Evanston History Center History

On November 12, 1898, a group of Evanston residents met to form the Evanston Historical Society (EHS). On November 29th they held a community meeting at the Evanston Public Library and elected the organization’s first directors: Harvey Hurd (president), John W. Thompson, J. Seymour Currey (secretary), Walter Lee Brown (treasurer), William A. Phillips (vice president), Frank R. Grover, and Emma Winner Rogers. They set membership dues at $1 annually or $25 for life members. Their stated object was:

"To collect and preserve the materials and history concerning the city of Evanston and vicinity, and to disseminate historical information."

It was Frank Grover who had started the discussion about the need for a historical society with a letter to the editor of the Evanston Index published in May 1897. He shared his concern that the community’s history was on the verge of being lost. He told of rescuing an 1850s record book that documented the earliest years of Ridgeville Township (the original name of Evanston Township) from a “heap of rubbish.” He could envision everything else that was not being rescued. (This record book was the first “accession” to the EHS collection, given at the founding meeting of the organization, and it is on display in our “Milestones and Memories” exhibit on the 2nd floor of the Dawes House.)

Founded out of a concern to preserve the earliest history of the community, the Evanston Historical Society, now Evanston History Center, has evolved to carry a much broader focus. But its original mission to preserve, collect, and educate remains much the same today.

Click here to read more on the first 30 years of the Evanston Historical Society

Click here to see a timeline of the Evanston Historical Society