IN 1831, JOANNE HIS BROTHER, AFTER LOSING TWO SHIPS ON THE GREAT LAKES, DECIDED THE SAILING
LIFE WASN'T FOR THEM OF THEY
SOLD THEIR LAST VESSEL AND
HEADED INLAND TO SEEK THEIR
FORTUNE.
THE SET MANY THEY BEGAN STILL
BEARS FAMILY NAME, A THE LIFE
THEY LIVED BACK THEN HAS BEEN
RETAINED HERE AT NAPIER
SETTLEMENT.
>> HELLO, I AM JIM WILHELM.
LOCATED ON 13 LANDSCAPED ACRES
NEAR DOWNTOWN NAPERVILLE ARE 32
HISTORIC BUILDINGS MOVED HERE TO
BE SAVED FROM DEMOLITION, THEY
TELL THE STORY OF JOANNE HIS
SETTLEMENT.
PATHS LEAD VISITORS ON A JOURNEY
THAT TAKE THEM FROM THE 1830'S
TO THE EARLY 1900'S.
ALONG THE WAY, COSTUME VILLAGERS
IN PERIOD DRESS RECREATE THE
HISTORY OF A 19TH CENTURY
NORTHERN ILLINOIS VILLAGE.
IT IS A COLLECTION OF BUILDINGS
THAT BEGAN WITH A HOUSE MUSEUM.
THIS IS ONE OF ONLY TWO
BUILDINGS ORIGINAL TO THIS SITE.
IT WAS BUILT IN 1883 BY GEORGE
BARTON, A SCOTT SCOTTISH
IMMIGRANT WHO HELPED CREATE ONE
OF THE LARGEST BRICK AND DRAIN
TILE FACTORIES IN ILLINOIS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, ITS NOW UNDER
RESTORATION, AND WILL SOON BE
RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL
GRANDEUR.
IN ADDITION, FROM A QUARRY NEAR
HIS HOME, HE SUPPLIED LIMESTONE
AND GRAVEL TO SEVERAL TOWNS
INCLUDING CHICAGO ESPECIALLY
AFTER THE GREAT FIRE.
OFF HIS FOUR CHILDREN, ONLY ONE,
CAROLINE, MARRIED.
AND SHE CONTINUED TO LIVE IN THE
HOUSE.
IN HER WILL, SHE DONATED THE
LAND AND THE MANSION TO THE CITY
OF NAPERVILLE PROVIDED THAT THE
HOME BE MAINTAINED AS A MUSEUM.
IT WAS AND IS.
BUT IN 1969 AN IDEA CAME TO
FRUITION TO CREATE A HISTORICAL
SETTLEMENT BY SAVING OTHER
BUILDINGS.
THE FIRST STRUCTURE SAVED WAS
SAINT JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
BUILT NEAR THE END OF THE CIVIL
WAR BY TRANSPLANTED NEW
ENGLANDERS, IT WAS DONE IN
GOTHIC REVI VAL STYLE.
THE BUILDING WAS CONSECRATED BY
REVEREND HENRY WHITE HOUSE, THE
SECOND BISHOP IN ILLINOIS.
FIVE YEARS LATER, THE
CONGREGATION OUTGROWN THIS
FACILITY, SO THE BILLING WAS CUT
IN TWO PARTS.
THE SANCTUARY WAS MOVED BACK AND
CROSS TRAN CEPT WAS ADDED.
KEROSENE LAMPS, NOW ELECTRIC,
LIT THE FUSE.
ABOVE, HANDHELD STEN SILL
DESIGNS ADDED FLOURISH TO THE
HIGH VAULTED IN CEILINGS.
IN THE BACK, IS THIS DOOR WHICH
OPENS TO TIN LINED BAPTISMAL
TONIGHT.
IT WAS USED ONLY ONCE DURING THE
CONGREGATION'S HISTORY.
TODAY, THE CHAPEL CAN BE RENTED
FOR WEDDINGS, RECEPTIONS, AND
OTHER SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS WAS
THE FIRST BUILDING BROUGHT TO
THIS SITE.
SOON OTHER STRUCTURES WOULD BE
ADDED EACH RECREATING A PIECE OF
LIFE IN A NEW SETTLEMENT IN
ILLINOIS.
THIS HOUSE, BUILT IN 1842 AS A WEDDING PRESENT WAS HOME OF ONE OF THE MORE PROMPT NANT AND
ORIGINAL SETTLERS OF EARLY
NAPERVILLE.
ROBERT BERRY CAME AT THE AGE OF
16 ACCOMPANIED BY HIS UNCLE, JOE
NAPIER.
HE WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME AN
ATTORNEY, TOWN SHERIFF AND SERVE
AS A JUDGE. TODAY HIS HOME
TREATS VISITORS TO A GLIMPSE OF
PRECIVIL WAR LIFE FOR THE UPPER
MIDDLE CLASS.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE LEARNED ABOUT
HOOPS, NOT BASKETBALL, BUT
FASHION HOOPS.
