Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove shares three of its cherished artifacts

We recently asked the staff at the Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove to consider which artifacts on display in the museum's closed galleries they would most like to share with the public when the doors reopen after this socially-distant time.

Debbie Fandrei, museum curator, shared these three favorites.

School desks, circa 1890s

These school desks would have been similar to the ones used in the one-room schools that served Buffalo Grove students from the 1860s through the 1930s.

Although the desks were built in the 1890s, they were so sturdy they were able to serve generations of students. This was important, since the one-room schools were in use all the way up through World War II.

The first multi-classroom public school in Buffalo Grove was not built until the early 1950s.

Sunbeam mixer, 1958

This mixer was a wedding present to local residents in 1958. Shortly after that, the young couple moved to Buffalo Grove. They raised six children, retired, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and only then did the mixer stop working. They donated it to the museum and purchased a new one to get them through the next 50 years.

Photo mural of Buffalo Grove, 1961

This giant aerial photo (six feet long!) shows Buffalo Grove just on the brink of transforming into the suburb it is today. Taken in 1961, it shows the first housing development, the first new public school, and the village's plans for the future - parks and new streets are painted in. What's not in the picture? Traffic! Lake-Cook Road did not exist yet, which is always very surprising to visitors trying to place themselves on the map.

About the museum

The Raupp Museum is a history museum in Buffalo Grove. A facility of the Buffalo Grove Park District, the Raupp Museum is open year-round, with two exhibit galleries that tell the history of Buffalo Grove and a third gallery that features changing exhibits.

The next exhibit to be featured in summer 2020 will be Cloth as Community, featuring textiles from Hmong artists, as well as examples of local textile art.

The museum is at 901 Dunham Lane, Buffalo Grove. For details, call (847) 850-2135 or email museum@bgparks.org.