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This outhouse was the family’s bathroom since they did not have one inside the house. Andy Yender, who lived in the house as a child before it was donated, had memorized that the outhouse was exactly 40 steps from the back porch of his farmhouse.The Yenders built this outhouse with three seats – two are adult-sized and one is made for a smaller child. Behind the inside back wall, there is a small area built-in that draws air outside and helps to keep unpleasant smells out. Mrs. Yender even kept flowers in the window!Please note that the Yender Outhouse is no longer operational.

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This three-seater outhouse was built by the Yender to replace the one built by the Netzley family. An outhouse was a family’s bathroom since indoor plumbing was not common until the 20th century. Andy Yender, who lived in the house as a child before it was donated to the museum, had memorized that the outhouse was exactly 40 steps from the back porch of his farmhouse. 

Yender Outhouse

The mission of The Museums at Lisle Station Park is to preserve and interpret the dynamic history of Lisle that inspires and involves the community through research, programs and exhibits. A cooperative effort of the Lisle Park District, Lisle Heritage Society, and the Village of Lisle, the Museum campus was created in 1978 to provide a home for the community's historic train depot. This partnership remains committed to the preservation of Lisle's rich heritage with the continuing development of the historical buildings and through exhibits, research, and special programming. 

The Museums at Lisle Station Park Walking Tour

A cooperative effort of the Lisle Park District, Lisle Heritage Society, and the Village of Lisle, the Museum campus was created in 1978 to provide a home for the community's historic train depot. This tour of the museum complex includes Lisle Depot, Netzley/Yender farmhouse, Beaubien Tavern, and numerous other stops. 



Transportation in the 19th CenturyThe 1800s saw rapid changes in how people travelled from place to place. As European settlers moved westward, they developed more and more ways to make long-distance travel easier. Canals used existing rivers and man-made waterways to carry people and material. While they made travel easier, they could only be used when they weren’t frozen. They were also time and labor-intensive to build. Plank Roads, made from wooden planks like the piece below, were used primarily to move agricultural products to cities like Chicago. These began spreading all over the United States during the 1840s. They were heralded as a low-cost, modern alternative to canals and dirt trails. These methods of transportation were difficult to build and maintain, and were quickly eclipsed by the growth of the railroad. The ease of use and rapid speed of trains meant that farmers preferred using them to hauling carts onto canals or over plank roads. The Beaubiens in LisleIn 1804, Jean Baptiste Beaubien first arrived at Fort Dearborn. He didn’t stay long, but returned several years later after the Fort Dearborn Massacre. He was one of the city’s earliest residents, participating in the vote to incorporate Chicago in 1833. He served as the Captain of the militia at Fort Dearborn during the Blackhawk War. In 1826, Mark Beaubien, his wife Monique, and their children joined Mark’s brother Jean Baptiste in Chicago and established a tavern and inn. This business would later grow into the Sauganash Hotel, which was the site of the vote to incorporate Chicago. The Beaubiens were also instrumental in helping to form the first Catholic congregation in Chicago. Mark ran several other businesses in Chicago, including a ferry and a coffee house. In 1841, Mark traded a tavern that he owned in Chicago for this tavern in Lisle. Tavern Life in the 19th CenturyMost of the visitors to taverns along the Plank Road would have been farmers carrying agricultural products to market in Chicago. Mark and his family would have depended upon their patronage as well as the tolls they paid to use the Plank Road. The Beaubiens often hosted Zhaabne, a Native American chief also known as Shabbona who worked tirelessly to broker peace between European settlers and indigenous peoples. Zhaabne regularly travelled across northern Illinois, particularly during the Blackhawk War. He had initially taken up arms against European and American settlers. After witnessing the death of Tecumseh, he instead chose to encourage other Native Americans to negotiate for peace. While you could purchase alcohol in a tavern like this, it was primarily a place to meet socially with other area residents. Mark would often entertain guests on his violin, which is now held in the collection of the Chicago Historical Society. The Beaubien Tavern and the Southwest Plank RoadMark was a shrewd businessman who invested in the Southwest Plank Road. His investment ensured that a tollhouse was placed outside his tavern along what is now Ogden Avenue. He also ensured that a junction south towards Naperville was placed beyond his tollgate, meaning that he would receive tolls from all travelers moving west. He and his son, Mark Jr, operated the tavern, inn, and tollhouse for several years after the completion of the Southwest Plank Road in 1851. After the Plank Road began to fall into disrepair, people used alternative forms of transportation. The lower traffic along the Southwest Plank Road meant that Mark was unable to pay taxes on his property, and was forced to sell the tavern in 1859. The Beaubien Family Cemetery (see Clio entry)Soon after arriving in Lisle, the Beaubiens set aside a portion of their property for use as a cemetery. Mark is not buried there but much of his family. The cemetery is marked by a headstone at 2900 Ogden Avenue. Mathias Schmidt is buried here in addition to the family. He was an early Chicago resident who helped create Old St. Mary’s Church. He served in the militia at Fort Dearborn during the Blackhawk War, and is rumored to have served with Napoleon in Europe before immigrating to the United States. He was a friend of Mark’s, they likely met during the formation of Old St Mary’s. The last burial in the cemetery was of Mark’s granddaughter, Emily Le Beau in 1919. Joy Morton attended the funeral and noted that the cemetery had fallen into disrepair. He wrote a letter to the Chicago historical society, asking them to fund a fence around the plot. This plea to help protect the cemetery was the first of many steps to preserve Lisle’s history and heritage.

Built in 1830s
Original location: Northwest corner of Ogden Ave. and Fender Rd.
Primary use: tollhouse, lodging, food and drink, residence

The Beaubien Tavern was originally located on a 106 acre farm that belonged to Richard Sweet. Sweet resided in this building around 1833 after he finished his time as a soldier in Blackhawk War. He traded his property to Mark Beaubien in 1841 in return for The Sauganash building, another historic establishment originally located in Chicago near Fort Dearborn.

