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History of the Mount Prospect Historical Society
In 1967 four people gathered around a kitchen table formed the Mount Prospect Historical Society. They believed the community needed an organization to document the history of Mount Prospect. From these humble beginnings, the organization has grown into the full museum, archive, education center, and professional staff that the community knows today. It operates fifty-two weeks a year and offers a rich and varied schedule of activities and events for members and the community.
The first home of the Historical Society was found in 1968 when the Village of Mount Prospect gave them a small space in the Municipal Building that stood at 112 E. Northwest Highway. From this location the Historical Society developed a small office and began its collection of artifacts. In 1976, with the excitement of the national bicentennial and a growing interest in local history, the Historical Society moved to its first full museum. This was housed in the 1901 Saint John Lutheran Schoolhouse, at 1100 Linneman Road. This site was an important part of the Mount Prospect Historical Society's operations, however the Society never owned the site and began to look for a more permanent location. This was found at a site downtown in 1987 and, over the course of the next 13 years, the Society completely shifted its operations to this location.
In 1992, after five years of restoration, the society opened its downtown museum, the Dietrich Friedrichs House at 101 South Maple Street. Built in 1906, the frame house of Lena and Dietrich Friedrichs is typical of many of the midwestern farmhouses of the early 20th century. Situated in one of Mount Prospect's oldest neighborhoods, this building was the thirteenth house to be built in town. The site has now been restored and refurbished to reflect life in the early twentieth century. Its beautifully restored garden also replicates vegetation of the era.
Aware of the difficulties that a house museum can pose for individuals with physical and environmental-challenges, the Society looked for possible solutions. Modifications to the house would have severely compromised the historical significance of the site, so a solution was created that would both accommodate individuals with restricted movement and advance the Society's mission. An ADA-approved Education Center was built in 1995. This center provides wheelchair accessibility, a video tour of the museum, and a site for programs and temporary exhibits. With the construction of the Education Center the Society created a small campus for historical activities in downtown Mount Prospect.
Most recently, the Society has purchased the first public school in the community in 2002. The one room Central School was built in 1895 by William Wille and served as the only public school in Mount Prospect until 1927. Also used as a meeting place, the Central School was the first home to the Public Library, the Women's Club, the Fire Department, Saint Paul Lutheran Church and a host of other organizations. In 1917 the Mount Prospect Improvement Association met in the schoolhouse and signed the papers that officially incorporated Mount Prospect as a village. In 1939 the school was sold to Saint John's Episcopal Church and moved three blocks. In 2001 the church and the Society began discussing the fate of this building. The church's needs had changed over time and the schoolhouse was no longer appropriate. Concerned with the preservation of the building, the Society and Saint John's worked out an agreement in early 2002 in which the Society purchased the building for $1 with the agreement that they will move the building off of its current location. The Society plans to move the building within the next three years and open it as a multi-use community facility.