IN THOSE DAYS, WOMEN WORE
DRESSES THAT BILLOWED AT THE TOP
AND BOTTOM TO EMPHASIZE THEIR
SMALL WAISTS.
BEFORE HOOPS CAME ALONG, WOMEN
WOULD WEAR EIGHT, NINE, TEN
PETTICOATS, SOMETIMES WEIGHING
AS MUCH AS 40 POUNDS TO CREATE
THE BILLOWING EFFECT.
ON THE SERVING TABLE IS A CHINA
TEA SET WHOSE CUPS HAVE NO
HANDLES, A STYLE THAT GREW FROM
NECESSITY BECAUSE HANDLES WERE
EASILY BROKEN OFF DURING
SHIPPING. SO MANUFACTURERS
BEGAN PRODUCING CUPS WITHOUT
THEM.
WE ARE NOW IN THE KITCHEN WHICH ALSO SERVED AS THE BATHING ROOM BECAUSE IT WAS USUAL LIT WARMEST
ROOM IN THE HOUSE AND BECAUSE
THAT'S WHERE THE WATER WAS
HEATED OF THE BATHE I WAS
USUALLY DONE ON SATURDAY NIGHT
SO EVERYBODY WOULD BE CLEAN FOR
CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING.
SINCE THEY SHARED THE WATER, THE
ORDER OF BATHING WAS CLEANEST
FIRST, DIRTIEST LAST.
JUST OFF THE KITCHEN IS THE
MASTER BEDROOM.
NOTICE THE BED IS SHORT.
THAT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE THOUGHT IT
WAS HEALTHIER TO SLEEP NOT FLAT,
BUT SITTING UP.
IT STANDS A BIT HIGHER OFF THE
GROUND TO AVOID BAD VAPORS.
THAT MIGHT BE DUE TO THE CHAMBER
POT STORED UNDERNEATH DURING THE
NIGHT.
ANOTHER BUILDING THAT REMINDS
VISITORS OF PRECIVIL WAR LIFE
AND DEMONSTRATES JUST HOW
ISOLATED THESE SMALL TOWNS WERE,
IS THIS ONE.
NAMED THE PAPA HOUSES, IT WAS
BUILT IN 1833, AND IT WAS REALLY
QUITE ROOMY AND FANCY FOR ITS
DAY.
HOME TO A LOCAL MERCHANT AND HIS FAMILY, THIS BUILDING ALSO DOUBLED AS A STAGECOACH STOP AND
NAPERVILLE'S FIRST POST OFFICE.
THE FRONT PARLOR TESTIFIES TO
THE FAMILY'S WEALTH.
IT WAS ALSO A GATHERING POINT
FOR PEOPLE TO READ THE MAIL AND
EXCHANGE NEWS.
THE MAIL ONLY ARRIVED ON CERTAIN
DAYS.
AND BACK THEN, THE MAIL WASN'T
DELIVERED.
SO PEOPLE HAD TO COME HERE TO
PICK IT UP.
COLLECTING IT BECAME A SOCIAL
EVENT.
OH, AND BEFORE THIS BRANCH WAS
OPEN, PEOPLE IN THIS AREA HAD TO
GO TO CHICAGO TO GET THEIR MAIL.
THE POST OFFICE ITSELF WASN'T MUCH, JUST A BIG DESK IN THE BACK ROOM.
UNLIKE TODAY, THE PERSON WHO
RECEIVED THE MAIL PAID THE
POSTAGE, NOT THE SENDER.
THE AMOUNT TO BE PAID WAS
DETERMINED BY THE DISTANCE THE
LETTER TRAVELED.
THE FRACTION AL CHARGES WERE
BASED ON SPANISH COINS STILL IN
USE IN THE UNITED STATES AT THAT
TIME.
MAIL DAYS WERE VERY IMPORTANT,
AND NOT JUST AS DAYS TO MEET THE
NEIGHBORS.
YOU SEE, IT WAS THROUGH LETTERS
PEOPLE FOUND OUT WHAT WAS GOING
ON IN THE REST OF THE WORLD.
NEWS WAS ALSO SPREAD BY-PASS
JERS ON STAGECOACHES.
INCIDENTALLY, THIS HOUSE, THE
PAPA HOUSE, GOT ITS NAME, NOT
BECAUSE THE OWNERS WERE
PARTICULARLY FOND OF ANIMALS,
BUT A GROVE OF PAPA TREES
SURROUNDING THE HOUSE.
WHEREIN ADDITION TO THE TOUR OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS, THE HISTORIC VILLAGE
ALSO OFFERS DEMONSTRATION OF THE
TYPE OF BUSINESSES AND THE
SKILLS THEY EMPLOYED BEFORE THE
TURN OF THE CENTURY SUCH AS
STONE CARVING.