Comfortably located a day’s journey by wagon from Chicago, the Beaubien Tavern was a popular gathering place and haven for travelers on their way to and from Chicago. Visitors could travel the plank roads, pay for lodging and food, and even rent blankets and pillows.  The Tavern’s accommodations included: 
-	a smaller room for men to enjoy beverages and card games
-	a larger room for women and children to eat and drink tea 
-	second floor bedrooms that served as a hotel for guest to stay the night
Business was good for a while, but the plank roads fell into disrepair and out of use. The tavern was sold at a sheriff’s sale in 1859 and used for various purposes until it was moved to the museum complex.
Mr. Beaubien was known for being a jolly fellow who was full of fun and frolic. At night he often used his talent with a fiddle to provide musical entertainment for his guests, visitors, and friends which included new settlers and Native Americans. He and his first wife, Monique, had a total of 16 children before she died. He remarried a woman named Elizabeth and the two had seven of their own children. Once he left Lisle, he moved to Kankakee where he lived the rest of his life and passed away in 1881, at the age of 81.


Beaubien Tavern

Transportation in the 19th Century The 1800s saw rapid changes in how people traveled from place to place. As European settlers moved westward, they developed more and more ways to make long-distance travel easier. Canals used existing rivers and man-made waterways to carry people and material. While they made travel easier, they could only be used when they weren’t frozen. They were also time and labor-intensive to build. Plank Roads, made from wooden planks like the piece below, were used primarily to move agricultural products to cities like Chicago. These began spreading all over the United States during the 1840s. They were heralded as a low-cost, modern alternative to canals and dirt trails. These methods of transportation were difficult to build and maintain, and were quickly eclipsed by the growth of the railroad. The ease of use and rapid speed of trains meant that farmers preferred using them to hauling carts onto canals or over plank roads. The Beaubien Tavern and the Southwest Plank RoadMark Beaubien was a businessman who invested in the Southwest Plank Road. His investment ensured that a tollhouse was placed outside his tavern along what is now Ogden Avenue. He also ensured that a junction south towards Naperville was placed beyond his tollgate, meaning that he would receive tolls from all travelers moving west. He and his son, Mark Jr, operated the tavern, inn, and tollhouse for several years after the completion of the Southwest Plank Road in 1851. After the Plank Road began to fall into disrepair, people used alternative forms of transportation. The lower traffic along the Southwest Plank Road meant that Mark was unable to pay taxes on his property and was forced to sell the tavern in 1859.

Section completed 1851, fell out of operation late 1850s
Original location: Chicago through Lisle to Naperville, roughly along current Ogden Ave.
Primary use: tollway road.      


As Chicago grew into a regional hub for newcomers in the 19th century, the areas outside the city became increasingly important for providing goods, services, and homes. Lisle was becoming an important producer of dairy and other agricultural products, but the trip to and from Chicago was long and exhausting before the railroads. Plank roads were built to facilitate travel to and from the city. These wooden boards were much easier to travel on than dirt roads and muddy riverbanks. 


By 1851, the Southwest Plank Road extended from Chicago through Lisle and to Naperville on much of present-day Ogden Avenue and Plank Road. People using this avenue could reach the city from here in about one day’s time. Businesses were established near tollgates to allow travelers easy access to food, drink, and rest during their trips.
After several years the road proved to be a failure. The boards became slippery when wet, warped, impassable in the winter months, and thieves often stole pieces of the road. The Southwest Plank Road quickly fell into disrepair and lost revenue like Beaubien’s Tavern. Some businesses even moved to other locations in their towns. The newly established continental railroads could transport goods much quicker and without the exhausting trips back and forth to more urban areas.


This is a reproduction of what the Plank Roads looked like. The Museums at Lisle Station Park have some of the only original pieces of the Plank Road that still exist.


Plank Road Reproduction Display

Hops (Humulus lupulus) is an herb that grows on vines. Different types (“varieties”) can be found all over the world. The plant produces small cones that contain yellow, powdery oil called lupulin. This oil smells citrusy, piney, and bitter depending on the variety of hops. Our hops are the Centennial variety. Hops have been used to help preserve food and added to beer to create different flavors. For hundreds of years, they were used as a medicinal herb thought to soothe many different conditions, such as ear and tooth aches, stomach digestion, and to help people get to sleep like chamomile. People created tonic drinks from the hops cones and flowers. Stuffing your pillowcase with hops also was common. Wasps even use hops! They gather leaves to make their nests. Hops need lots of sun and space to grow. Many hops gardeners will include poles and ropes like these to help them climb. Pick a cone from our crop and open it to see the lupulin – but don’t pick too many!While you’re here, please be respectful to all of our insect friends. Display sponsored by Alter Brewing Co. in Downers Grove, IL

Hops (Humulus lupulus) is an herb that grows on vines. Different types (“varieties”) can be found all over the world. The plant produces small cones that contain yellow, powdery oil called lupulin. This oil smells citrusy, piney, and bitter depending on the variety of hops. Our hops are the Centennial variety.


Hops have been used to help preserve food and added to beer to create different flavors. For hundreds of years, they were used as a medicinal herb thought to soothe many different conditions, such as ear and tooth aches, stomach digestion, and to help people get to sleep like chamomile. People created tonic drinks from the hops cones and flowers. Stuffing your pillowcase with hops also was common.


Wasps even use hops! They gather leaves to make their nests.


Hops need lots of sun and space to grow. Many hops gardeners will include poles and ropes like these to help them climb.


Pick a cone from our crop and open it to see the lupulin – but don’t pick too many!

While you’re here, please be respectful to all of our insect friends.


