Friends of the West Chicago City Museum

06/25/2026

Happy Thursday! Today is Arts & Culture Night at the Mosaic Market from 4-7pm🎨. The West Chicago City Museum and Gallery 200 will be having a pin making activity, make sure to bring friends and family to make your own pin tonight😁!

06/20/2026

We are so excited to see this project continue to chug along🙌🏽 We can’t wait to see more artists working on these trains and bringing our railroad history to life in this new way 🚂 ❤️

06/19/2026

Looking for something to do this summer? Join the West Chicago City Museum book club in reading "Martha's Vineyard: A History" by Thomas Dresser and join us on July 16th as we have an informal discussion and share some light refreshments.📖 We hope to see you there!

06/19/2026

Today is Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day. In recognition of the important United States’ history behind this National Holiday, we are sharing some resources from the Library of Congress.

For : On June 19, 1865, two months after the Confederacy surrendered and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops finally arrived in Texas, the westernmost Confederate state, and spread the word there that freedom was the law of the land.

About 70 years later, workers from the Federal Writers' Project arm of the Works Progress Administration started traveling around the U.S. collecting the stories of elderly Americans who still had firsthand accounts of being enslaved. Many of the people who were interviewed were also photographed. The Library has preserved these stories and images.

This photo is of Betty Simmons, who said she was more than 100 years old when she was interviewed in 1937 in Beaumont, Texas. She said she was married during slave times, and widowed, but was very happy that freedom came when it did because her enslavers were preparing to put her 3-year-old child to work in the fields.

Explore the narratives: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Betty Simmons, Age about 100. Taken between 1936 and 1938. WPA Slave Narrative Project: Container, A932, vol. 16, part 4. Federal Writer's Project, United States Work Projects Administration (USWPA). Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

An old African American woman in a button down dress stands in front of a chair with her hands clasped, looking at the camera. The chair is outside, positioned in front of a house. A younger woman stands on the porch behind her.

06/06/2026

Did you miss exploring West Chicago’s Railroad history during Big Boy’s visit? Fear not! Out mobile walking tour which you can do in downtown West Chicago or from the comfort of your home is still live! Check out these important spots of train history!

06/04/2026

Big Boy maybe heading out of town (after a wonderful Wednesday with him and soooo many visitors yesterday), but the Train Fun continues today! Today, Thursday, June 4th we have special City Museum hours at 200 Main Street (our temporary location)! Stop in to see us 1-7pm and be sure to come out for the VERY FIRST West Chicago Mosaic Market! We will have fun train interactives and continue our Charms of History America 250 Program! Complete our scavenger hunt to earn your train charm!

06/02/2026

It's a Terrific Train Tuesday as final preparations are underway to welcome Big Boy to West Chicago! Be sure to check out the City's information page with all the parking and attraction information!

The City Museum and our CB&Q Depot will be open to welcome visitors and share our rich city's railroad history!

Big Boy No. 4014Tuesday, June 2 Big Boy Arrival: Approximately 5:45 p.m. Limited Parking & Shuttles Available to Wilson Ave. Bridge Viewing Area - No Public Access at Union Pacific Training Center Wednesday, June 3 Big Boy Display Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Location: Larry S. Provo Union Pacific....