Mission

The mission of the Highland Park Historical Society is to preserve our community’s past, to inspire an appreciation of our history and culture and share with the community and scholars the rich history of Highland Park, Illinois.

The Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors. Archives and research collections are housed in the Highland Park Public Library.  Artwork and artifacts are housed off-site and accessed by appointment.

Board of Directors

V. Robert Rotering*, President

Julie Ehrlich*, Esq., Vice President and Secretary

Jeffrey L Stern*

Catherine Lambrecht, Program Director

Archivist

Nancy Webster

*Executive Board

Museums

The Highland Park Historical Society maintains and preserves two historic structures:  Francis Stupey Cabin and Robert G. Robinison Bandstand.  Click on each image below for more information on each site.

Exhibits and Education

Throughout the year, the Society hosts lectures and educational events at our historic sites as well as throughout the community.   Educational Field Trips are conducted throughout the year and Teacher Toolkits are available by appointment.

Highland Park Archives and Local History Collections, a Community Collaboration.

The Collections documents the distinct, diverse community of Highland Park and its inhabitants through government records, organizational records, family interviews, papers, correspondence and images, photography collections, maps, and much more in both digital and physical formats.

This valuable community resource is housed at the Library, and additional resources can be accessed via the Library’s website at hplibrary.org/archives-5304. Whether for research or for exploration and discovery, HPALHC ensures that the history of Highland Park is available and accessible. To preserve this history and enhance the collection, HPALHC welcomes contributions of historical documents and/or artifacts pertaining to Highland Park.

Together, let’s preserve Highland Park’s history.

Highland Park Historical Society
Email : archives at highlandparkhistory.org
P.O. Box 331
Highland Park, IL 60035
Telephone: 847.432.7090

Some collections of note:

• Highland Park City Records; and local collections documenting architecture, business, progressive and vocational education in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cultural life, and photography.
• Jesse Lowe Smith Collections
• Women’s Clubs Collections
• Ravina Festival programs
• Artifacts and Artwork

In 2010 the Society became the recipient of an $86,000 Basic Processing and Preservation Planning Project matching grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the granting agency of the National Archives and Records Administration. This grant has allowed us to focus on organizing, preserving and making the Collections accessible to the public online.

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE CATALOG

*denotes Executive Board