Display sponsored by Alter Brewing Co. in Downers Grove, IL

Tavern Hops Garden Display

The Netzley/Yender HouseThis home was built in 1858 and 1859 by Jacob and Mary Netzley’s family after their first home here was destroyed by fire. It was built in three phases and includes front and back porches, as well as a home garden. The first portion included only a family room and two bedrooms above it. The second portion was a much larger four-square style addition with two floors of rooms and an attic above that. The third phase was a summer kitchen attached to the first portion. The tall, evenly spaced windows are of the Greek Revival architecture style. Multiple doors throughout the home allowed for airflow and separate access to rooms by family members and by guests. George Yender puchased the property from the Netzleys in 1910. It was used as a family home as well as for working for most of its history.  George and Mary’s son, Andy and his wife Vi, sold the property to a local car dealer and they all worked together to donate the home to the Lisle Park District in 1986. It was moved here from its original location near the current intersection of Ogden and Western Avenues for use as a museum. A modern basement was added, and local mason apprentices set the exterior stone base facade The Netzley FamilyJacob and Mary Netzley immigrated with their children to the United States in the 1840s from Swizterland. They were weavers by trade and members of the Anabaptist sect Church of the Brethren. The Netzleys settled for a time in south central Lititz, Pennsylvania, where there were established community groups of Brethren as well as other Anabaptist communities such as Amish and Mennonite. Feeling that this area was becoming crowded, Jacob and Mary decided to move further inland by water and by land. They passed through the more urbanized Chicago and settled in a budding farm community called Lisle with their 10 children.  Jacob and Mary purchased a home from James Pelling near the river and began their weaving trade once again as well as farming for food. In 1858 during a cold night, a fire spread from the fireplace into the rooms during the middle of the night and destroyed the home. Everyone escaped safely, but rebuilding began almost immediately as winter was coming. Jacob and Mary had a total of 15 children, although they all did not live in the house at the same time since the oldest ones moved out to establish their own families. Netzley family members lived in this house until it was sold in 1910. Hearth RoomThis portion of the home was used as a kitchen and family room for daily activities. The front door leads to a porch while the back door led to the outhouse, home garden, and farm land. Jacob and Mary likely worked on carding wool, weaving cloth items in this room until the house was expanded. The Weaver’s Delight floor loom is automatic, using tension springs to ease the hard work of making cloth. This is an example of the kind the Netzleys would have used. The fireplace is original and constructed for cooking as well as heating the room during cold months. The swinging pot holder and adjuster arm was forged in the museum’s Blacksmith shop by volunteers. On the east wall you will see a framed section of wall. This is the original wood graining that the Netzleys hand painted when the home was first built. Various types of wood were used to construct the house and the planks did not always match in color or size. A primer (in blue) was applied, then coats of browns were applied and textured using a scoring tool to make it all look like wood. Museum volunteers restored the rest of the walls using this technique to show what the rest of the room looked like. Original Upstairs Bedrooms The first portion of the house included two bedrooms above the Hearth Room. A vent in the ceiling allows heat to rise into the children’s bedroom, while Jacob and Mary slept in the other bedroom room with newborns. The whole family lived and slept in these spaces until the second portion of the house was completed, which included more than 7 children at the time. The hallway stairs leading up to the bedrooms includes a framed section of wallpaper that was uncovered during the home’s museum restoration. Four-Square SectionA four-square building contains one large square area split into four equal-sized square rooms. The Netzleys built the second portion of their home in this way. The first and second floors each contain square rooms, although the parlor rooms contained a temporary wall to create a larger space when needed. These rooms were used as bedrooms, playrooms, storage, for entertaining guests and holding church services. The local Church of the Brethren community began meeting here led by Deacon Jacob Netzley. During the 20th century, traveling railroad workers rented rooms from the Yenders. It is likely that weaving work was moved from the Hearth Room to one or more of these rooms after it was built. The third floor attic was used for storage and designed to provide a warm winter home for local pollinating insects. Bees could fly through bee slots built into the side of the home and winter here. This allowed them to begin pollinating crops earlier and bolster the growing season. These bee slots are visible from the outside on the current east side of the home. Double ParlorThe Double Parlor is actually two four-square rooms that had a temporary wall instead of a permanent one so that the area could be opened or separated as needed. The Netzleys were the first members of the Church of the Brethren to come to the Lisle area. As more families from this community came, Deacon Jacob held church services in this room until a permanent church was built in Naperville. Two doors exist to allow people to enter and exit without disturbing the family’s Hearth Room space, typically one for men and one for women and children. The current wallpaper is a reproduction created based on the wallpaper designs revealed during museum restoration. Original wallpaper samples are currently preserved in the museum’s permanent artifact collections. The Yender FamilyFrancois Xavier Jenter (Frank Yender) and his wife, Marie Francoise Jenter (Frances Yender) immigrated to the United States c. 1844 from Alsace, France with their two young children, a third being born a few years after arriving. They lived on farm property near the river and just off of the Southwest Plank Road. George, Sr. was the oldest of their children and lived on the same property as an adult. His son, George A. Yender, purchased Jacob Netzley’s property in 1910 and married 19-year-old Mary Letcher three years later. Mary was orphaned at 11 years old and grew up as a foster child working for a couple who owned a farm in Naperville.  Mary Yender operated a local country store next to their home, Yender’s Grocery and Market. George Yender ran a dairy farm business across the street, called Yender’s Guernsey Farm. The farm and home garden provided most of the produce for the store in the earlier years, although in later years they would bring in items from outside of Lisle. A road in this northwestern area of Lisle bears the Yender name. George passed away in 1961 and Mary passed away in 1978, leaving the home to their second oldest, Andy. Andy and Vi volunteered at the museum to tell their stories until they passed away after 2000. First Floor BedroomThe four-square room closest to the back porch was used as the bedroom for parents and newborns. The side door leading outside allows for adults tending the farm fields or home garden to easily access these outdoor areas. George and Mary Yender had four boys – George, Andy, Paul, and Raymond – the first three being born here in this bed.  Summer KitchenThe Summer Kitchen was the third portion of this home to be built. The Netzleys built a beehive oven, designed to pull hot air out of the room. This made the summer kitchen it more comfortable to use during hot months as its name implies. This is a food preparation area, with its long tables, dry sink, smoke room, and hangers for drying herbs grown by the family. The side door lets out directly to the home garden to harvest vegetables, fruits, and fresh herbs. Many homes, large and small, included a summer kitchen on their property and were used in similar ways by the people responsible for cooking the family’s meals – in our case, the Netzley Family. The Summer Kitchen was attached to the house originally, even though quick changes in the room’s air pressure could cause fire to escape out of the beehive oven and into the room. After some years and a few fire accidents, the Summer Kitchen was detached from the house. The Yenders also used this space for food preparation and kitchen space. When the Netzley/Yender House Summer Kitchen was moved to its museum location, the room and oven were disassembled completely and rebuilt attached to the home as it had originally been. Volunteers found a brick with the imprint of a child’s footprint and another brick with a dog’s footprint during this time. These were made when the bricks were still soft, probably while it was being built, and are currently preserved in the museum’s artifact collections.  Summer Kitchen Beehive OvenThis cooking oven is the centerpiece of the summer kitchen. It is built in such a way that much of the heat is pulled up the flue and out of the chimney instead of heating the room like a hearth fireplace, allowing for comfortable cooking during hot days. The cook builds a wood fire at the front of the oven then lights a spark at the top inside flue area. This heat rises up causing a consistent pressure flow upwards within the oven and the fire is moved further back into the oven. The cooking area is 5 feet deep, creating hotter and cooler parts of the oven to cook different kinds of foods at the same time. It is operated today and used for demonstrations during major events and scheduled field trips.  Summer Kitchen Smoke RoomThe smoke room was used to preserve food so that it could be store longer without spoiling. Smoke rooms and smokehouses were very common before the invention of refrigeration and oftentimes were separated from the home to accommodate the amount of food being processed. There is a small door at the bottom left of the beehive oven where a tiny wood fire is built. Smoke from this fire rises through the hole in the wall to dry out meats and cheeses that had been prepared with salt, another preservation material. This room also serves as storage for cooking tools. If you smell a telltale smokey scent in this room and the summer kitchen, it is left over from the decades that this room was used by generations of Netzleys and Yenders. Smoked foods are still made in similar ways to this day, although the equipment and rooms have been modernized with steel and other materials. Model Trains: To Lisle and BeyondThe current basement of the Netzley/Yender House is a modern one built when the home was moved to its museum location. Park District staff and volunteers from the Lisle Model Railroad Club created an HO gauge model train set. This display has three-dimensional scenes from the Lisle area as well as places in the western and southern United States that the Burlington Railroad could take you to visit. These round-trip, scenic vacations packages were offered by the Burlington starting in the early 20th century. Our train set has everything from farms and shops to mountains and ponds. Interactive press-buttons play the sound of Lisle station agent hard at work in a scale model of the 1874 Lisle Depot, dairy cows grazing, lights in store windows and street lamps, and even features people taking advantage of a tiny pond during different seasons. Volunteers care for the exhibit during most Tuesday mornings, and tours of this exhibit for individuals and field trip groups can be scheduled with museum staff. The model train set is in full use during our major annual events, Depot Days in September and Once Upon a Christmas in December.

