Oswego's Little White School Museum Celebrates 175 Years

OSWEGO, IL — Oswego's Little White School Museum turns 175 this year. The anniversary will be marked with a new exhibit about the building's history.

Titled "Restoring the Little White School Museum: 175 Years of Community," the free exhibit will open Thursday evening at the museum located at 72 Polk St., just two blocks east of the historic downtown business district.

First completed in 1850, the Little White School Museum started as a Methodist-Episcopal church before spending half a century as a school building. After becoming a derelict building in 1976, the nonprofit Oswegoland Heritage Association began a 25-year restoration project, completed in 2002, to preserve the iconic structure.

Now, the museum is a joint project between the nonprofit and the Oswegoland Park District.

The exhibit, designed and mounted by museum coordinator Joe Noce and museum assistant Emily Dutton, will explore the building's journey with documents, artifacts and stories from its eventful life.

The museum is open regularly from 2-6:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and from 4-9 p.m. Mondays. Donations are "always gratefully accepted" to help maintain artifacts related to the Oswego area's history.