Preserving the Past

For Our Future

Established in 1955, the Libertyville Historical Society collects and preserves historical material and information relative to the Libertyville area. The 1878 Ansel B. Cook Home, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to the society’s archives and museum.

2025 Summer Open Houses
Every Sunday in June, July and August, 2 - 4 p.m.

Docent-led tours. No reservation required.

Additionally open: Saturday, June 14, 2-4pm and Saturday, August 2, 2-4pm

$5/adults, kids FREE!

2025 Special Exhibits Include:

  • Civil War era dresses from a private collection

  • Civil War items from the Libertyville Historical Society collection

  • Hawthorn-Mellody Farm memorabilia in the Libertyville History Gallery

2025 Lakeside Cemetery Walk

Saturday, September 6
2:00pm, 2:20pm, 2:40pm, 3pm
$5/Society members, $10/non-members

The 1860 Wide Awakes

The Libertyville Historical Society and the Lakeside Cemetery Association invite you to the 4th annual cemetery walk. This year will feature the lives and legacies of six Libertyville residents with ties to the 1860 Wide Awakes banner on display in the Ansel B. Cook Home.

The banner represents Libertyville's leadership role in a nationwide movement that helped elect Abraham Lincoln. The Libertyville Wide Awakes earned this one-of-a kind silk banner by having the largest marching delegation, compared to the number of town Republican votes in 1858, at an October 2, 1860 rally in Chicago, coming out ahead of many other Wide Awakes companies from all over Lake County, Illinois, and the Midwest.

Join the 60-minute tour to ’meet’ James Hutchinson, Isaac Heath, R.H. French, Edwin Parkhurst, J.S. Messer, and Elmer Dusenberry.

The Wide Awakes Banner Restoration

Liberty & Union Campaign

An item of invaluable historical significance to Libertyville and Lake County with a connection to a nation-changing moment in U.S. history is in need of restoration.

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Click a photo to learn more.

Weather forecast for next Saturday is dry and 68 degrees! Great day for the cemetery walk. Reserve your spot at http://libertyvillehistory.org.
Don't miss out on the chance to see the Civil War era clothing on display at the Ansel B. Cook Home this summer. The final 2025 summer open house is this Sunday, August 31 between 2pm and 4pm. $5/adult, kids free.
Thank you to the Daily Herald for promoting the 2025 Lakeside Cemetery Walk. https://www.dailyherald.com/.../1860-wide-awakes.../ Reserve your spot today! libertyvillehistory.org
Our Lakeside Cemetery Walk tour guides did a run-through this weekend for the September 6 event. We're ready! Make sure to reserve your space at 2:00, 2:20, 2:40 or 3pm! Register: https://libertyvillehistoricalsociety.as.me/
Only two more chances to see the Civil War era dresses on display this summer. The Ansel B. Cook Home is open today and next Sunday from 2pm to 4pm. $5/adults, kids free.
The 4th annual Lakeside Cemetery walk is Saturday, September 6. Tours start at 2pm, 2:20pm, 2:40pm, and 3pm. Join the 60-minute tour to ’meet’ James Hutchinson, Isaac Heath, R.H. French, Edwin Parkhurst, J.S. Messer, and Elmer Dusenberry