Built 1858-59 by the Netzley Family
Original location: North side of Ogden Ave. between Western Ave. and Yender Ave.
Primary use: family home, community church services, home store

In 1849, Jacob and Mrs. Netzley with their ten children came from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and purchased this home. Much of it was destroyed by fire a few years later, so reconstruction and additions were completed in three phases. The Netzleys were professional weavers, weaving carpets and other large textiles, and Jacob was a deacon in the Church of the Brethren.
The original section contains a main floor hearth kitchen and two small bedrooms above. The four-square southeast section contains first and second floor bedrooms as well as a large double parlor that was used to hold teas and Church of the Brethren services. The final section completed was the summer kitchen (currently the north end). This is a unique structure: it contains a huge beehive baking oven oven that keeps the fire hot and the room cool and a smokehouse all in one masonry structure attached to the house. 
The tall windows and columns are characteristic of the Greek Revival style architecture, popular in America in the 1800s and found in older buildings throughout the Chicago region. Floor joist beams under the original kitchen are made of logs with the bark still on them. The outhouse located just north of the house and a “kitchen garden” that the children helped tend to make meals were used for decades. Holes made for bees to keep warm in the winter can still be seen on the outside structure and allowed the garden to be pollinated earlier in the spring season for the family’s food production.
George Yender purchased the property in 1910 with his wife, Mary, and they raised four children. The Yenders operated a dairy business then opened a country style grocery store in 1939 on Ogden Avenue across from the home. These businesses were popular and an important part of life for the Yenders because of Lisle’s importance as an agricultural settlement and milk stop for the Burlington Railroad. Andy Yender, born in the bed located on the first floor, and his wife, Viola, helped donate the home to the Lisle Park District in the 1980s to preserve and demonstrate how the cultural heritage of family and idea of “home“ has changed over time.


Netzley/Yender House

Four-Square Home Garden The home garden was an important fixture in daily life for centuries and before grocery stores became a universal community staple. A family grew as much food for their family as they could in their home gardens each year to make sure they had enough to eat. These plots were much smaller and more manageable than a larger farm, which was more time-intensive, labor-intensive, and typically more specialized. Home gardens grew vegetables, fruits, and herbs for flavoring foods as well as home medical remedies. Adults in the family, specifically the mother or oldest woman, would manage the garden and children would water plants and help to harvest. The father or oldest man in the family was usually tending the larger farm fields or doing other trade work to bring in money for the family, such as Blacksmithing or construction. Our home garden exhibit is a four-square setup with an herb garden along the outside of the fence. This orientation contains four equal sized plots with tiny aisles between them. This allows us to pair plants that grow well together and access all planting areas without stepping on them.  Our garden also contains a self-watering system: glass jars are buried in the ground and filled with water. Cotton strips are placed with one end inside the jar and the other end buried near the plant roots. The cotton strips absorb water from the jars, and the soil absorbs water from the cotton strips. You can try this in your own garden at home!  Volunteers tend the garden all year long by planting historically accurate types of seeds, harvesting the yields produced, and wintering it for the cold season.

Home and kitchen gardens were very important to families in the 1800s and 1900s: This is where the family raised their fruits, vegetables, and herbs for flavoring foods.  The plots were smaller and more manageable than larger farms. Children were tasked with weeding, harvesting the gardens yields, bringing produce inside for washing and meal preparation. 

Our volunteer-led demonstration garden uses a “four square” design with raised beds. This allows for soil to thaw faster after the winters freeze so that planting can start earlier in the spring. The areas outside the fence grow herbs that would have been used for medicinal purposes and for cooking. They were used fresh, or tied in bunches and hung inside the Summer Kitchen to dry.  This design is inspired by gardens used in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Netzley Family immigrated to Lisle from that region and would have brought this farming practice with them. 

