Take in historical sights of Wilmette, Evanston with Mount Prospect Historical Society bus trip
The Mount Prospect Historical Society is offering a daylong bus trip to explore historic delights in the Northern suburbs of Evanston and Wilmette Saturday, May 14.
Participation is open to the public and seats may be reserved at www.mtphist.org or by calling (847) 392-9006.
The tour will leave Mount Prospect at 9 a.m. and proceed to the picturesque home of Frances Willard, a founder and president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and the mansion of Charles G. Dawes, who served as Calvin Coolidge's vice president.
The Frances Willard house was built in 1865. The author and activist lived and worked in this house during the years of her presidency of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. For many of those years, the house also served as an informal national headquarters for the WCTU and a boardinghouse for its workers.
The nearby lakefront Dawes mansion was, from 1909 until his death in 1951, the home of Charles Gates Dawes and his family. Dawes earned the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize for his plan to alleviate the crushing burden of war reparations that Germany was required to pay after World War I.
He also served as President Calvin Coolidge's vice president, a general during World War I and as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain from 1929 to 1931.
After lunch on their own in Evanston, tour participants will enjoy a private tour of Wilmette's renowned Baha'i House of Worship, an architectural masterpiece built over a 30-year span from 1921 to 1951.
It was dedicated in 1953 and has received many architectural awards. In fact, in 1978 it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places, and in 2007 the Illinois Bureau of Tourism named it one of the "Seven Wonders of Illinois."
Tickets for the May 14 trip are $67 per person, which includes tour admissions and bus transportation. The tour bus will depart from the Historical Society, 101 S. Maple St., promptly at 9 a.m. and is expected to return back there by 5 p.m. Lunch will be on your own. Comfortable clothing and shoes are strongly urged.
The society will follow all CDC COVID-19 recommendations in effect at the time of the tour, so be prepared to wear a mask on the bus and during the tours, if that is required at the time.
Space is limited.