Graue Mill and Museum

Graue Mill and Museum Managed by the DuPage Forest Preserves. Only operating waterwheel gristmill in northeast Illinois.
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Storytime at the Miller’s: Activity Reveal!Get ready for a baa‑rilliant time! 🐑✨After our story, participants will get t...
06/18/2026

Storytime at the Miller’s: Activity Reveal!

Get ready for a baa‑rilliant time! 🐑✨

After our story, participants will get to work with real wool from the sheep at Kline Creek Farm and learn how to felt wool using felting needles and cookie cutters. Each child will head home with a handmade felted star—and a fun new skill!

$5 per child | Ages 8–12
Please register in advance so we can save your spot.

We’ll be meeting at Graue House, right across from Graue Mill.

Can’t wait to see ewe there! 🐑💫

Register here: https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/fpddc/activity/search/detail/23352?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Drop by anytime today between 10am and 1pm to see this natural dyeing process in action!
06/18/2026

Drop by anytime today between 10am and 1pm to see this natural dyeing process in action!

🇺🇸 Come be part of our America 250 Flag Project! 🇺🇸This week, we’re dyeing the blue field of our flag using natural indi...
06/17/2026

🇺🇸 Come be part of our America 250 Flag Project! 🇺🇸

This week, we’re dyeing the blue field of our flag using natural indigo, and you’re invited to watch the process and learn how traditional dyeing works.

We’ll also be needle felting stars using wool from Kline Creek Farm, and visitors can try their hand at felting too!

Join us at the Graue House
Thursday | 10 AM – 1 PM
Free and open to the public

Come see indigo in action and be part of creating something special for America’s 250th!

Storytime at the Miller’s:Get ready for a baa-rilliant time! 🐑Join us on Saturday, June 20th at 11am as we dive into the...
06/17/2026

Storytime at the Miller’s:

Get ready for a baa-rilliant time! 🐑

Join us on Saturday, June 20th at 11am as we dive into the delightful world of Pete the Sheep by Jackie French!

After the story, we’ll roll up our sleeves for some wool‑tastic, hands-on crafts and activities that are sure to spark creativity and giggles.

$5 per child, ages 8–12.
Please register in advance so we can save you a spot!

We’ll be meeting at Graue House, right across from Graue Mill.
Can’t wait to see ewe there! 🐑✨

Register here: https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/fpddc/activity/search/detail/23352?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Join us on Saturday, June 13, from 11 a.m. to noon for family-friendly fun celebrating summer flowers! We’ll do a little...
06/01/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 13, from 11 a.m. to noon for family-friendly fun celebrating summer flowers! We’ll do a little planting together and offer two additional craft stations filled with bloom‑worthy activities.

Cost is $5 per child. Please register in advance for this pop‑up program using the link below:
http://apm.activecommunities.com/fpddc/Activity_Search/24002

We’ll meet at Graue House, located right across from Graue Mill. We hope to see you there!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Graue Mill & Museum yesterday to learn about dyeing fabrics in the mid‑19th century! O...
05/29/2026

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Graue Mill & Museum yesterday to learn about dyeing fabrics in the mid‑19th century! Our staff used cochineal to dye the stripes of the homespun flag we’re creating for America 250, and the color turned out beautifully.

It took a long and careful process — from preparing the mordant bath to finishing the dye bath — but the results were worth it.

Stay tuned to see how the flag comes together, just in time for America’s 250th birthday! 🎉🇺🇸

A visitor recently asked about the colorful thread display in our General Store exhibit on the third floor — were those ...
05/28/2026

A visitor recently asked about the colorful thread display in our General Store exhibit on the third floor — were those bright hues really available in the 1800s?

They were! Cotton and silk (and the threads spun from them) take dye beautifully. Indigo created rich blues, and cochineal produced vibrant reds that still impress today. By the mid‑1850s, aniline dyes — some of the first synthetic dyes — also appeared and introduced bolder greens and other shades that replaced many earlier, more muted natural dyes.

It’s worth noting that some of those early synthetic dyes were made with arsenic, which made the dyeing process a bit hazardous. For that reason, our thread display is a modern reproduction based on 1850s examples — colorful, accurate, and perfectly safe.

Next time you visit Graue Mill & Museum, take a closer look at the General Store threads and imagine the vivid textiles of the past!

🌾The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener’s demonstration grain garden is planted and (already!) sprouting, ...
05/27/2026

🌾The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener’s demonstration grain garden is planted and (already!) sprouting, but it’s missing something... a wattle fence!

Wattle fences are woven from green freshly cut branches of shrubs or trees. We will be using young invasive honeysuckle harvested that morning by volunteers in Fullersburg Woods as fence material.

If you’d like to help us build our wattle fence and want to learn how to build your own, join us at 1:00pm on Friday May 29th at the Graue Mill to help us weave a new fence!

$5 per attendee. Sign-up required. Visit dupageforest.org to register.

02/27/2026

We had a fantastic Teacher Institute Day Workshop at Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center 🌳 and Graue Mill and Museum 🏛️! DuPage County educators spent the day diving into local history, science, and nature through hands-on learning and exploration 🔍🌿📚.

A huge thank you to all the teachers who joined us—your curiosity and enthusiasm help bring these stories and lessons to life for students across the county! 🍎✨

Address

3800 York Road
Oak Brook, IL
60523

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

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