St. Charles History Museum

09/02/2026

Last, but certainly not least, McNally's Heating and Cooling covered us on the booties for our Historic Home Tour that will be here in just 11 days! We can't wait to have you all to take a walk down memory lane and tour through some of St. Charles' most historical (and beautiful) homes. Thanks Brian McNally and team!!

09/01/2026

Picture a man who wore his confidence like his trademark hat, who'd rather play cards in the barn than work the family farm, and who once flipped a coin with Charles Schwab to settle a $30,000 bet — double or nothing.

That was John W. Gates. Born near Turner Junction (today's West Chicago) in 1855, he drifted from failed job to failed job until a barbed wire salesman's pitch changed the course of his life — and, eventually, the course of St. Charles history.

Hear the whole story on September 16.

🎙️ “Bet-A-Million” John W. Gates: St. Charles's Accidental Benefactor
📍 Baker Community Center | 🗓️ Sept 16, 2026 | 🕖 7–8 PM

Presented by historian Steve Gibson, St. Charles History Museum

Tickets are just $10 -- FREE to members.

Tickets and RSVP here: https://stcmuseum.org/gates26

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

A huge thank you to the STC 6 breweries and the St. Charles Business Alliance for their work and the success of this year’s STC 6 competition. And congratulations to winners Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium/Brother Chimp Brewing for their winning Belgian-style beer.

As our Executive Director, Alex Cullum put it onstage at Pollyanna Brewing Company brewfest- we’re very grateful to be the beneficiaries of this competition!

08/27/2026

Wow! Unfortunately, we've already hit our ticket limit for the 2026 Historic House Tour, and we have SOLD OUT! We're sorry to disappoint you if you haven't purchased your tickets yet, but we are already beginning planning for our 2027 Historic House Tour.

We suggest that you LIKE and FOLLOW this page, or join the Museum as a member to be among the first to hear about next year's tour.

May we suggest that if you are still looking for something to do on the weekend of the 13th, look into the Elgin Home Tour? Here are the details for that event: https://historicelginhousetour.com/

08/26/2026

Though she'd be known later for philanthropy, in 1922 Dellora Angell was known as the "Millionaire Teenager." She was courted by rich suitors from around the world -- from South American cattle barons to European doctors. But in the end, she gave her hand in marriage to Lester Norris, who the newspapers called an "artist and son of Cal Norris, the village undertaker in St. Charles, Ill.”

Lester and Dellora returned to St. Charles and bought a lovely home built on 5th Avenue. For a brief time while their new house was being remodeled, they may have lived (and definitely visited) at one of the homes on our 2026 Historic House Tour -- Saxony Terrace. Later, Lester's mom and dad -- Caroll "Cal" and Gertrude "Gert" Norris would live in this home. Lovingly maintained today by Joyce Cregier, this is just one of the 5 homes on our Historic Home Tour on September 13th.

Unfortunately, this event has SOLD OUT.

08/23/2026

Liz Suwanski, who owns one of the homes on our Historic House Tour, the Locke-Marchialette Home, was the winning contestant on the 2023 Food Network Show "Halloween Cookie Challenge." For inspiration, she brought a memento of her home to the show studios - a creepy doll!

Liz and her husband found the doll while remodeling their home. It was in with a large cache of items they unearthed. Without its hair and clothing, the doll looked, well, creepy! When the show producers saw the doll, they loved it! And when Liz made her cookies, she won the contest.

See the creepy doll, as well as other cool artifacts, when you tour the Suwanski home on September 16th. Don't have tickets yet? What are you waiting for?
They're selling like, uh, creepy doll cookies!

This is just one of the exciting homes on our tour!
Ticket link in comments!

Tickets and info here: https://stcmuseum.org/hht26