Gardeners of the past were fairly clever when it came to keeping their plants watered – and they still are! See if you can spot some of the ways that our gardeners help our plants to grow.

Home Kitchen Garden Display

This outhouse was the family’s bathroom since they did not have one inside the house. Andy Yender, who lived in the house as a child before it was donated, had memorized that the outhouse was exactly 40 steps from the back porch of his farmhouse. The Yenders built this outhouse with three seats – two are adult-sized and one is made for a smaller child. Behind the inside back wall, there is a small area built-in that draws air outside and helps to keep unpleasant smells out. Mrs. Yender even kept flowers in the window! Please note that the Yender Outhouse is no longer operational.

In many ways, Lisle was shaped by farming. Agriculture has been a key industry in Lisle for most of its history. From the days of its earliest European settlers, Lisle’s residents have grown food, raised animals, and benefited from the products of that labor. In the 1830s, farming in Lisle was mainly for living (“Subsistence”): People ran small farms to feed their family. They worked the land to stay alive, thinking more about their own survival than making a profit. This changed with the construction of the Plank Road, which allowed farmers to ship their produce to the towns around Lisle, including Chicago. The focus for many farmers moved from “Subsistence” to “Commercial” farming: Lisle families could earn money from their farm lands. When the railroad was built through town in 1864, Lisle’s farmers could ship more produce and farm animals on the larger train cars. Once paved roads, cars, and trucks became more common and affordable, farmers chose to use these vehicles to send farm products to surrounding communities. They could drive their trucks any time they wanted and did not have to rely on the train’s schedule. Changes in transportation caused Lisle’s town layout and “main street” to change over time, too. The first “main street” in Lisle was the Plank Road (currently Ogden Avenue), with farms created to the north and south of it. Later, shops opened on today’s Front Street because most people visited the Lisle Depot every day to ship and sell their farm products. Businesses started opening on today’s Main Street in the 1930s, just after cars and trucks became more common for shipping items. "Lisle: A Farm Town" is a rotating outdoor display on the west side of the Netzley/Yender House managed by volunteers from the Lisle Heritage Society and MLSP staff. Please walk through this display to see what’s growing and look at the farm equipment up close.

"Lisle: A Farm Town" is a rotating outdoor display on the west side of the Netzley/Yender House managed by volunteers from the Lisle Heritage Society and MLSP staff. Please walk through this display to see what’s growing and look at the farm equipment up close. 

In many ways, Lisle was shaped by farming. Agriculture has been a key industry in Lisle for most of its history. From the days of its earliest European settlers, Lisle’s residents have grown food, raised animals, and benefited from the products of that labor.

In the 1830s, farming in Lisle was mainly for living (“Subsistence”): People ran small farms to feed their family. They worked the land to stay alive, thinking more about their own survival than making a profit. This changed with the construction of the Plank Road, which allowed farmers to ship their produce to the towns around Lisle, including Chicago.
The focus for many farmers moved from “Subsistence” to “Commercial” farming: Lisle families could earn money from their farm lands. When the railroad was built through town in 1864, Lisle’s farmers could ship more produce and farm animals on the larger train cars. Once paved roads, cars, and trucks became more common and affordable, farmers chose to use these vehicles to send farm products to surrounding communities. They could drive their trucks any time they wanted and did not have to rely on the train’s schedule.

Changes in transportation caused Lisle’s town layout and “main street” to change over time, too. The first “main street” in Lisle was the Plank Road (currently Ogden Avenue), with farms created to the north and south of it. Later, shops opened on today’s Front Street because most people visited the Lisle Depot every day to ship and sell their farm products. Businesses started opening on today’s Main Street in the 1930s, just after cars and trucks became more common for shipping items.