THIS SHOP BELONGED TO HENRY
MILLER, A GERMAN IMMIGRANT WHO
BEGAN HIS BUSINESS SOMETIME AFT
CIVIL WAR.
HE MADE HIS LIVING CARVING GRAVE
MARKERS, AND MANTLE PEACE FOR
THIS AREA'S FINER HOMES.
KEEPING A SUPPLY OF LIMESTONE
BLOCKS WAS EASY BECAUSE OF THE
NUMBER OF QUARRIES NEARBY.
BECAUSE OF ALL THE DUST, MOST OF
THE CARVING WAS DONE OUTDOORS
UNTIL WINTER'S COLD DROVE THE
CARVER INDOORS.
INSIDE OF THE TOOLS HE USED TO
CREATE VARIOUS PATTERNS.
THEY ARE STILL BEING USED TODAY.
NOTICE THAT EVEN THOUGH THE
CHISELS ARE MADE OF IRON, THE
MALLETS ARE MADE FROM WOOD.
THAT'S BECAUSE THE WOODEN ONES
HAD MORE BOUNCE AND WOULD,
THEREFORE, WERE MORE GENTLE AND
LESS LIKELY TO CRACK THE STONE.
THE DUST THAT WAS CREATED FROM
ALL THIS CARVING WAS EVEN SOLD
AS A CLEANING POWDER FOR
CLEANING LIMESTONE MANTLES.
NEXT DOOR IS THE SETTLEMENT'S
PRINT SHOP WHICH HEARKENS BACK
TO THE SAME ERA.
UNLIKE TODAY'S COMPUTER RISED
WORLD, THERE WAS NOT MUCH TRIAL
AND ERROR IN LAYING OUT PAGES OF
THE NEWSPAPER, BUT A LOT OF
MANUAL LABOR.
ALL THE LETTERS AND VARIOUS
SIZES AND STYLES WERE STORED IN
THESE DRAWERS CALLED "CASES."
LINES WERE COMPOSED ONE LETTER
AT A TIME AND UP SIDE DOWN.
THEN THEY WERE PLACED IN A CHASE
OR A FORM.
WE ARE TOLD THIS SMALL ONE TOOK
THREE HOURS TO SET.
YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW LONG IT
WOULD TAKE TO SET A SINGLE PAGE
OF A NEWSPAPER.
THEY WERE PRINTED ON THIS LARGE
PRESS, ONE SIDE AT A TIME.
HERE IS A COPY OF AN 1869
NAPERVILLE PAPER WHICH WAS
PUBLISHED ONLY ONCE A WEEK.
IT DIDN'T HAVE MUCH NEWS, MOSTLY
ACCOUNTS OF LOCAL WEDDINGS AND
FUNERALS.
EVEN WITH THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER,
THE MAIL CONTINUED TO PLAY A
VERY IMPORTANT ROLE.
THE PICTURES IN THE PAPER WERE
CARVINGS DONE ON WOOD BLOCKS
WHICH HAD TO BE THE SAME HEIGHT
AS THE LETTERS.
AFTER EACH PRINTING, EVERY
LETTER HAD TO BE CLEANED AND PUT
AWAY.
BEHIND ME IS THE BEST PLACE FOR TOURISTS TO START. IT IS THE CREATION OF THE
PREEMPTION HOUSE WHICH WAS THE
FIRST HOTEL AND TAVERN BUILT
WEST OF CHICAGO.
IT GOT ITS NAME FROM THE FEDERAL
ACT WHICH ALLOWED THE SETTLERS
TO CLAIM PARCELS OF LAND FOR A
DOLLAR AND A QUARTER PER ACRE.
UNFORTUNATELY, BY 1946, THE
BUILDING WAS IN SUCH DISREPAIR,
IT HAD TO BE TORN DOWN.
THERE WAS A TRAGEDY TO LESS.
HE TURNED IT INTO PAINTINGS
WHICH ARE IN THE GALLERY OF THE
WROOE PREEMPTION HOUSE.
WANDERING THROUGH IS GOOD WAY TO
VISIT THE SETTLEMENT.
IT NOT ONLY GIVES STORIES, BUT
INTRODUCES THEM TO THE BUILDING
THEY WILL ENCOUNTER AS THEY TOUR
THE VILLAGE.
LIKE SCHRADER'S WORK, THESE
BUILDINGS ARE MIN YETS OF ONE
TOWN'S PAST.
IN ADDITION TO ON GOING
DEMONSTRATIONS, THEY OFFER
SPECIAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
DESIGNED FOR ALL AGES.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
NAPIER SETTLEMENT OR FIND OUT
THEIR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS CALL
(630)420-6010 OR LOG ON TO THEIR
WEB SITE AT WWW.NAPIER
WWW.NAPIERSETTLEMENT.ORG.