2025 Season
UPCOMING EVENTS
ANNUAL MEETING & PROGRAM 5/4 at 2pm
Where History Lies
All across our country, along the highways and the forgotten back roads, there are cemeteries, grave yards and burial grounds. These places have stories to tell, not just of people who died but of people who lived. Their remains may be buried but their stories live on.
A Civil War soldier, who fought in major battles of the Great Rebellion, kept a secret for over 50 years. There is another Civil War veteran whose remains lie beneath a small stone which tells of his epic contribution to the Union.
There is a cemetery near us that has a sad and violent history. There are epitaphs with messages of sadness and humor. So many stories are lying beneath the soil, waiting to be told.
This special presentation will tell some of those stories and reveal some of those secrets.
A brief business meeting with election of 2025/2026 offices will precede the program.
All are welcome. There is no admission fee but donations are graciously accepted. For more information, email dths@sbcglobal.net.
Hours
The Museum is open Sundays and Wednesdays from 2-4pm beginning Sunday, March 9, 2025.
The museum’s Research Library will remain open all winter for those who wish to do research on Wednesdays from 2-4pm or email dths@sbcglobal.net to make an appointment.
PREVIOUS EVENTS
Opening Day: Sunday, March 9, 2025 from 2-4
Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague: The Fox Valley Roots of a Beloved Pony Story
The 2025 Opening Day Program is your chance to join historian and horsewoman Susan Friedland for an exploration of Marguerite Henry’s life in the Fox Valley, where she wrote her 1947 best-selling classic, Misty of Chincoteague.
Friedland will also share her experiences watching the world-famous Chincoteague Pony swim in Virginia as she researched for her book Marguerite, Misty and Me. Books will be available for purchase
PREVIOUS EVENTS
Dickens of a Christmas Sale-Dickens in Dundee
We will hold our annual Dickens of A Christmas Sale on Saturday, 12/7/2024, from 9am-3pm at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church located at 410 W Main St in West Dundee.
New, gently used and vintage Christmas items at reasonable prices.
Don’t miss your opportunity to obtain a unique Christmas treasure for gift giving or to keep for yourself.
While there, enjoy Bethlehem’s soup and sandwich luncheon fundraiser.
3rd Annual Historically Haunted Car Show
Saturday, October 26, 2024
9 am to 3 pm
It's getting to be that time of year again!
Join us for the Third Annual Historically Haunted Car Show at the Dundee Township Historical Society's museum.$20 per car
Dash plaques for the first 50 carsAWARDS AT 2:00 PMFor more information contact Humberto Garcia 847-800-5124TROPHIES (For cars 25 years & older):
• Best Car by the Decade
• Best of Show
• Spookiest Car
• Best Halloween Costume
Join us for the Third Annual Historically Haunted Car Show at the Dundee Township Historical Society's museum.
Dash plaques for the first 50 cars
• Best Car by the Decade
• Best of Show
• Spookiest Car
• Best Halloween Costume
All proceeds will benefit the Dundee Township Historical Society.
PREVIOUS EVENTS
HOW IT WAS DONE THEN / HOW IT IS DONE NOW
The event is for all ages and will feature tools, farm implements and household items like the ones used in the late 1800s and early 1900s and how they compare to tools we use today. See the tasks that were accomplished before electricity came to Dundee Township in 1892.
Come test your skill at boring a hole using a 1890s drill press , saw a log with an old fashioned saw, wring out freshly washed clothes using a hand crank wringer or churn butter and much more.
This interactive event and presentation will be held at the Historical Society Museum grounds at 426 Highland Ave in West Dundee. There is no admission fee but donations are appreciated.
RISE AND FALL OF SPRING HILL MALL - 6/23 at 2 pm - See Meeting Location
In this presentation, we will discuss the beginning of Spring Hill Mall focusing on pitting two villages, Carpentersville and West Dundee, against each other and the mall developer for control of the mall’s development. Finally built in 1980 after 5 years of conflict, the mall ushered in a “golden age” which featured expansion and renovation that lasted for more than 30 years. We will then explore the factors leading up the decline of the mall up until the early 2020s and finally the unexpected events of 2023 which may reverse the course of its decline.
This event will be presented at:
VFW Post #2298
117 S. 1st St.
West Dundee, IL 60118
Dickens of a Christmas Sale-Dickens in Dundee
located at 410 W. Main St. in West Dundee from 9 am to 3 pm.
Historic Sites Revisited
Sunday, November 5, 2023
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Historically Haunted Car Show
Saturday, October 28, 2023
$20 per car
Dash plaques for the first 50 cars
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28TH
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
AWARDS AT 2:00 PM
For more information contact Humberto Garcia 847-800-5124
TROPHIES (For cars 25 years & older):
• Best car by the decade
• Best of show
• Spookiest car
• Best Halloween costume
All proceeds will benefit the Dundee Township Historical Society.
How It Was Done Then/How It Is Done Now
In 1892 Citizen’s Power and Light brought electricity to Dundee Township. Did you ever wonder how the early township settlers built their houses and barns, farmed their fields and completed household chores without electricity?
