#naper settlement

Spent a little time yesterday out at the @napersettlement to check out an exhibit featuring their costume collection and saw this note on display. The author (swipe for more details) writes of making a dress with a nice full skirt and narrow sleeves (which were probably all the rage at the time) but made them too long and they hung on her hands. She recalls, “Oh, how I hated those sleeves!”

Alexander Hamilton Traveling Exhibit Visits Naper Settlement Sept. 13-Oct. 12 (Positively Naperville):

At the same time ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’ is hitting the Chicago stage, Naper Settlement is celebrating Alexander Hamilton’s history with a traveling exhibit. The Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America exhibit will be on view at Naper Settlement from Sept. 13 to Oct. 12, featuring reproductions from the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

This exhibit gives an in-depth look into the founding father’s life who helped shape the America we live in today. This exhibit is free with daily museum admission, which is $12 adults, $10 seniors (62+) and $8 youth (4-12). Naperville residents (with proof of residency) and members receive free admission.

“We’re so fortunate to have this exhibit come to Naper Settlement during a time that so many people are interested in learning more about Alexander Hamilton,” said Vice President of Community Engagement and Audience Donna Sack. “The Broadway musical did a fantastic job of getting more people curious about our founding fathers, and we’re excited to bring Hamilton’s story to Naperville.”

This exhibition examines Hamilton’s important role in the Revolutionary War and Early Republic periods. Follow Hamilton’s an astonishing rise in five short years from an orphaned, 15-year-old West Indies immigrant to George Washington’s war time aide. Never one to back away from a fight, political or otherwise, Hamilton fought his final duel at the age of 47 with Vice President Aaron Burr. Once the duel was over, Hamilton was found dead and Burr was wanted for murder. More than any other founder, Hamilton was a complex and controversial figure and a true visionary.

Local Naperville collectors, Hillary and Todd Andrlik, are lending two original newspapers and a map from the time of Alexander Hamilton.

The first newspaper is a 1775 New York Gazetteer and the second is the New York Packet from July 4, 1776 and is one of only four still in existence. Newspapers at this time were released weekly and were often taken up and down the colonies. Although the news may not have been the most recent, these newspapers were incredibly important to the people receiving them.

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Maple Sugaring Spring Fever

Welcome warmer weather and shake off cabin fever during Naper Settlement’s annual tribute to the changing of the seasons. Learn the time-honored method of collecting sap the old-fashioned way and see a maple tree tapping demonstration. Enjoy hands-on activities and presentations that recount Illinois’ Native American heritage and pioneer past and try a tasty maple treat. Each of the historic…