Upcoming Programs and Events

Meet the authors of Suburban Promised Land - December 1 & 6

For the past four decades, Oak Park has forged a deserved reputation as a progressive community, whose residents worked hard beginning in the 1960s to build a racially integrated village. That story has led some to believe that African Americans were latecomers to Oak Park. Suburban Promised Land: The Emerging Black Community in Oak Park, IL, 1880-1980, just published by the Historical Society & Soweto West Press, sets the record straight and tells many of the rich stories of black and white residents who built a community together and struggled with the often contentious issue of race in the United States. Join authors Stan West, Peggy Sinko, Frank Lipo and Yves Hughes, Jr. as they discuss and sign copies of this new book.

$25.00 retail price includes tax, $22.50 for Historical Society Members.

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7:30 at Pleasant Home, 217 Home Avenue, includes panel discussion

Sunday, Dec. 6, 1-4:00 p.m. at Pleasant Home Holiday Open House

Holiday Open House - Pleasant Home, Sunday December 7, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Join the Historical Society and the Pleasant Home Foundation for some holiday cheer. Refreshments, live music, children's crafts and stories, and free tours of Pleasant Home are offered.

Beginning in 2009, the Historical Society will be showcasing collections on loan from local residents. If you have a collection that you would like to share, please contact us at oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net. Through February, see Actress Glass on loan from collector Emily Kelley. Produced during the American Victorian period, circa 1850-1910,  this pressed glass bears the images of popular stage actresses and actors of the time. Before the days of fan magazines, actress glass was collected by the public as souvenirs.