Ellwood House Museum Assistant Director Audrey King shared the many aspects of their operations during this week’s Rotary meeting. The museum itself sits on 10 acres near downtown DeKalb with seven buildings including two mansions, a children’s playhouse, and a large garage converted to exhibit space. Property is maintained by the DeKalb Park District with the non-profit Ellwood House Association managing programs and operations. King says she came to the museum eight years ago and has seen steady expansion of their mission to preserve the structures, tell the story of Isaac Ellwood and the mass production of barbed wire, plus weave in special local historical connections to people and events which includes a lecture series in collaboration with the DeKalb County History Museum.
King spoke about several of the special features of the property. For example, there are six architectural styles identified as part of the main mansion which went through three major renovations during the time it was used by the Ellwoods. For the holidays, King said they set up 40 Christmas trees. King also said they are always searching for those hidden passages or hiding places that are part of old houses and can be lost from view for decades. Likewise, while researching local links to history, King said they uncovered information about Sergeant Hattie Jackson of Sycamore who was part of the “Six-Triple-Eight” all-black, all female battalion in World War II featured in the recent popular movie.for their superior work in overcoming a backlog in mail delivery.
Details on tours and events at the Ellwood House are available from their website www.elwoodhouse.org.