Waukegan History Museum
The Waukegan Historical Society’s headquarters is the Waukegan History Museum located in beautiful Bowen Park. The Museum is the former home of John C. Haines, a past mayor of Chicago, Illinois. The Haines House was built about 1843, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in Lake County. It was enlarged to its present size in the 1870s.
Today, the Museum portrays life of the late Victorian period in 1870s Waukegan through the use of carefully researched wallpapers, carpets, drapes, light fixtures and period furnishings from prominent Waukegan families.
The rich history of Waukegan is found throughout the Museum in the form of exhibits, photographs and artifacts.
Highlights include a trunk that a young Jack Benny used during his early Vaudeville days, the bed that Abraham Lincoln slept on while visiting the city and the charred clock face from the second Lake County Courthouse.
For research inquiries, Visit the “contact us” page and submit a request.
Hours
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays: 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Special tours and appointments may also be requested.
Free Admission
Contact the Museum
1917 N. Sheridan Road in Bowen Park
Waukegan, Illinois 60087
(847) 336-1859
museum@waukeganhistorical.org
Check out the Waukegan History Museum Companion App! Go on self-guided tours of different areas of Waukegan your mobile device or at home on your computer. Follow the below link to get started learning Waukegan history! Click on Full Screen for easier viewing on your computer.
These wonderful photographs of the museum were taken by Mike Tanner in 2013.