Lisle's Agricultural Roots Display

Trades and CraftworkingPeople who practiced trades and craftwork were very important for most of human history. Until the department store and the Internet were invented, people had to rely on experienced, trained individuals working with their hands to craft the items that they needed to live. People had to visit their local community’s various trade workers for different items. This involved everything from tools for farmers, pots and pans for cooking, woven rugs and blankets, nails and wood beams for making houses, and even toys for children. Some examples of trade workers were Blacksmiths, weavers, construction workers, stone masons, and brick masons. Young students, called apprentices, trained for years to learn the skills required to work with specific materials such as wood, metals, clay, stone, and more. These students sometimes lived with a master’s family in order to spend more time training. Some materials were more abundant or easier to gather from the environment while others were not so easily found. It is reported that often when moving to another area, a family would burn their home down to collect iron nails and other metal pieces since they could be recycled into other objects and wood was easily replaceable. Master trade workers knew how to work with raw materials and recycled objects to complete these orders. The Blacksmith ShopIn 2001, the Lisle Park District obtained a grant and other financial aid which enabled them to replicate a 19th century barn at the museum site. It is made from pieces of three barns originally located 200 miles north in Wisconsin. An architectural restoration contracting firm hired by the Park District disassembled the barn, modified its size, and reassembled it here under the consultation with volunteer and local Blacksmith, Bob Goodwin.The Barn is made of timber frame construction with wood pegged mortises and tenons. One side of the building is an operational period smithy, or Blacksmith shop, and the other portion is an operational woodshop. This trade business combination would have been typical of the historic time period especially in Lisle. The center display area contains various tools and finished pieces with double barn doors on each end that swing open to accommodate large items. The large forge was designed with two firepots inside and built in place using stones from the Beaubien Tavern’s original foundation.Lisle Heritage Society volunteers completed most of the interior work, built railings, hauled logs to the sawmill and returned with rough cut lumber, provided tools, installed the bellows, and, most of all, dedicate their time and skills to provide demonstrations, teach classes, and make custom items to be sold. For information on taking Blacksmithing classes with us, please take a copy of our Blacksmithing brochure. Visit our smiths during an open work night, watch a class, or schedule a private demonstration or field trip with museum staff. Blacksmithing: An Ancient CraftBlacksmiths shape iron by heating it and hitting it. That is why we call them “Blacksmiths” – they smite (or strike) Black metal to make tools and art. People have been shaping iron in this fashion for at least 6000 years. So by the time James Hatch built Lisle’s first Blacksmith shop in 1833, Blacksmithing was already an ancient craft. The Forge Blacksmiths cannot shape iron unless they get it very hot. The forge is a fireplace that reaches extremely high temperatures and is the central feature of the smithy. Fire needs three things to burn: heat, fuel, and air. Blacksmiths ignite charcoal – a specially prepared wood that burns very hot with little smoke. Coal is used as the fire’s main fuel. Each forge’s design allows Blacksmiths add air in different ways to control the fire’s temperature. Our forge uses a combination of large bellows on either side and an electric fan near the top to control airflow. It was constructed using the stone bricks from the Beaubien Tavern’s original foundation. If you look closely at the bottom, you will see a tiny brick with the handprint of a child in it. This brick was found in the walls of the Netzley/Yender House Summer Kitchen and was probably pressed in by one of Jacob and Mary Netzley’s children during the room’s construction. BellowsA bellows is a tool used to puff air. It pushes a controlled stream of air into the forge and over the coals. Some bellows are smaller and made for household fireplaces, but forge bellows must be large and manageable for smiths to use. Smiths pull on a rope to flatten the bellows, and when they expand again they suck air into the forge. Our bellows made of a wooden frame and leather coverings located near the top of the forge. The smaller bellows (left) was donated by the Aurora Historical Society. The larger bellows (right) was used in the Haumesser Blacksmith shop, a Lisle smithy just off the Southwest Plank Road (current-day NW corner of Ogden Avenue and Main Street) in the mid-19th century, provided by Haumesser descendants, the Beals family.  The “Smithy”Little is known about Hatch’s Blacksmith shop. Nevertheless, eight types of equipment are central to any “smithy,” or smith’s workshop area. If we were to go back in time and visit Hatch, we would probably find him hard at work with the following tools:<ol><li>Forge</li><li>Bellows</li><li>Anvil</li><li>Hammers and Tongs</li><li>Anvil Tools</li><li>Set Tools</li><li>Slack Tub</li><li>Bench and Post Vise</li></ol>Blacksmiths cannot shape iron unless they get it very hot. So, the (1) Forge, a fireplace that reaches extremely high temperatures, is probably the most important part of the smithy. Blacksmiths heat their forges by carefully combining fire and air. The fire comes when they ignite charcoal – a specially prepared wood that burn very hot with little smoke. Air must blow over the burning charcoal to maintain this heat. That is what the (2) Bellows does. It pushes a controlled stream of air into the forge and over the coals.You will also find a dizzying array of hand tools around a smithy. Not surprisingly, many of these tools have long handles, which keep the Blacksmith’s hands away from fire and hot iron. (4) Hammers and Tongs are perhaps the most important hand tools. As you might guess, Blacksmiths hold iron with their tongs and pound it against the (3) Anvil with various hammers. Smiths use a number of (5) Anvil Tools during this process. These items, like the “hardy” and the “half penny snub-end scroll,” fit into a square “hardy hole” near the anvil’s read edge. Blacksmiths can shape and cut iron y placing it onto such anvil tools and hammering it out.(6) Set Tools are another important group of hand tools. They resemble hammers because they are metal pieces with long handles. However, Blacksmiths do not swing set tools. Rather, they “set” these tools onto a piece of heated iron and strike them with hammers. This helps the Blacksmiths to cut or shape the iron underneath. Once Blacksmiths use their tools to pound hot iron into shape, they cool it or “quench” it in water. That is why you will find a (7) Slack Tub in any smithy. Blacksmiths place these tubs beside their forges. They are often wine or whisky barrels cut in half. The Blacksmith’s (8) Bench, like those of other craftspeople, consists of heavy planks and is home to many special tools, including bench shears, hacksaws, nippers, and pliers. But the most interesting part of the workbench may be the Post Vise. This name is quite appropriate, for unlike ordinary bench vises, the “post” vise has a long column that the Blacksmith buries into the smithy’s floor. Because Blacksmiths work with heavy iron, they must anchor equipment like vises and anvils.These are just some of the tools essential to general Blacksmithing. James Hatch may have also performed specialized tasks like shoeing horses and fixing wheels. Such jobs required tools too numerous to cover here. We invite you to learn more about these implements by referring to Blacksmithing brochure “Suggestions for Further Reading.” These sources were invaluable in creating our exhibits: they will bring you further insights into the world of Blacksmithing. Blacksmithing’s FutureMachines have made us independent of the village Blacksmiths and their smithies. Nevertheless, we can still learn from Blacksmiths. Many of their ancient ways will help us in the present. For example Blacksmiths recycled long before recycling was popular. They often foraged for old iron and made it new. Thus, a rusty gun barrel could meet a smith’s fire and become a new hammer. That is the magic of the Blacksmiths and their smithies. They give new life to what is old. Our purpose at The Museums at Lisle Station Park is similar. We hope that this exhibit revives interest in the Blacksmiths and their ancient craft. While they are no longer the center of village life, they will remain an important part of human history. For information on taking Blacksmithing classes with us, please take home a copy of our Blacksmithing brochure. Visit our smiths during an open work night, watch a class, or schedule a private demonstration with museum staff. WoodshopThis area of our barn is a wood turning workshop. This means that experienced craftworkers spin wood using machines called lathes to create useful and decorative items. These include pieces of furniture, tools for working at home or on farms, ornaments for decoration, toys, and more. Turning wood has a different set of skills than wood carving, but there are people who specialize in both of these trades by spending years practicing with experts.The items you see on display were created by experienced volunteers who practice this craft. Many of our woodshop volunteers visit us from the Windy City Woodturners, a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Double Spring Pole LatheThis Double Spring Pole Lathe is both the oldest and newest in the woodshop collection.  Oldest because the design dates back to the 17th century. Roy Underhill (PBS Woodwright Shop) adapted the design from an encyclopedia of that era. Underhill holds week-long classes where students can build a lathe. Mark McCleary of Villa Park attended one of those classes and donated the lathe he built in 2014 to the Lisle Heritage Society. Therefore it is the newest lathe in our collection.The operation of this lathe depends on a pedal at the floor, and a cord around the wooden spindle that is then fastened to the spring pole above. Pushing on the pedal rotates the spindle in the direction that allows the operator to make cuts with a chisel. When the peddle travels as far as it can, the spring pole on the top pulls the cord back up causing the spindle to rotate in the wrong direction to make cuts. The operator can only make cuts on the down stroke of the pedal, then wait for the pedal to come back up before pushing it down to make another cutting stroke.This type of lathe uses an intermittent motion – back and forth rather than continuous rotation. Both of our other lathes in the woodshop create a continuous rotation of the spindle in the same direction, making the operator’s jog easier. But the Spring Pole lathe had some unique advantages that gave it a solid place in wood turning history.  First it is a simple design that can be created using simple hand tools (as this one was). And second, it can be easily disassembled and carried from site to site including the forest. The frame is held together with mortise and tenon joints secured by wedges. Mark McCleary donated this lathe in 2016. Both Mark’s and Roy Underhill’s signatures are visible on the tall end frame.  Treadle Powered Lathe This treadle powered wood lathe was found and purchased in a northern Wisconsin Lake Superior shore town. It had been deaccessioned from a local museum. Sometime in the 17th century the treadle lathe concept was improved and developed into the form seen here. The flywheel was counter balanced with internal weights to provide smooth, continued and balanced power to the object being turned and speed was increased by driving a much smaller pulley by the large flywheel. This allowed the cutting tool to be working continually on the turned object instead of intermittently as with the spring pole lathe. Sheldon LatheThe E. H. Sheldon &amp; Company operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Chicago, Evanston, and later in Muskegon Michigan. The company manufactured vises and workbenches, specializing in school laboratory equipment. This lathe design may have been manufactured for use in vocational training. The design could have accommodated power transfer from an overhead common drive shaft. This arrangement was common in early shop settings. Our Sheldon is now powered from below by an antique 1hp electric motor. The current drive arrangement allows only one speed, whereas the pulley arrangement at the spindle would permit three. The lengthwise capacity of this lathe is not sufficient to turn a spindle for the woodshop gallery in a single pass. Therefore spindles will be turned in two pieces and joined together. Considering that this lathe is over 100 years old we take special care in its use. The bearings are of bronze or poured babbitt type. These bearings were never intended for high rotation speeds and require frequent oiling. We think this Sheldon lathe was built around 1910. It was donated by Fred Kalkirtz who also played a huge part in inventing, machining and providing parts to make the lathe operational. Blacksmiths volunteers were also heavily involved in bringing this machine back to life.

