Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley marks its 50th anniversary

Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, a St. Charles-based nonprofit organization, celebrated its 50th anniversary March 26.

PPFV was founded March 26, 1974, by Evelyn Johnson, Lorraine Miller, Nancy Polivka, Norma Shearer and Rosemarie Thomas to restore the 1843 Durant-Peterson House into a museum, according to a news release from the organization.

The nonprofit has grown to operate three other historic sites, own and restore the 1850 Beith House and serve as a voice for preserving history in the Tri-Cities, according to the release.

PPFV’s museum operations expanded with the addition of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fabyan Villa Museum in 1995, the Fabyan Japanese Garden in 2002 and the Sholes School Museum in 2018. Those three, plus the Durant-Peterson House Museum, are owned by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, which contracts with PPFV to operate the historic sites and open them to the public.

PPFV also serves as a leader in preservation education. PPFV worked with community stakeholders to help save other historic properties or inspire their adaptive reuse such as the Fabyan Villa Museum, 1893 Viking Ship, Riverbank Laboratories, Judd Mansion and many more local historic buildings, according to the release.

For more information about the 50-year history of Preservation Partners, visit ppfv.org/blog/category/Our+History.

PPFV’s mission is to offer heritage education and to promote the appreciation and preservation of the Fox Valley’s rich architectural and historic resources. Learn more at ppfv.org or on social media @preservationpartners.