The Raupp Memorial Museum is an organization that chronicles the

social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

Buffalo Grove, Illinois Buffalo Grove, officially the Village of Buffalo Grove, is a village in Lake and Cook County, Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of Downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 Census, Buffalo Grove has a population of 43,212. It tot ...

. It is part of the Buffalo Grove Park District and an award-winning member of the Illinois Association of Museums.

History

The village of Buffalo Grove began as a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

community in the 1840s. The families of Melchoir Raupp and Jacob Weidner were among the first to settle the area. The community grew steadily and was incorporated as a village in 1958. As it became more suburban, farms were sold off to developers. While selling off their land in 1964, Philip, Carl and John Raupp (three bachelor brothers and descendants of Melchoir Raupp) also donated three acres and their farmhouse to th
Village of Buffalo Grove
The land was later transferred to th
Buffalo Grove Park District
on the condition that the land would be used for either a museum or library. The Park District moved forward with plans to turn the area into a museum dedicated to the history of Buffalo Grove and renovations commenced on the farmhouse. The project was moving along until 1972, when the farmhouse caught fire and burned to the ground. The Levitt Company, a local subdivision developer, having completed building all three of its subdivisions, agreed to donate its sales office to serve as the new museum building. In 1975, the building was moved and rolled down Arlington Heights Road to it
current location on Dunham Lane
This Illinois museum officially opened to the community and dedicated on September 16, 1979. The building has undergone several major renovations since its dedication. Construction in 2002 added a large main gallery wing, a lower level gallery, and collection storage area. In 2013, the museum received a state grant to overhaul the old Town Square in the original Levitt building and make it ADA compliant. The gallery was completely gutted and replaced as The Crossroads, which opened in April 2014.

Exhibits

The museum offers a variety of educational programs for

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

and schools that correspond with rotating exhibits and meet state Common Core Standards. The museum's collection contains over 3000 local history artifacts that are displayed and stored on-site in the three interactive gallery spaces. The main gallery depicts the chronological

of Buffalo Grove starting in the 1830s. This follows the stories of early people that settled in the area including the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

and farm families. Then it explores the growth of the area as an incorporated village

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

through the 1950s and 1960s. The second gallery used to feature walk-in environments from Town Square businesses in the 1880s including: the Gerschefske Barber Shop, a pharmacy, Weidner Store, a saloon and Tripp School. This had been on exhibit since the museum's dedication. It was replaced in 2014 after a year-long renovation. Today, the space features environments to tell new stories from the 1910-1930s. It includes a

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

representing nurseries in the area like Geimer and Fiore, the Prairie View

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

, the Welter

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

, and Weidner General Store. The third gallery holds temporary exhibits that rotate several times a year. Past exhibits have included local painters' showcases,

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

s, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. This space is also used for programming and special events.

References

External links

* {{official, http://bgparks.org/facilities/museum.aspx
Raupp Museum Digital Archive
History museums in Illinois Museums in Lake County, Illinois 1979 establishments in Illinois Museums established in 1979