Built 1850s, recreated on site in 2002
Original location: barns in Wisconsin, 200 miles north
Current primary use: Blacksmith and wood turning demonstrations and classes

This structure displays an important part of the landscape in the 1800s: the local craftsmen who kept communities functioning with their custom handiwork. The Blacksmith was especially vital to a settlement in pioneer days. Among other things, he provided the nails, hinges and other hardware for their homes. It is reported that often when moving to another area, a family would burn their home down to collect the precious nails since wood was readily available but nails might not be.

This operational 19th century woodworking and Blacksmith shop demonstrates a business combination that would have been typical of the time period. This structure is made of timber frame construction with wood pegged mortises and tenons from three different barns. A massive double firepot stone hearth (forge) designed and built inside provide the heat necessary to shape and create raw and used materials. The larger bellows is from the Haumesser Blacksmith shop which operated in Lisle on the northwest corner of Ogden Avenue and Main Street in the 1800s, while the smaller was donated by the Aurora Historical Society. 

Museum visitors have the opportunity to talk with the skilled volunteer craftsmen during museum tours and learn firsthand how materials are reshaped and reused to meet the challenges of the life of early settlers through demonstrations and classes. Exhibits include a substantial amount of sample work which visitors can handle and feel the textures of the wood and heft of hand-wrought iron. 

If you look closely inside and outside at the museum, you can see the objects whittled from wood and hand-forged by our own Blacksmiths. 


The Barn

Built 1874.
Original location: present-day BNSF Lisle Station.
Primary use: train station, post office, apartment.

Our community developed around the Lisle Depot: availability of service for people and materials helped set the stage for present day Lisle. After Lisle’s first 1863 depot building was destroyed by fire, this historic structure served as the train station on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (Burlington) Railroad between Chicago and Aurora from 1874 until 1978. It housed Lisle’s United States Post Office from 1874 to 1885, and for some time, a Railway Express office was located in this building.

The building was complimented by an outdoor outhouse, cistern, and water well complete with pump. Although the original tin roof was replaced in 1982, much of the original architectural style and interior structure has been preserved. The railroad usage portion of the building includes a ticket office, waiting room and baggage area. For decades, the building served as living quarters for the stationmaster and family. The south end contains a living room, kitchen, and pantry on the first floor. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a storage area to complete the family apartment.

The railroad sparked the development of businesses and commerce. Lisle settlement became a major source of dairy and agriculture for the region. By 1912, Lisle was the largest milk stop along the Burlington and passenger travel was becoming increasingly popular.

In 1978 the Burlington Northern Railroad donated it for use as a museum to make way for a modern, more practical train station. Volunteers spearheaded a large portion of the exhibit development and renovation tasks to restore it back to its 19th century appearance.

Lisle Depot

In the 1800s, railroads connect places near and far quickly for the first time. The people who worked for the railroads – in the trains, stations, and yards – needed easy ways to move employees and heavy equipment from place to place. MLSP has a few vehicles that are displayed and stored at the museum at different times of the year in order to preserve them. The tracks in front of you were originally located at Eola (“End of Line, Aurora”), an unincorporated community about 10 miles west of Lisle that held a Burlington Railroad yard. They were set on display by Lisle Heritage Society volunteers. Look for these and other vehicles when you visit the museum. Baggage CartThese large carts were used at depot stations to move people’s luggage and trunks. When a person wanted to travel by train, they first had to buy their ticket and check their luggage into the station. The station agent tagged each item and placed them on the baggage cart. Baggagemen working on the trains moved the luggage from the cart to the train for travel. Pump HandcarRailroad track inspectors and repair workers needed to travel up and down the tracks to keep the railroads working. This handcar is operated by two people: they pushed and pulled the handle up and down like a seesaw to make the car roll. SpeederA speeder did the same job as the handcar, but was powered by an engine. Inside the speeder, there is a lever that can be pushed forward to travel forward along the tracks, backward to travel the opposite direction, or positioned in the middle to stop. Railroad workers could easily and quickly lift this small car off of the track to avoid incoming trains.

