Please help us grow the collection and share your stories, images and objects. We encourage you to donate but would also be happy to add your images digitally to the gallery so you can keep the originals.
What to Donate
We are always looking for new treasures associated with the history of Berwyn, Illinois. We also accept some materials from Chicago neighborhoods and businesses that played a role in Berwyn’s development (e.g. Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, railway lines, and major West Side employers) and other nearby suburbs whose history intertwines deeply with Berwyn (i.e. Cicero, Forest Park, Lyons, North Riverside, Oak Park, Riverside, and Stickney). We will accept some materials from outside this geographical area if they help tell the story of Berwyn’s immigrants and migrants or tells the story of the service of the city’s veterans.
Some of the best types of items you can share with us are:
- Personal reminiscences: We’d love to have you tell us your story of Berwyn’s past. You can write it down, record it, or arrange to share with a member of the society.
- Letters and Dairies: Family letters and dairies help to provide information and perspectives on Berwyn at that time.
- Photographs: Whether it is from a recent event or Berwyn’s first early years, photos tell the story of people and places in a way nothing else can. Want to keep the originals? We’d be happy to scan them to preserve the record for future generations and return the originals to you.
- Agendas, meeting minutes, and memorabilia: Official records and advertising or keepsake items that Berwyn’s businesses, fraternal orders, and civic organizations have produced tell us a lot about what people were doing both at work and in their spare time.
- Clothing that tells the story of Berwyn: Uniforms from local sports teams, businesses, and civic organization as well as handmade clothing, school pride clothing, or anything else that tells us a story of the people of Berwyn.
- Official publications: Maps, telephone and business directories, plats of survey, blueprints, etc. each give a unique insight into our past.
How to Donate
If you have any of these and would like to share them with us, please reach out today. You can stop by our museum at 1401 Grove Ave during our normal operating hours (Saturday and Sunday 9am – 1pm), or call or email us and we’ll make arrangements with you.
Contact Us
Don’t see the item you want to donate on our list or unsure if it’s something we would be looking for, just reach out to us. Call, email, reach out on social media, or just stop by our museum Saturdays and Sundays between 9am and 1pm.
Call us at (708) 488-0020.
Email us at info@berwynhistoricalsociety.org
Stop by and talk to someone in person Saturdays and Sundays from 9am – 1pm