The Long Grove Historical Society was formed in March, 1974, to accept the Drexler Tavern building as a gift. A joint project with the Village Board made possible the relocation of the tavern to a site behind the current Kildeer Countryside School. Today we know the building not as Drexler Tavern, but simply as Village Hall. Two additional structures have also been relocated to this area – one of the area’s one room schoolhouses, Archer School, and a mid-1800’s barn, Ruth Barn. The school and the barn form the core of the program we run each year for our local schools, so that our children can experience first hand what life used to be like in Long Grove. Last, but not least, a mid-1800’s farm house was relocated to an area bordering the southwest corner of the Stemple Parking lot. “The Farmhouse”, as we refer to it, houses our archives, a meeting room, and several restored “period” rooms that we open occasionally for tours. In addition to maintaining the above properties and our educational programs, we actively acquire items of local historic interest for our archives and conduct a variety of historical programs for current residents. We are a 501C3 charity and receive no tax dollars – existing solely from your contributions and our own fundraising efforts. Thank you for your support!

Looking for an opportunity for a little local socialization and community service? You might consider joining the Long Grove Historical Society Board and experience first hand the adventures of a noble not-for-profit trying to preserve local history in the onslaught of relentless plagues and progress. Seriously, though, our board is a group of a dozen volunteers who meet seven or eight times a year for an hour or two. It’s been Zoom calls lately, of course, but we look forward to being able to get back together in person when it’s safe to do so. Aside from ongoing preservation efforts, we also organize activities and events to share our history. The Halloween Ghost Walk through the downtown and the late summer Penny Carnival at our historic Farmhouse have been popular annual events.

Interested? Drop us an email and we’ll be in touch to answer any questions or let you know how to attend one of our meetings to see what we’re all about.

You can find back issues of our quarterly newsletters at the link below:
Back issues of The Long Grove Times