Museums of Lisle Station Park

The Museums of
Lisle Station Park
    The Lisle Heritage Society was instrumental in acquiring, moving, and restoring the historic Lisle Depot, Netzley/Yender farmhouse, Beaubien Tavern, and wooden CB&Q waycar (caboose) which are exhibited at

The Museums of Lisle Station Park
921 School St., Lisle, IL.

   Members who are blacksmiths operate and offer classes in a Blacksmith Shop that is a 19th century barn acquired and reassembled at the park.
   The grounds of the museums are graced with period gardens planned, planted and cared for by the Heritage Society.
The museum complex is a cooperative effort of the Lisle Park District, the Lisle Heritage Society, and the Village of Lisle.

www.lisleparkdistrict.org
http://www.villageoflisle.org/
See below:

Hours:
Summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day):

Wednesday - Saturday: 10 AM to 4 PM

CB&Q Waycar 14584

   This waycar (caboose) was built by the CB&Q (Chicago Burlington & Quincy) railroad in its Aurora carpenter shop in 1881. Wood construction and assembly techniques complement the adjacent 1874 wood CB&Q railroad station.   These cars carried crewmen who were needed to operate the train.  They kept train records, did car switching and braking, and protected the train when it was on the main line.  In addition, the waycar provided a home for crewmen when the train was traveling for many hours. Food, water, heat, beds, and tools were available in the waycar.  Examples of all of these functions and amenities are displayed in this
car.
    A feature of this particular car was the use of bunk beds to carry stockmen who tended their cattle in other cars in the train. The waycar illustrates a part of the railroad business that was associated with the Lisle depot. CB&Q No. 14584 represents a piece of railroad equipment, and a way of
life, no longer seen in Illinois.
                                                                         Text by Joe Bennett

Lisle Station c. 1874

   Built in 1873-74, this historic CB&Q structure served as a train station from 1874 until October, 1978, when it was moved to its present location at Lisle Station Park. It housed our town’s United States Post Office from 1874 until 1885.
For many years, a Railway Express office was located in the
building. Architecturally classified as “rural railroad structure,” it measures 60’ long, 24’ wide and is 15’ high in the railroad usage portion. This includes ticket office, waiting room, and baggage area. The south end contains a living room, kitchen, and pantry on the first floor. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a storage area. For decades, this apartment served as living quarters for the stationmaster and his
family.
    Constructed of board and batten, this station replaced Lisle’s first depot, built in 1863, which burned to the ground.
Because all remodeling through the years consisted of “cover over” work, the original architectural style and interior structure was preserved. When reroofing was done in 1982, the original tin roof was removed. The building was served by an outhouse, cistern, and well, complete with pump.
    Having a railroad encouraged the development of business, commerce and settlement. By 1912 Lisle was the largest milk shipping station along the CB&Q between Chicago and Aurora.
                                                                              Text by Joe Bennett

Netzley / Yender House, c.1855

    The Netzley / Yender farmhouse provides an authentic example of Greek Revival architecture applied to an 1855 rural farm building. Because only two families occupied this house, few changes were made to the structure, preserving the original building. This gives us a look at the functional arrangement of a 150 year old farmhouse with its original construction.
    The growing Netzley family quickly expanded the original kitchen and bedrooms with two additions. A large two story
structure was added that contains two parlors and six bedrooms.  The summer kitchen with a beehive oven was the last addition. This unique brick structure contains a fireplace, oven, and smokehouse, all attached to the main house.
Wooden pegs connect bark covered floor beams and studs.
Openings left in the walls show original wood lath construction, paint grained walls, and rough cut studs.
Paint, trim, clapboard siding material, and cedar shingles all show materials that were found in the original buildings.

                                                                          Text by Joe Bennett

   The original outhouse - a 3-seater! - is out back of the house. Ask a Society member to share with you the structure's interesting journey!

Beaubien Tavern, c.1840

    The Beaubien Tavern/Inn provides a link to the time when Europeans first permanently settled in DuPage County. In the
early 1830s, William Sweet started a 106 acre farm several miles west of Lisle along what is now called Ogden Avenue.
This property was traded to Mark Beaubien, a Chicago tavern owner, circa 1840. A stagecoach route from Chicago to Naperville which crossed Beaubien’s land prompted him to open an inn and tavern in his building. An accomplished fiddler and innkeeper, Mark made many friends, including the Indian Chief Shabbona who came to trade goods.
    As farm trade with Chicago increased, Mark became a stockholder in the new Southwestern Plank Road built over the dirt stagecoach route. In 1851 he placed a tollgate on the new plank road near his inn to collect fees. The toll road fell
into disrepair in the late 1850s, and Mark left the property in 1859.
   In 1989 the building was moved to Lisle Station Park where the exterior was restored to its original condition. The timber frame construction was found to be unique in northeastern Illinois.
                                                                            Text by Joe Bennett

Blacksmith Shop

   The barn was built in the mid 1800s in Wisconsin, and was acquired in 2001.  It is of timber frame construction with wood pegged mortises and tennons. The structure was
disassembled, modified in size, and reassembled at the museum complex by an architectural restoration contracting firm. A grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Public Museums Capital Grants Program provided partial funding for the project.
    A period blacksmith shop is operated in the barn, using a massive double firepot stone hearth designed and built for the forge.  A period woodworking shop is also operated in the building.  This portrays typical combination businesses of the time. Between is a center pass through with double barn doors on each end. This provides space for visitors and additional displays.
   Volunteers from the Lisle Heritage Society accomplished much of the interior work. They built railings and period work benches, and provided tools. They hauled logs to a sawmill and brought back the rough cut lumber. They installed two large bellows for the forge.  The bellows on the north side is from the Haumesser blacksmith shop that operated on the northwest corner of Ogden Avenue and Main Street in Lisle in the 1800s. The exhibit allows visitors to operate one of the bellows using a rope outside the smithy area.
                                                                           Text by Bob Goodwin