Try your hand at 'Textiles & Tools,' 19th century-style, at the Durant-Peterson House

Posted June 13, 2023 11:00 pm

Submitted by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

Learn how a spinning wheel works at the "Textiles & Tools" history event on Sunday, June 18, at the Durant-Peterson House in St. Charles. Courtesy of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

Discover how families worked with wool, flax, and cotton to spin, weave, and stitch as they created textiles in the 1800s with demonstrations on tape weaving, lacemaking, then try your own hand with a thread and needle.

Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley invites the community to "Textiles & Tools" on Sunday, June 18.

Pioneer children learned how to weave with small portable tape looms, making decorative ribbons, ties or trim. Courtesy of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

Stop by between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Durant-Peterson House and Sholes School Museums, located in LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles.

At the Durant-Peterson House, learn about some of the important tools in the pioneer's life and watch how they are used. Then, try out one of these tools, like an old-fashioned wringer washing machine.

At the Sholes School, learn the craft of paper-weaving and create your own artwork to take home. Hear how the one-room schoolhouse serviced the educational needs of the farming community. Use slate pencils to write and draw on old fashioned slate chalkboards.

See how hand carders prepare wool for spinning at "Textiles & Tools" on Sunday, June 18, at the Durant-Peterson House in St. Charles. Courtesy of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

There is a suggested donation of $3 for adults or $1 for youth, age 18 or younger. This includes demonstrations and activities at both the Durant-Peterson House and Sholes School.

The 1843 Durant-Peterson House offers special hands-on-history programs throughout the year designed to highlight a prairie family's routines of work and play. A visit to the house offers a unique historical experience. Costumed docents bring the past to life interpreting the prairie pioneer experience in this Nationally Registered historic site.

Learn about the different stages of processing fiber into yarn, starting with the raw fleece, upper right, to the ball of yarn. Courtesy of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

The 1872 Pioneer Sholes School Restoration Society operated the school as a museum until 2019 when operations were turned over to Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley who also operate the Durant-Peterson House Museum through a collaboration with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.

For information, visit ppfv.org or facebook.com/PreservationPartners.

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