By: Anne Jordan, Manager of the Little White School Museum. Oswego, IL
Photo Courtesy of Illinois State Agricultural Society, 1861 - Transactions of the Illinois State Agricultural Society, with Reports from County and District Agricultural Societies, Volume 4
How much do you know about the history of museums in Illinois? Did you know we don’t have a definite “first” museum? A few locations claim the title, but it's actually quite difficult to determine which came first. Featured below is a brief overview of the 3 best candidates for the coveted title of “Illinois’ First Museum”.
The first open is Illinois’ first society-turned-museum. The Chicago Historical Society, today known as the Chicago History Museum is “the oldest cultural institution in Chicago and one of the oldest in the state of Illinois”[i]. It was founded on April 24th, 1856 and received its charter from the State in 1857. Its objectives from the very beginning were “To encourage historical inquiry, and spread historical information, especially within the State of Illinois, and also within the entire territory of the Northwest—to embrace, alike, their aboriginal and modern history."[ii] The charter also calls for “the establishment of a library of books and publications, appropriate to such an institution, with convenient works of reference, and also a cabinet of antiquities, relics, etc.”[iii], creating not only a traditional historical society, but the beginnings of an incredibly robust collection and awe-inspiring museum.
In 1868, the Chicago Historical Society opened its first, private building, located at the corner of Dearborn and Ontario Streets. However, thanks to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (and subsequent fires) most of the society’s original archives were destroyed. CHS, though, took these setbacks in stride. The loss of their buildings and collections gave them time to reflect on their original charter and look outward to what other institutions in the area were doing to stay relevant. This break led the society to finally opening its doors to the public in 1906[iv], and they haven’t turned back since. In 1932, CHS’s final location in Lincoln Park opened[v], and has remained in operation (albeit with a new name) since.
While the Chicago History Museum offers a lot of evidence to suggest it is Illinois’ first museum, our second contestant makes the bold claim of being the first private scientific museum in Chicago as well as the first public museum in the city as well as the state.
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, originally referred to as the Chicago Academy of Sciences was founded by “nature aficionados and amateur scientists seeking a space where they could study and share the specimens they collected”[vi] in 1857. Dedicated to preserving and studying the natural world around them, the Academy opened its first museum in 1865, originally just intended for active members[vii]. However, with the collections continuing to grow (at one point becoming the fourth largest natural history collection in the country[viii]), a new museum opened in 1869. Due to the growing interest outside of the academy, it was this second location on Wabash Avenue that decided to open its doors and become the state’s first public museum.
Unfortunately, just like the Chicago Historical Society, the Academy of Sciences also lost a large portion of its original collections in the Great Fire of 1871. But just like CHS, the Academies also decided to persevere and build another museum. On October 10, 1893, the cornerstone of the building in Lincoln Park was laid[ix]. For the next 100 years, the museum grew until it was finally time to move once again. In 1999, the new building opened, this time with a new name. “In recognition of the significant donation given to the Academy by Dick and Peggy Notebaert, the building was named the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum”[x]. Today, the museum continues its mission to provide opportunities for people of all ages to interact with science and nature all around them.
Our final “first” museum takes us out of Chicago, all the way to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. This short-lived museum is important because it reminds us that Chicago was not the only city in Illinois with histories worthy of remembering.
The Museum of the Illinois State Natural History Society (later known as the Illinois Museum of Natural History) was founded in 1858, after an Illinois State Teachers’ Association meeting (held in 1857)[xi] thought the state needed more studies on the land and animals around them. Thus, the Illinois State Natural History Society “was formed as an agency for the natural history survey of the State in the old sense of an accumulation of museum specimens and a descriptive records of its zoology, botany and paleontology–meteorology and physical geography being nominally included”[xii]. The original museum was housed on the third floor of the Old Main building of Illinois Normal School, today known as Illinois State University. However, by 1877, it was decided that the collections would be better suited in the newly founded Illinois State Museum[xiii]. With that, central Illinois’ first museum was no more.
By the 1900s, Illinois was well underway to being a state full of museums. In fact, in 2017, the Illinois Association of Museums estimated “over 1,300 institutions preserving history and memories of the state [with] the overwhelming majority historical societies and museums"[xiv]. While COVID-19 most certainly irrevocably affected these institutions, Illinois is still a state dedicated to preserving the culture and history of its people from thousands of years ago until today.
[i] Lewis, Catherine M. 2005. The Changing Face of Public History: The Chicago Historical Society and the Transformation of the American Museum. 11.
[ii] 1857. Chicago Historical Society Charter.
[iii] ibid.
[iv] Lewis, Catherine M. 2005. The Changing Face of Public History: The Chicago Historical Society and the Transformation of the American Museum. 12.
[v] https://www.chicagohistory.org/about-us/museum-history/
[vi] https://naturemuseum.org/explore/history/
[vii] https://naturemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/heritage-of-the-chicago-academy-of-sciences/
[viii] https://naturemuseum.org/explore/history/
[ix] ibid.
[x] ibid.
[xi] Forbes. S.A. 1907. “History of the Former State Natural History Societies of Illinois” Science. 892.
[xii] ibid.
[xiii] https://www.illinoisstatemuseum.org/ism-system-content/illinois-state-museum-history.html
[xiv] Fowler, Laura Milsk. 2018. “Museums 2.0: Lessons for Illinois Museums for the next 200 Years”. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 137.
