Wilmette History Museum tweaks name, debuts exhibit on founding family

Heading into summer, the Wilmette History Museum is equipped with a new name, a new exhibition and additional funds from its June fundraiser. Read all about the changes.

What’s in a name

The Wilmette Historical Society is now the Wilmette History Museum, reigning in a new era of inclusivity and modernity, according to Rachel Ramirez, the museum’s director.

Ramirez said that changing the museum’s name has been in conversation for several years. Established by the Village of Wilmette in 1951, the museum has preserved the stories of Wilmette’s past for almost 75 years. The switch from “historical society” to “history museum” was agreed upon readily by staff and Wilmette Historical Society board members.

“(Historical society has) a more old fashioned connotation, which, of course, isn’t bad, but it also comes along with that as being sort of exclusive,” Ramirez said. “We don’t want to sound like we’re exclusive. We want to sound like we’re inclusive and everyone is welcome.”

Ramirez said the museum implemented its new name without a lot of fanfare, but she would be interested to see what people think of the change if they start to take notice. Banners sporting the new name hang out front of the museum at 609 Ridge Road.

A family affair

The museum opened its new exhibition, “The Ouilmettes: A Retelling,” on May 4 as the Wilmette History Museum’s first full-scale exhibit about the Ouilmette family.

Told through photographs, artifacts, artwork and projected images, the exhibit captures the legacies of Antoine and Archange Ouilmette, who owned more than 1,000 acres of land — much of which is now Wilmette — and their eight children.

“We’re hoping this is an exhibit that continually grows and changes and is added to,” Ramirez said. “We have a couple of items that are loaned from a descendant of the Ouilmettes, and so we’re hoping to add to that whether people have more photos of their ancestors or remembrances of them. … The sky’s the limit.”

Ramirez said curating this exhibition was a challenge due to the early time period on which the exhibit focuses. (Antoine and Archange Ouilmette lived in the area during the 1830s.) Figuring out how to present things in an interesting way when you don’t have many physical items forced the staff to think outside the box.

Since the exhibit’s inception, Ramirez said several descendants of the Ouilmettes have stopped in to look around, something that the staff was hoping for when deciding on the exhibition.

The Village held its 150th anniversary celebration in 2022, which Ramirez said got her thinking about the current exhibition. During the celebratory year, a plaque was installed on a rock in Gillson Park to commemorate the Ouilmette cabin. But Ramirez said the plaque was focused more on Antoine, the husband, and largely ignored Archange, the wife.

“Even though I was sort of just sitting watching that process, I found that really interesting,” Ramirez said. “When we started to think about the exhibit more we realized ‘Oh we’ve never done a full scale exhibit on this family in the museum before … but wouldn’t it be interesting to see if we could put together an exhibit now, given that this has been something that the museum has been talking about and thinking about and collecting things about for so many decades.’”

The exhibit, located in the museum’s first floor rotating gallery, does not have a set end date. All of the Wilmette History Museum’s exhibitions are free and open to the public during operating hours: 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

Housewalk fundraiser returns

The Wilmette History Museum also hosted its annual Housewalk, the organization’s first since the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 29.

Ramirez said attendees were glad the museum brought back the event; though some missed the garden walk that replaced it in the years following COVID. Many residents have made it an annual tradition to attend the fundraiser with family and friends, Ramirez added.

As the museum’s only large fundraiser, Ramirez said the event raised just shy of $13,000. Proceeds go toward all aspects of the museum’s programming including paying speakers and purchasing new technology for exhibits.

The event attracted nearly 300 attendees who visited four houses in east Wilmette — two on Greenwood Avenue, one on Sheridan Road and one on Michigan Avenue — each with a different style.

“Everyone was in high spirits. Everyone seemed happy to be there. It’s kind of unique. I mean when else would you get to just walk around in someone else’s house that you don’t know,” Ramirez said. “So I think that was my favorite part of it, just seeing everyone’s excitement.”

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.