“How It Was Done Then / How It Is Done Now” will be presented by the Dundee Township Historical Society.
Sunday, August 6th from 2 to 4pm
The event is for all ages and will feature tools and farm implements like the ones used in the late 1800s and early 1900s and how they compare to tools we use today.
Come test your skill at boring a hole using a 1890s drill press or wring out freshly washed clothes using a hand crank wringer and much more.
The presentation/interactive event will be held at the Historical Society Museum grounds at 426 Highland Ave in West Dundee. There is no admission fee but donations are appreciated.
For more information call 847-428-6996 or email dths@sbcglobal.net.
2023 Annual Meeting and Program
The Guge Dynasty: Four Generations of Local Woodcarvers
Sunday, May 7, 2023
2 pm
Held at the Dundee Township Historical Society Museum at 426 Highland Ave., West Dundee, IL 60118.
Join us for the annual meeting of the Dundee Township Historical Society!
The Guest Speaker will be Josh Guge, a World Champion Wood Sculptor based in Elgin, Illinois.
All are welcome!
For more information on Josh and his studio, please visit: https://gugeinstitute.com/
2023 Opening Day
Sunday, March 12, 2023
2 pm
Held at the Dundee Township Historical Society Museum at 426 Highland Ave., West Dundee, IL 60118.
Join us for the opening day of the Museum and Historical Society!
The Guest Speaker will be Katie Meyer, the Dundee Township Naturalist.
Light refreshments will be served.
All are welcome!
DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS SALE
Saturday, December 3, 2022
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
410 W. Main St.
West Dundee, IL 60118
The Dundee Township Historical Society will hold its annual Christmas sale during the Dickens in Dundee Celebration.
The sale will be held on Saturday, December 3rd, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church located at 410 W. Main St. in West Dundee from 9am to 3pm.
Vintage and collectible Christmas items as well as gently used favorites will be sold at reasonable prices.
Purchase that unique gift for someone or for yourself. Don’t miss it!
While there, enjoy Bethlehem’s soup and sandwich luncheon fundraiser.
For more on the other Dickens in Dundee events, see http://www.dickensindundee.org/ (2022 Event Website is still pending. See Village Facebook Pages for event updates.)
HISTORIC SITES PLAQUE AWARD PRESENTATION
See the Historic Sites tab for a summary of our 2022 Presentation!
Sunday, November 6, 2022
2 pm
Held at the Dundee Township Historical Society Museum at 426 Highland Ave., West Dundee, IL 60118.
Annually the Dundee Township Historical Society awards plaques to homes, structures, and
sites at least 100 years old.
Attending our presentation is a way to learn about some of our earlier residents, structure styles
and architectural designs of the past.
CAR SHOW
The Historically Haunted Car Show was on Sunday, October 30, 2022. It was very well-attended and a lot of spooky fun!
Entry: $20 per vehicle
Dash Plaques for first 50 vehicles
For more information, contact Humberto Garcia (847) 800-5124
Trophies were awarded for (cars 25 years and older):
Best Car by the Decade
Best of Show
Spookiest Car
Best Halloween Costume
MUSEUM SALE
Thank you to all who donated and made purchases to make our 2022 Garage Sale a success!
The annual Museum Sale was held October 1-2, 2022 at 611 E. Main St, East Dundee, Illinois. There was lots of treasures available including Haeger Pottery and catalogs, antiques, collectibles, books, vintage linens and lace, Les Santons de Provence Dolls, furniture, glassware, household items, and much, much more! All profits from the sale supports the historical museum.
Saturday, October 1: 9 am to 4 pm
Sunday, October 2: 9 am to 2 pm
Time Travel with the Dundee Township Historical Society
Summer Cemetery Walk: June 26, 2022
The Dundee Township Historical Society will feature a summer “Cemetery Walk” on Sunday, June 26 from 1-4 p.m. Tours begin at the Historical Society Museum, 426 Highland Ave in West Dundee. A $5.00 donation per person is requested. Guides will be on hand to take visitors through the historic West Cemetery where they will be introduced to important people from the past and hear their stories.
Learn about the early days of baseball from a Cub’s player who grew up in Dundee and went on to play in the big league. “Go Cubs!”. Listen to the tale of “The Radium Girls” from a survivor of a tragedy that was kept from the public for so long. Guests will learn about the early days before each village had its own church from a “Circuit Rider”, a preacher who traveled the countryside spreading the gospel. A strong woman, who fought the system, will tell how she became the first woman in Kane County to hold a position that had always been a man’s place. A special stop along the way will feature a memorial exhibit in honor of those who passed from this life one hundred years ago.
Guests are also invited to view the exhibits inside the museum. Those exhibits include “The R.L.B. Opera House” and “Windows from Dundee’s Past” as well as the early history of the Villages that comprise Dundee Township. For more information contact the museum at 847-428-6996 or email dths@sbcglobal.net.
