Westmont Historical Society - Gregg House Museum
FREE ADMISSION
HOURS:
Sun & Wed, 1-3 pm
Click here for current Greg House Museum Newsletter
Up Coming Events:
- Spring Palette Art Show - Sunday, March 21 11:00 AM-4:00 PM
- Stepping Stones - Wednesday, March 31 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
- Celebrate Earth Day - Sunday, April 18 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
- Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest - Saturday, May 22 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
- Passport Program - Visit various local Museums during June through August and earn certificates and prizes. Booklets will be available in late May.
(Click on Program Guide - see page 41 for more details or call (630) 969-8080)
Westmont Historical Society Membership
Become a member of the Westmont Historical Society and help preserve the rich heritage of Westmont. Family membership $15; Individual membership $10. Call the Museum for more details.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Museum and the Garden Club are seeking people of all ages who would like to make a difference in Westmont. Be a docent, archive artifacts, or design a garden plan. We have volunteer opportunities to fit your interests. Call for more information.
Education and Scout Programs
Calling all teachers, students and scout groups! The Gregg House offers programs for elementary school aged children that fulfill state standards. Pro- gams are avail September through May. Scouts groups may earn badges for local lore and local history. Programs that include a craft will require a small fee.
Programs can be held at the Museum or are offered as outreach programs.
The following programs are available:
Excelsior Experience - Hands on architecture programs for grades 3 to 5
Gregg's Mystery Gadgets -Identify items of the past for grades 2 to 5
Rural Westmont - Learn about the early days of Westmont for grades 1 to 3
Optical Toys - Zoetropes and Kaleidoscopes - fun toys for grades 2 to 5
Victorian Tea Party - Experience Victorian times for grades 1 to 5
Christmas at Gregg House - Various Christmas traditions for all ages
Please make a reservation for the above programs by calling the Curator at (630) 969-8080.
Brief History of the Gregg House Museum
Nothing was more important in paving the way for future Westmont than the building of the Chicago/Aurora branch of the C.B. and Q. Railroad – begun in 1862 and completed two years later. Shortly afterward, a large share of the future Westmont was bought up by the Phipps Industrial Land Trust. Some of this land, right after the Chicago Fire of 1871, was sold to a number of brick manufacturers jumping to the chance of supplying bricks for the rebuilding of Chicago.
The most memorable of the brick manufacturer, William L. Gregg, who chose the highest point of land along the C.B. and Q. Railroad for his company, so that shipping by steam locomotive would be downhill with a full load of brick. In the Spring of 1872, Gregg began manufacturing bricks under the name of Excelsior Brick Company. His company started with a capital investment of $250,000.00, employed 120 people and produced 70,000 bricks every day. While here, Mr. Gregg invented and patented a triple pressure brick machine which revolutionized the brick industry, as the bricks could withstand 100,000 pounds of pressure without cracking or disturbance of any kind.
Gregg built a home to showcase his product. He lived in the home for approximately three years. He considered himself a dealer in patents as he invented sixteen different pieces of brick making apparatus. A truer sign of growth was the establishment here of a flag-stop on the “Q” known as “Gregg’s Milk Station”. By 1900, brick making petered out. The name of the station was shortened to “Gregg”.
Over the years the home was rented to farmers; it was a restaurant, a funeral home, a speak easy, a recreation center. Later it was owned by Holy Trinity Catholic para ish and used as a home for a priest for a short time before becoming home to several nuns.
Eventually the home became run down and was going to be demolished. In 1976 the Historical Society was formed and saved the home which was turned into a museum in 1981.
