"One of our most enduring cooperative arrangements has been... our partnership with the Kane County Forest Preserve Commission," we wrote in our newsletter in June of 1988. "Without the cooperation of the Forest Preserve," the article continued, "the restoration of the Durant-Peterson House could not have happened."
Our collaboration with the Forest Preserve began in 1972 when those who would become founders of our organization in 1974 asked for the Durant-Peterson House to be restored rather than demolished. With money raised and funds from the Forest Preserve, the Durant-Peterson House was able to open as a museum in 1973. Ongoing maintenance on the museum continued by the Forest Preserve while we fundraised to cover the museum's operational costs. In 1988, the Forest Preserve began providing some of the funding for these operational expenses.
As our relationship grew, the Forest Preserve hired us to also operate the Fabyan Villa Museum (1995), Fabyan Japanese Garden (2002), and Sholes School (2018). The Forest Preserve has been an outstanding partner in preserving and maintaining these historic structures which help teach the history of Kane County.
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SOURCES: "We Can't Do It Alone!" Restoration Advocate 7, no. 2 (June 1988): 2; "A Gift for All Seasons," Restoration Advocate 7, no. 4 (December 1988): 3.