DuPage County Historical Museum

The DuPage County Historical Museum opened in 1891 as the Adams Memorial Library. The building was erected by John Quincy Adams as a gift to the community of Wheaton in memory of his late wife. 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 under the operation of the County of DuPage and the DuPage Historical Society. Since 2000, the museum has undergone many staff and operational changes. The county sought to find a group that would take responsibility for the operation of the museum and Wheaton Park District answered that call. The DuPage County Historical Museum currently exists as a facility of Wheaton Park District and houses the administrative staff as well as Museum Curator and Educator. New museum staff members were introduced in early 2009 and are currently working to plan changing exhibits, programs, and re-establish the museum as a thriving cultural hub for the community.