The Durant-Peterson House Museum is the original homestead of Bryant and Jerusha Durant, built in 1843. Your visit becomes a step back in time to the 19th century with first-hand experiences of life as a pioneer on the Illinois prairie! Smell savory dishes sizzling over the hearth. Hear the laughter of children playing games in the parlor. Taste heirloom recipes from the Durant and Peterson families’ cookbooks.

A tour through the house offers a unique historical experience with adult and junior docents in period dress and many opportunities for hands-on interaction.

On most days the Durant-Peterson House is open, so is the Sholes School Museum which is located about 250 steps away, also within the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve.

Group tours are available throughout the year and are specifically tailored to complement your group’s interests. During our group tours we also offer a hands-on history activity!

The Durant-Peterson House Museum is a favorite spot for field trips and scouting groups. Clubs and organizations looking for an educational experience at a beautiful historic destination can enjoy a short private tour or an extended experience with one of our tried-and-true themes. Click here for more specific information:

School Field Trips

Home School Field Trips

Scout Groups

Senior Visits (coming soon!)

The minimum amount of $50 for schools and scouts or $100 for other groups is required as a deposit to hold your date. For additional terms and information about our group tours, please see our Fee Schedule.

For any questions or additional information, email durantandsholes@ppfv.org or call 630-377-6424.

Wheelchair accessibility limited.

Access to the inside of the Durant-Peterson House Museum is by stairs only. A gravel access road leads to the museum from the parking lot but is not accessible by vehicle. Oftentimes some of our activities are outside the museum on the lawn north of the house.

Please see this photo chart for details on accessibility for the Museum.

For more information about accessibility, please email durantandsholes@ppfv.org or call 630-377-6424.

In 1837, Bryant Durant moved from Massachusetts to northern Illinois and constructed this prairie farmhouse just prior to his marriage to Jerusha Shurtleff in 1843. The Durants had six children, all of whom were born and raised in the little brick house.

In the 1880s Godfrey and Christina Peterson purchased the property and added a modern Victorian kitchen on to the west of the house. The Petersons also had six children.

The Durant-Peterson House was rescued in the early 1970s after decades of neglect. Visionary members of the Thornapple Questers, a local historic preservation group, recognized the homestead’s value as a vital part of our shared history and, with the help of Restorations of Kane County (known today as Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley), completed an authentic restoration in the mid-70s.

Today, the Durant-Peterson House is recognized as Kane County’s own “Little House on the Prairie.” The Museum can be enjoyed in all seasons with special hands-on-history programs throughout the year designed to highlight a prairie family’s routines of work and play. A visit to the house offers a unique historical experience. Costumed docents bring the past to life interpreting the prairie pioneer experience in this Nationally Registered historic site.

Help bring the 19th century Illinois prairie to life as a trained adult or junior docent at the Durant-Peterson House Museum. For more information, visit our Volunteer Page.