Stop by for a Tour on Thursdays and Sundays!
Starting Thursday June 6th the Willard House will be open for tours on Thursdays and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Admission is $10, students $5, and children under 6 are free. FWHM members receive free tour entry! Special and group tours are available at other times upon request. We also offer tours designed for school groups and youth organizations. Email tours@franceswillardhouse.org
Tell Us What You Know about Prohibition
Help us plan an upcoming exhibit by taking a few minutes to fill out this form Thank you!
Dry Evanston: The Untold Story
Dry Evanston: The Untold Story, a new exhibit at the Evanston History Center in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the 18th (Prohibition) Amendment, reveals how Evanston took on the fight against alcohol, from its founding in the 1850s through the 20th century. Featuring items from the Willard House and WCTU Archives collections, the exhibit is open from June 2019 through January 2020.
Special joint tours of the Willard House, are offered in conjunction with the exhibit. Purchase an admission to either the Willard House or the history center to receive your coupon for half-off tours at the other museum.
New “Past is Present” Blog Posts
To learn more about how historic issues are connected to current events, check out recent posts in our new series, The Past is Present. Equal Pay for Equal Work by Elisabeth Hagemann, FWHM Collections and Development Intern, discusses Equal Pay Day and its link to Frances Willard and the WCTU. The Silent Steed So Swift and Blithesome by Cate LiaBraaten, FWHM Museum Operations Manager, shares the history of bicycling for women. You can find posts at this link.
Truth Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells
A Community History Project of the Frances Willard House Museum and Archives
In the 1890s, Woman’s Christian Temperance Union President Frances Willard and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells fought a war of words in the international press over Willard’s lack of public support for Wells’ anti-lynching campaign. Wells called Willard’s moral leadership into question and demanded that Willard and the WCTU join her anti-lynching campaign. Under Willard’s leadership, the WCTU eventually passed resolutions opposing lynching, but Willard’s language and actions complicate her legacy.
Truth Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells is a community history project that explores this conflict. The project includes a digital exhibit of original archival sources, community conversations, and public programs. The goal of the project is to uncover the full truth of the conflict, and explore its many meanings and ramifications for our world today.
To visit the new website, click here.