Graue Mill & Museum, Illinois, United States
4.5 (79 reviews) Monday: Spent Ranking #3 in DuPage County Speciality Museums
A step back in time
This was an interesting museum. I was looking for cultural things to do while visiting Lombard for the weekend. The large mill had several historical facts. There was a live demonstration of the stone wheel grinding corn into corn meal. There are three stories, with the top two being a museum and the basement floor part of the Underground Railroad station shop. Taking back into little known American History were relics of the slave trade. The museum entrance fee was $6 for adults. The outside grounds were kept nicely and there was a short trail along the river.
Address
3800 York Rd, Oak Brook, IL 60523-2738
Mobile
Website
http://www.grauemill.org/
Working hours
Monday :
Tuesday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday : 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Current local date and time now
Monday, May 13, 2024, 18:20
User Ratings
4.5 based on (79 reviews)
Reviews
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5Taylor B 5:00 PM Jun 5, 2022
One of two operating water-powered gristmills in Illinois
The Graue Mill and Museum is located at 3800 South York Road in Oak Brook, Illinois, northwest of the junction of Spring and York Roads, on the banks of Salt Creek, surrounded by Fullersburg Woods. The mill is a water-powered grist mill that was originally erected in 1852. Now a museum, it is one of two operating water-powered grist mills in Illinois. The other is located in Franklin Creek. The Graue Mill, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, is open to the public and continues to grind grain which can be purchased at the site. Historically, the mill is one of three authenticated Illinois stops on the Underground Railroad, the subversive movement that helped fugitive slaves escape from the American South to Canada. It operated in eastern Du Page County under three generations of the Graue family for nearly 60 years. In the 1910s, advances in milling technology, particularly the invention of steel rolling mills, drove the Graue mill out of business. It was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934-1943 and opened to the public as a working historic site in 1951. It was recognized as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1981.
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4Mariann D 5:00 PM Jul 2, 2020
Nice spot to take the kids.
My 8 y/o daughter and I really enjoyed this museum. Staff was friendly & informative. This is advertised in a small yellow book of museums for kids. A year later my daughter still remembers much she learned. Difficult for allergy sufferers as the house is 200 years old.
