December 17, 2024
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Oswego museum planning historical tours, History Happy Hours

By Kendall County Now staff report
Built in April 1870 by Asahel Newton, this commercial structure was used for a number of industrial purposes before Rush Walker turned the building into a steam-powered gristmill in October 1885. Previous uses had included an apple cider mill (October 1871); wooden ware manufacture, including hand pumps (April 1873); Marshall patent windmills manufactured under license (June 1874); the original Richards rolling door hardware, later Richards-Wilcox (September 1879); and cotton batting (October 1880). In February 1885, Rush Walker converted the building into a steam-powered livestock feed grinding mill. By October of that year, Oswego storekeeper David M. Haight had taken over the feed mill operation. It was last used as a feed mill by Fred Hage, who closed it sometime prior to the spring of 1891. But already by that time, the north half of the building was being used as a dwelling. The feed grinding equipment still occupied the south half of the building, and the steam engine was located in a shed added to the west side of the south half of the building. When the 1898 Sanborn Map of Oswego was published, it showed the engine shed and engine were still attached to the building and the grinding equipment still occupied half the main structure. Sometime before the spring of 1905 the engine shed was removed and the entire remaining building was remodeled into a private residence. That use, including the addition of a second story in the 1980s, has continued to the present.

Built in April 1870 by Asahel Newton, this commercial structure was used for a number of industrial purposes before Rush Walker turned the building into a steam-powered gristmill in October 1885. Previous uses had included an apple cider mill (October 1871); wooden ware manufacture, including hand pumps (April 1873); Marshall patent windmills manufactured under license (June 1874); the original Richards rolling door hardware, later Richards-Wilcox (September 1879); and cotton batting (October 1880). In February 1885, Rush Walker converted the building into a steam-powered livestock feed grinding mill. By October of that year, Oswego storekeeper David M. Haight had taken over the feed mill operation. It was last used as a feed mill by Fred Hage, who closed it sometime prior to the spring of 1891. But already by that time, the north half of the building was being used as a dwelling. The feed grinding equipment still occupied the south half of the building, and the steam engine was located in a shed added to the west side of the south half of the building. When the 1898 Sanborn Map of Oswego was published, it showed the engine shed and engine were still attached to the building and the grinding equipment still occupied half the main structure. Sometime before the spring of 1905 the engine shed was removed and the entire remaining building was remodeled into a private residence. That use, including the addition of a second story in the 1980s, has continued to the present. (Photo courtesy of the Little White School Museum)

Seats still are available for the Little White School Museum’s first spring bus tour of Oswego at noon and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10.

Join the museum at either noon or 1:30 p.m. for “Industrial History Bus Tours” of Oswego. Registration and a $5 a person fee for participants age 16 and older is required. To register, go to the Oswegoland Park District website at oswegolandparkdistrict.org or call the park district at 630-554-1010.

The tours will begin and end at the Little White School Museum, 72 Polk St., Oswego, and last for about an hour.

Then on Thursdays, April 14, April 28 and May 12, join museum staffers for “History Happy Hours” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Oswego Brewing Company in downtown Oswego.

This session of History Happy Hours for those age 21 and older will cover “Burglaries, Bootleggers, and Bonnie & Clyde.” Registration, which is required, is $15 for residents of the Oswegoland Park District and $20 for nonresidents. Register by calling 630-554-1010 or by visiting the park district website oswegolandparkdistrict.org.

In the 1920s, crime in Kendall County was getting out of control. Local newspapers were filled with stories of FBI raids, robberies, actual highway robberies and gangster activity. Join museum staff to chat about the biggest burglaries, buzzworthy bootleggers and the possible Bonnie & Clyde connection to Kendall County. Admission comes with a one-beer ticket to enjoy during the lecture.

“History Happy Hours” are sponsored by the park district in partnership with the heritage association.

For information on the museum or on upcoming museum events, visit littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.