A few weeks ago, I was walking through the neighborhood and noticed the Roselle Historical Museum,…read moreacross the street from the village hall and police station. I almost missed it since it looks like every other house on the street, with the exception of the sign out front. I noted the hours (only open on Sunday afternoons from 2p-4p) and made a point to come here the next free Sunday afternoon my husband and I had -- which was a week ago.
We anticipated being there for about twenty minutes, not an hour and a half!
The museum is actually two houses -- the Sumner House and the Richter House. The smaller one in the back looked closed so we walked up a path to the back door of the larger house and were greeted by a man that seemed very happy to see us. He offered to unlock the small house and give us a tour. I love walking through older houses, so I was excited about this.
The small house, which belonged to the Richter family, is pleasantly small with a parlor, sunny kitchen, pantry, and a second floor with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a children's play area. It reminded me of my grandmother's house (the smell of... mothballs? age? what is it?). Family photos and relics were everywhere. The children's play area was littered with many vintage toys and dolls, almost giving off a creepy aura. I could just imagine a doll's head turning around slowly or the scooter rolling across the floor on its own.
ANYWAY. The man gave us a very informative tour with different stories and random bits of information. An interesting tidbit about the Richter house: it was built in 1878 and relocated to the museum campus in 1996. Mrs. Richter remained in her home, even after its relocation, until her death in November 1999, when she was 105 years of age. With Mrs. Richter's blessing, the house was restored to represent a Roselle working man's home during the 1920s. Approximately 85 percent of the artifacts in the house belonged to Mrs. Richter. Cool, huh? (And a little bit creepy?)
After the man locked up the doors, we headed back to the Sumner House and proceeded to explore on our own. The house, which belonged to several families over the years, was eventually turned into a historical museum. It has various exhibits of different businesses and organizations from every decade since Roselle was established.
Downstairs, there is a general store, a barber shop, a room devoted to a 1950's diner that was popular in Roselle but doesn't exist anymore (sad!), a HUGE map of Roselle decorated with old photos of different sites, and a timeline room, which has artifacts, news, and information from Roselle as time progressed. Upstairs, each little room was devoted to different things: farms, military, boy scouts & girl scouts, police & fire departments, and schools & churches. All the rooms had many pictures and artifacts with so much information!
If you live in town, you need to make this place a Sunday afternoon destination. You'll leave with a different view of this town and a nostalgia for things that don't exist anymore.
Oh, and watch out for the mannequins! They pop up everywhere.
Who knew that Roselle had so much history!? Now I do.
