All Stories
The Way We Were: Cock Robin ice cream shop went into the history books in 2000, but its story dates back to 1931
With warm weather fast approaching, we turn our attention to one of summer's best-loved treats: ice cream. Quite a bit of ice cream was once produced in Naperville and enjoyed...
The Way We Were: 68 years ago, old TB treatment center became Naperville’s first medical center — Edward Hospital
Before it became Edward Hospital 68 years ago, the medical facility on Washington Street was known as Edward Sanatorium, a place where people with tuberculosis — then a major disease...
The Way We Were: If not for the lack of a train station, North Central College would still be in Plainfield
Before it became a fixture in downtown Naperville, North Central College's humble beginnings can be traced back to 1861 in neighboring Plainfield.
The Way We Were: Kroehler Manfacturing Company, formerly one of largest employer in Naperville, was a WWII military vendor. Company produced prosthetics and Gold Stars for fallen soldiers.
Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement. By Steve Metsch and Andrea Field World War II saw many manufacturing...
The Way We Were: For decades, downtown Naperville was home to dry goods stores and cleaners and pharmacies, not retailers and restaurants
One of the most photographed locations in downtown Naperville is the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street, which has seen many changes over the years. The red brick...
The Way We Were: For nearly 100 years, Naperville farmers would face off in plowing competions to test their strength, skill and concentration
The Wheatland Plowing Match Association was formed in 1877 as a nod to one of the most physically demanding tasks performed by farmers, and for many years an annual competition...
The Way We Were: Naperville was no one-horse town when it came to buying and selling horseflesh in the late 1800s
If you were in the market for a horse, there was no better place to buy one than downtown Naperville in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Monthly horse sales...
The Way We Were: Old-time family club committed members to ‘betterment’ of Naperville through soil, buildings, livestock, homes and community
The Rural Life Progress Club played a big role in Naperville and the surrounding community for more than 50 years.
The Way We Were: Huge Naperville brewery thrived for more than 40 years before becoming a mushroom farm
These days, you can find all sorts of craft brews at local liquor stores but back in the 1800s, you could find beer brewed right here in Naperville. Over the...
The Way We Were: Take a look at what downtown Naperville looked like in the 1940s (Beidelman’s still there)
The more things change, the more they remain the same, or so the saying goes. Consider today’s photo – believed to date from the 1940s – which looks north on...