Ellwood House Museum

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DeKalb, IL
Ellwood House Museum

Historic mansion built in 1879, surrounded by a 10-acre park located in DeKalb, Illinois. Please call 815.756.4609 to confirm availability.

Guided Tour Options:

MANSION TOUR: A guided tour through 3 floors of the 1879 mansion. The Mansion has closed for the season from December 18, 2022 through March 1, 2023. VISITOR CENTER EXHIBITS: Free and open to the public 12:30pm to 4:30pm Tuesday through Friday.

09/04/2026

✈ A research field trip 📜

Last week, three of our staff members returned from Laramie, WY after four days of research into Ellwood Family records at the University of Wyoming - Laramie.

While in the archives, they scanned numerous records regarding Ellwood family business documents and correspondences. Matthew, Audrey, and Nancy also met with an Ellwood family decedent, had a fair amount of huckleberries, and did some hiking as well!

This research greatly benefits the Ellwood House Museum through painting a clearer picture of the day-to-day activities of the Ellwood Family, and will be shared with the public in upcoming exhibits!

09/02/2026

✨ Sip for a cause! 🍷

🍾 Join us for great wine, stunning views, and a good cause! Wine on the Terrace will take place on Saturday, September 19, from 4-7pm. Proceeds from this event allow us to continue our mission of engaging visitors with authentic examples of ingenuity and architecture by sharing the Ellwood mansion, gardens, and museum campus.

🏛 Be part of connecting our community to local history today!

🎟Get tickets and learn more here: https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/wot

09/01/2026

❓Did you know that Baron DeKalb was born a peasant in Germany and became one of the most highly respected people in France?

🏛 The majority of people in our area are not sure why the city of DeKalb would we be named after a little-known revolutionary war hero who actually never came here and was from France. Join us this Thursday, 9/3, from 12-1 at the Ellwood House Museum Visitor Center as we explore many more reasons why we should be proud to live in a city named after this brave man.

🛍 The “Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series,” is a series free monthly programs offered in collaboration by the Ellwood House Museum and DeKalb County History Center. Registration is not necessary, and participants are welcome to bring lunch and eat during the program. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

08/30/2026

🐝 The end of August brings with it our last blooms of the season, and a lot of busy bees! While most of our gardens are winding down their peak season, there are still a few flowers that are popping up around the museum campus:

🌹 Roses - Berg Garden, Wedding Garden, and Rose Garden (near the water tower)
🌼 Anemone - Berg Garden
🌸 Hydrangeas - Throughout the park
🌼 Marigolds - Visitor Center and Wedding Garden
🌸 New England Aster - Rain Garden
🌼 Periwinkle - Wedding Garden
🌸 Red Salvia - Wedding Garden

🌳 The Ellwood House Museum is located on a public park, which is free for anyone to visit from sunrise to sunset. Check out these beautiful flowers before their season ends!

08/29/2026

This week, Nancy Leone finished her work as Carpenter Fellow in Asian Collections, a grant-funded position made possible with support from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. Since last August, she has researched, catalogued, and cared for about 200 objects with Asian and Asian-inspired motifs in the museum's collection. Many of these were collected by May Ellwood during the early to mid-twentieth century as part of a broader trend among affluent Americans to display their worldliness and wealth.

Over the course of her Fellowship, Nancy has worked alongside museum staff, interns, volunteers, independent researchers, and NIU students and faculty. We are currently in the process of developing an exhibition centered around her work, called "Crossing Cultures: Asian Motifs in the Ellwood House Museum Collection."

The exhibition will open in December 2028. Stay tuned for more information and updates!

Thank you, Nancy, for all your dedication, insight, and hard work!

08/26/2026

♥Why we love Wine on the Terrace:

🍷 Wine Tastings on the terrace of the 1879 Ellwood Mansion.
👥 A space for community partners to support local history and preservation efforts.
🎒All sponsorships, ticket sales, and donations support our year-round preservation work, school field trips, and public programs.
🎟 Our silent auction and raffle stocked with local favorites and experiences for our guests to bid on.
🎶 Live Music for our guests to enjoy throughout the event.
🚶1st floor self-guided tours of the Ellwood Mansion.

Wine on the Terrace only comes around once a year, and we want to make sure you love it too! Get your tickets today: https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/wot

08/24/2026

🔴⚫ Welcome back to school Huskies! 🔴⚫

We hope you have an amazing year at Northern Illinois University! We will see everyone at Campus Meets Community on September 2. Make sure to stop by our booth to learn more about local history, the Ellwood Campus, and opportunities to get involved!

👀 P.S. We have internship opportunities open to students! you can check them out on our website here: https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/work-with-us

08/21/2026

❓ What to do at the Ellwood House... Other than the Museum ❓

While we love to see people checking out our Visitor Center galleries and attending tours, we understand that history is not everyone’s cup of tea. Our latest blog post (mostly written for students returning to campus) features some fun activities to do at the Ellwood House Museum campus, without even having to step foot into the buildings. Check out the post here: https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/blog/what-to-do-at-the-ellwood-house-other-than-the-museum

Send this to a current of incoming NIU student to give them some great ideas on how to engage with the community outside of campus!

08/19/2026

✨ One Month Away 🍷

Wine on the Terrace is quickly approaching! We are excited to be hosting this event once again to further the mission and vision of the Ellwood House Museum. Our community is so important to us, and events like these allow us to continue being a community resource and drive us towards further restoration and preservation of the Ellwood House grounds.

This event only happens once a year, so make sure to get your tickets today: https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/wot

08/18/2026

We have an update regarding the ceiling collapse detailed in our earlier post. We will be reopening the Ellwood Mansion for tours beginning tomorrow, August 19!

After a few days of dusting, moving furniture, dusting, reorganizing display objects, and dusting, the Mansion is once again ready for visitors. The tour will include all four floors of the mansion, but the Sunroom and Nanny’s Room located directly above will be off-limits. Work will continue over the coming weeks and months to repair and restore the Sunroom ceiling so that we can again interpret the space for visitors.

We will resume our standard tour schedule of Wednesday through Sunday at 1pm and 3pm. Pre-book now on our website or over the phone. We hope to see you soon!

Address

420 Linden Place
Dekalb, IL
60115

Telephone

+18157564609

Website

https://www.ellwoodhouse.org/

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