About Us:
Overview
The DuPage County Historical Museum is housed in what was formerly known as the
Adams Memorial Library. The building was erected in 1891 by John Quincy Adams as a
gift to the community of Wheaton in memory of his late wife, Marilla Phipps Adams.
Designed by Charles Sumner Frost in the Richardsonion Romanesque style, the
building was added to the National Register in 1981. In the 1960s the DuPage County
Historical Society recognized the availability of the building as a new and more
spacious library was being erected. In 1967 the building opened as the DuPage
County Historical Museum.
The Museum functions as the only institution dedicated to the collection,
preservation and interpretation of the material culture documenting the county of
DuPage, Illinois. The collections represent artifacts collected by the DuPage
County Historical Society since 1929 as well as artifacts collected by the Museum
since its founding in 1965.
Our Mission
The DuPage County Historical Museum is operated as a facility of Wheaton Park
District, owned by the County of DuPage by resolution of the County Board pursuant
to state statute. Its principal purposes are to educate the general public through
the collection, preservation, interpretation, and exhibition of materials which
document the history of DuPage County and its relationship to Illinois and the
nation, and to provide local history services for historical organizations and for
scholarly endeavors.
Wheaton Park District Vision
We, the Wheaton Park District team, commit to service excellence, financial
stability and an enriched quality of life for our stakeholders. We accomplish this
through continuous improvement of people and systems while living our
values.
