History museum invites residents to study Roselle’s past

The Roselle History Museum opened its doors Sunday to spread some holiday cheer and give residents a chance to see what the museum has to offer.

The annual Christmas Open House Sunday afternoon invited visitors to tour the museum buildings, which were decorated for the holidays, and enjoy homemade cookies.

“It’s one of our two big community events,” historian Joan Beauprez said. “We love it when people who haven’t visited before stop by and see what we do.”

The main museum building, known as the Sumner house, includes exhibits and artifacts that show what life was like in Roselle and the surrounding area throughout the decades. Many of the rooms are built around themes such as “the ’50s room,” which is filled with magazines, clothes and pop-culture artifacts from that decade. The house is located at the corner of Prospect and Elm, across the street from Roselle’s village hall.

Visitors also got a chance to tour the adjacent Richter House, which has been preserved and decorated to look like a 1920s dwelling. Both buildings are named after residents who lived in them.

Milan Bagel, a member of the museum’s board of directors, said it can be challenging to interest people in such historical attractions.

“I wish more people took the time to visit us,” he said. “We’re actually very lucky to have these buildings and history preserved for us.”

Beauprez agreed, but added she was pleased with Sunday’s turnout.

“This has been one of our better years,” she said.