In the 1800s, railroads connected places near and far quickly for the first time. The people who worked for the railroads – in the trains, stations, and yards – needed easy ways to move employees and heavy equipment from place to place.

We have a few vehicles that are displayed and stored at the museum at different times of the year in order to preserve them. The tracks in front of you were originally located at Eola (“End of Line, Aurora”), an unincorporated community about 10 miles west of Lisle that held a Burlington Railroad yard. They were set on display by Lisle Heritage Society volunteers. Look for these and other vehicles when you visit the museum.

Railroad Vehicles Display

Waycar #14584In 1881 Waycar #14584 was constructed by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad at the Roundhouse in Aurora, IL. Crew cars such as this are referred to as cabooses; however, the term waycar is specific to the CB&amp;Q. It is believed that the term “waycar” originated around the beginning of the 20th century, coming from the use of old passenger cars that had been converted for use as “Way Freight Rider Cars” for the train crewmen. Trains that traveled through Lisle on the Burlington’s route between Aurora and Chicago and beyond carried this type of waycar. It provided a place for the crew who operated the train to cook and sleep. Waycar #14584 was retired in 1976. Waycar #14584 was found by Lisle Heritage Society members at Apple Chevrolet in Tinley Park, IL where it was being used as an office for a used car salesman. They worked in collaboration with the Lisle Park District to preserve and move the Waycar #14584 to this site in July 1998. Society volunteers spent countless hours restoring the inside to its original appearance, which included removing shag carpet from floor to ceiling.   Using the Caboose The caboose car (waycar) was developed as a vehicle to carry crewmen who were needed to operate freight trains. These men kept train records, did car switching and braking, and protected the train when it was on the main line. To accommodate these men when the train was traveling for many hours, the waycar had food, water, heat, beds, a bedroom bathroom, and tools. Examples of these functions and amenities are displayed in Waycar #14584.  Before the invention of automatic train brakes, men had to set the wheel brakes on each car to make the train stop. The brakmen walked on the roof of the moving cars while adjusting each brake wheel. The waycar gave these men shelter from the weather until they were needed to set the train brakes. A stove was added to provided heat and cook food. Beds in the waycar allowed the men to sleep during long trips. The last wooden waycars still in use by the CB&amp;Q were retired during the 1970s. Today, men are no longer needed to ride at the end of the train in a waycar. The safety, protections, record keeping, and brake control they provided in the past is now handled with automatic hot box detectors, read-end warning boxes mounted on the last coupler, and train control by remote dispatchers with their computers.   Cupola The waycar’s cupola, the upper level of the car, played a key role in the safe operation of the train. Crewmen could give a warning about trouble with the cars from this higher vantage point. Signalmen were in charge of holding hanging, and swinging different kerosene marker lamps with colored lenses on the back of waycar to increase visibility and send visual messages to stations and other trains. Flags, flares, and an air operated whistle were also used for signaling while underway. Crewmen leaned out the cupola window to scoop up train orders being held by station workers and bags full of mail hanging on tall station mail posts. Some historically accurate modifications still need to be included, such as the installation of padded seats in the cupola and at the conductor’s desk. Conductor’s Office The conductor was the person in charge of the train and his office was in the waycar. The office featured padded seat and seat back as well as a desk for working on train logs, car records, and telegraph orders. At one time, waycars were permanently assigned to a specific conductor who made the car his home on wheels. He even could decide which end of the waycar was the front and which was the back. Drover’s Style CabooseA drover is someone that moves livestock animals from ranches to a stockyard or individual buyer. Ranchers in the plains and western areas of the United States could choose to contract a drover to accompany the livestock they wanted to sell. This was especially common in areas that were not close to train depots or if the animals were to be sold at larger markets such as Chicago. Drovers traveled with the livestock in their care over long distances to ensure that animals were safe and sold at market for the correct price. Burlington Waycar #14584 is a drover’s style caboose. This car includes a bunk area with sleeping space for the train workers as well as drovers traveling on the same train as their animals. Drovers brought the animals to the Depot platform and helped load them onto a livestock car. The animals were walked directly into the train car or up a ramp to a second level in the car. When the train was ready for departure, the drover boarded the bunk section of the train’s special caboose.

Built in 1881 in Aurora, IL
Original location: Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Burlington Northern Railroad
Primary use: Staff lounge, conductor’s office, operational duties
Other car numbers used: CB&Q 208, BN 11076 

Many of the railroads in the United States called the work car at the end of their trains a caboose. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q or Burlington) instead used the term “waycar.” This likely originated from the very old passenger cars that had been converted for use as “Way Freight Rider Cars” for the train crew. This term was shortened by Burlington employees to a single word.
The waycar was developed as a vehicle to carry crewmen who operated the trains. These men kept train records, operated car switching and braking, and monitored the cars while it was on the main line.  Waycars had multiple accommodations and items to allow the crew to work effectively as they traveled many hours up and down the train lines: beds for sleeping, a stove for heating and cooking, benches to sit and stow items away, and more. Crewmen could give a warning about trouble with the freight cars and collect mail bags from their vantage point in the upper-level cupola. To increase train visibility, kerosene marker lights with colored lenses were hung on the back of the waycar. A desk was included for the train conductor to work on his train logs and records. At one time, waycars were permanently assigned to a specific conductor who made the car his home on wheels. 
The Lisle Park District brought this car to the complex in 1998. All of the original interior items were missing at this time because the waycar had been used as a modern office room. Lisle Heritage Society members have made reproductions of some original components, and museum artifacts are on display to represent a historic piece of railroad equipment and way of life no longer seen in Illinois.


Museums at Lisle Station Park

Yender Outhouse

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information