Chicago Great Western Museum

Chicago Great Western Museum Elizabeth IL. 1888 Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot, Caboose and History House tours Open Saturdays and Sundays: May-Oct. Facebook message us.

Times: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.Week day visits by appointment. Free Admission to both buildings!

Today's Facial Friday feature is Troy, the Bread Boy at Charm Time Bakery in Elizabeth! Charm Type Bakery isn't the fir...
09/04/2026

Today's Facial Friday feature is Troy, the Bread Boy at Charm Time Bakery in Elizabeth! Charm Type Bakery isn't the first bakery in Elizabeth, but they sure have #1 tasting treats, breads and customer service! If you haven't tried their goodies, you are missing out! Check them out!

Check out Charm Type Bakery's page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19Pyo4awwQ/







Happy Thursday! Enjoy these many photos of the Chicago Great Western! Rick Burn of Holland, Michigan, graciously donat...
09/03/2026

Happy Thursday! Enjoy these many photos of the Chicago Great Western! Rick Burn of Holland, Michigan, graciously donated a flashdrive of many photos that he took of the CGW in Elmhurst, Illinois. Thank you, Rick Burn! These are wonderful!







ELIZABETH WEEKLY NEWS: Wednesday, September 5, 1984.All kinds of news! Politics, anniversaries, Elizabeth news, Hanove...
09/02/2026

ELIZABETH WEEKLY NEWS:
Wednesday, September 5, 1984.
All kinds of news! Politics, anniversaries, Elizabeth news, Hanover News, Scales Mound news, sports scores, 4H news! Even an article advertising for Scandinavian day events near Elgin, Illinois.

Happy Tuesday! Wondering if the location of the Pest House was located on the current quarry northwest of Elizabeth.Cap...
09/02/2026

Happy Tuesday! Wondering if the location of the Pest House was located on the current quarry northwest of Elizabeth.

Caption: Henry Mest, Tom Bingham, and Alphonso Allen were quarantined at the "Pest House" during the small-pox scare of 1904. Located in the old stone quarry on the hill."

Included a quick Google search on history of pest houses. Public health policies to keep people with contagious diseases isolated from the community. These were generally forced isolations.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C1KeAmnwy/. is a link from The Lead-Zinc Mining District of the Upper Mississippi Rive...
08/31/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C1KeAmnwy/. is a link from The Lead-Zinc Mining District of the Upper Mississippi River Valley with a post of the history of the little hamlet of Milbrig in the Council Hill area. Thank you for the research about this little known community and it's mining contribution.

One of the Elizabeth Historical Society Mining Resources reveals an interesting fact about the Milbrig Zinc Co. The company was owned by Montgomery Ward and Ino M. Bredt of Chicago, Illinois. Company owned 278 acres.

Happy Saturday! Photos of the west end of Main Street in the late 1800s and 2026. Those buildings were all wood which i...
08/29/2026

Happy Saturday! Photos of the west end of Main Street in the late 1800s and 2026. Those buildings were all wood which is why none of them exist. They only wooden structure still standing is the 3 Elizabeths Bed and Breakfast at the far end of Main. If you look by that catapla tree, at the far end, you may be able to see the house. Tree may even still be standing.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HZZ2otXGs/. is Terry Miller link to more information about the businesses and view of the street in the 1800s.

Happy Thursday! enjoy some train photos from the book: Pictorial History of Jo Daviess County Illinois created by P. Car...
08/27/2026

Happy Thursday! enjoy some train photos from the book: Pictorial History of Jo Daviess County Illinois created by P. Carter Newton published in 1995.

Explanations under each image are quoted from the aforementioned text.

Found this jewel of photos while cleaning the History House. Anyone remember the Blackhawk Cafe? It was in the buildin...
08/26/2026

Found this jewel of photos while cleaning the History House. Anyone remember the Blackhawk Cafe? It was in the building that used to be Curtis Breed Elizabeth Electric and now houses the Business Hub of Elizabeth. If you read Faye Heidenreich's little story...after a dance one night, she served some men and ended up with the autograph of Lawrence Welk! Lawrence Welk ate in Elizabeth, Ilinois! She got his autograph before he started his TV Show. He was in Elizabeth in the late 1940s and his show first started in California in 1951. Autograph predates his television fame. He was a celebrity on the radio and in the ballrooms.

Edit: More research on Lawrence Welk. He was a band leader of an orchestra based in Chicago. He and his orchestra were based in Chicago where they had a standing residency at the Trianon Ballroom. "The Trianon Ballroom was the name given to a number of ballrooms in cities during America's big-band era. The first and most prominent Trianon opened December 6, 1922 in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, and was marketed as "The World's Most Beautiful Ballroom".". quoted from Wikipedia.

For all you train model enthusiasts out there! Check out the trains in Freeport, Nov 21-22.
08/26/2026

For all you train model enthusiasts out there! Check out the trains in Freeport, Nov 21-22.

ELIZABETH WEEKLY NEWS: MAY 2, 1984. The EWN was still going strong in 1984. New baseball facility, consolidation news...
08/25/2026

ELIZABETH WEEKLY NEWS: MAY 2, 1984. The EWN was still going strong in 1984. New baseball facility, consolidation news, outstanding Ag student and Art show ribbon winners made the front page. Rest of the paper is filled with Hanover, Elizabeth and Scales Mound briefs, contests, school events, community award recognitions, business news, farming updates! Such wonderful and complete coverage. Something for everyone! Enjoy!

Address

111 E Myrtle Street
Elizabeth, IL
61028

Opening Hours

Saturday 11am - 3pm
Sunday 11am - 3pm

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