Three new exhibitions at the DuPage County Historical Museum spotlight Wheaton figures and DuPage County milestones, with a fourth show arriving later this month.
The shows are open now at the museum, 102 E. Wesley St., under the 2026 theme "DuPage Identified." Each explores how county residents have expressed their identities, according to museum curator Emily O'Brien.
Admission is free.
The veterans exhibition, "Serving With Honor: DuPage County Veterans," features a diorama of Solon P. Thomas, whom O'Brien described as a Black Wheaton resident who served during the Spanish-American War. Staff built the scene inside an exhibit case, recreating a photograph of Thomas at one of his military camps.
"We were able to take a deeper look into the life of Solon P. Thomas … and tell his story on a much more personal level than we're normally able to," O'Brien told Naperville Magazine. The museum reconnected with the donor of Thomas's artifacts, who turned out to be a distant relative. The show also displays the uniforms of Naperville residents Aviation Machinist Mate Warren J. Bailey of the U.S. Navy and Sgt. Laura R. Kearns of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. "Serving With Honor" runs into spring 2027.
A second exhibition, "Defining US: The 250th Anniversary of the United States," marks the nation's 250th birthday with artifacts tied to local residents. Among them is a Civil War-era Bible on loan from the Elmhurst History Museum. The Bible belonged to Elmhurst resident Prescott Talbot, who carried it during the war, and contains an inscription describing its importance to him. That show also runs into spring 2027.
The third exhibition, "The Mother Road & Iconic DuPage Firsts," pairs Route 66's 100th anniversary with DuPage County milestones. The exhibit highlights the Chicago Golf Club, the Illinois Prairie Path as the nation's first rails-to-trails conversion, and Marcellus Jones, credited with firing the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Jones settled in Wheaton after the Civil War and served as DuPage County sheriff and Wheaton postmaster. He died in Wheaton in 1900 and is buried at Wheaton Cemetery.
Staff member Beth Frederick and volunteer Dan Swick put together the Route 66 show in collaboration with the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Working with Dan Swick for this exhibit has been wonderful," Frederick said in a July 24 Wheaton Park District post previewing the exhibit. "The Mother Road" runs through Nov. 14.
A fourth show, "Out of the Box: History from Head to Toe," opens Saturday, Sept. 12 and runs through May 29, 2027. It showcases hats, shoes, jewelry, outerwear and other accessories DuPage County residents used to express themselves. O'Brien said the exhibit space will resemble a vintage downtown storefront, drawing on early 20th-century photographs of shoppers.
The museum, a facility of the Wheaton Park District, is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and weekends, noon to 4 p.m. Details are at dupagemuseum.org.
Upcoming community events
- Saturday, Sept. 12: "Out of the Box: History from Head to Toe" opens at the DuPage County Historical Museum, 102 E. Wesley St., Wheaton. Free admission.
- Saturday, Sept. 26: Wheaton block party, downtown Wheaton.
