Naper Settlement is an award-winning, outdoor history museum offering visitors 13 acres of educational programs, exhibits, guided tours, and special events. Whether watching the blacksmith at the forge or sitting down for a lesson in our one-room schoolhouse, visitors are immersed in history as they learn about the past and how it relates to the present. Explore our interactive exhibits including the newly reimagined Building Naperville: Tallgrass Prairie to Today. On view through December 2024, celebrate the Naperville Fire Department’s 150th anniversary with a look back at the department’s history in a thought-provoking new exhibit, A Strong Back and A Strong Mind.
Over the past 150 years, the Naperville Fire Department has grown from a group
of dedicated volunteers to a highly trained and specialized all-hazards response team. This fire helmet was one of the department's earliest forms of protective equipment. Learn More
Hannah Ditzler Alspaugh's fabric scrapbook provides insight into moments in time that would otherwise be lost. Begun in 1887, but containing swatches going back to the Civil War, this scrapbook contains nearly 50 years of Naperville history. Learn More
During the 1980s, Antonia C. Harlan moved to Naperville with her young family. She started collecting cultural materials from around the world to create an exhibit available to teachers and students that focused on celebrating our diversity. Learn More
