the future. We began by discussing the gorgeous mansion that (spoiler) is the only original building on the property. Wilt explained that the late owner of the mansion, Caroline Martin Mitchell, wanted it to be donated to the public after her passing so that she may do something good for future generations of the community.
Caroline Martin Mitchell’s Mansion
This generous decision would then allow for a place to keep and preserve historical buildings in Naperville. The first being time being in 1969 when a group of Naperville residents would come together in order to protest the demolition of the St. John’s Episcopal chapel, which had been there since 1864. Not only did they succeed but in their victory they formed the Naperville Heritage society and relocated the chapel to the settlement. After the relocation the society renamed it Century Memorial Chapel to commemorate its historic place in the community.
Century Memorial Chapel
Other than the chapel the settlement features a blacksmith, a log house, a printing house, and much more. These buildings are meant to teach visitors about how certain buildings looked and who might have worked in them. Since Naperville began as a farming town a lot of the exhibits and buildings showcase that. This includes displaying original wagons, stagecoaches, and other historical pieces. Furthermore Wilt mentioned that they have added two new buildings in recent years that are meant to teach visitors about the more recent advancements made in agriculture. Wilt says that this is due to the settlement’s focus on teaching children how stem and agriculture work hand in hand.
One of the new buildings focused on stem based activities
While they feature a lot of agricultural exhibits they also like to add new ones every once in a while. Previously they have had an exhibit on historical clothing titled Infrastructure in 2023. It featured original dresses from the 19th and 20th century and taught visitors how they were made. Furthermore they also plan on opening their Kroehler furniture exhibit on May 1st. Wilt says that it will feature original advertisements, furniture, and highlight why Kroehler was the number one furniture maker in the mid 20th century.
The settlement also hosts a series of events each year. The summer time features Naper nights, a community concert series that takes place June, July, and August. A lot of the performers are original artists or tribute bands and people enjoy the music as well as food and drinks. These events typically feature a children’s area as well where they can run around and play with their friends. The summer also features a Farmer’s Market. Last year was the first year and it was so fun and successful that Wilt says they’re excited for it to come back this year. She highlights that its popularity was due to how lively it was and because it featured so many market vendors, an educational component, live music, and different demonstrations.
October is busy with events like Oktoberfest, which features German themed activities, music, and food. All Hallows Eve for families, and Howlin’ at the Moon for those 21+. When asked to choose her favorite Wilt said, “I really like Howlin’ at the Moon, I think it’s always a very fun crowd. I love that everyone can dress up and there’s lots of fun music performances.”
Though the winter time might not feature too many events the museum is still open and currently has their Firefighter Exhibit on display. Wilt says this exhibit is important because it shows the rich history of the Naperville fire department and features so many original pieces from the fire house. Some of these include helmets, uniforms, and original photos, but my favorite piece was the original “Sparky” puppet on display. In 1951 Sparky’s character was launched by The National Fire Protection District and Naperville would use the mascot for their outreach program for many years. It was lovely to see Sparky and think about all the children who got to learn about fire safety with his help.
Sparky and Pluggie on display for the Firefighter exhibit.
Naper Settlement lists upcoming events on their website: NaperSettlement.org, as well as on their social media and email newsletter. As we get closer to Spring make sure to check it out, and if you can’t wait for the next event you could always hold your own by renting the space. They have previously rented the space for Festa Italiana, Christkindlmarket, birthdays, weddings, and a food truck festival. More information on rentals is available on the website.
