Donating Wilmette Items

Don't just throw those old things away! If they reflect your life or your family's life in Wilmette, we may be able to provide a home for them. Call the Curator at (847)853-7666 and he'll be glad to advise you about which items may be of local historical interest.

For over fifty years, the Museum has been collecting and preserving objects, photographs, clothing, and documents that reflect the history of our community.

Some of these come from Village government and some from local organizations, but most of the items in our collection have been and continue to be donated by individuals.

People have brought us an amazing variety of things over the years.

a young Wilmette soldier's photo album from the Civil War

a diary of another early settler's adventures in the California gold rush

kids' homemade neighborhood newspapers from the 1950s

a local policeman's helmet and nightstick from the 1880s

tools from a cobbler who plied his trade on Ridge Road for fifty years

gym clothes worn at Howard Jr. High in the 1960s

ice-tongs used at Meier's ice-house

movie posters from the Teatro del Lago

And the list could go on and on and on. Donors know that, with our climate-controlled storage and professional staff, the items they bring us—many of which have been in their families for years—will be safe and well cared for, yet available for others to see and enjoy.