Our History
The Mission of the Grundy County Historical Society is to provide a permanent location to house, preserve, and display objects pertaining to the county’s past including items of a cultural, social, geological, and anthropological nature.
The Historical Society was organized in 1923. The initial collection was displayed in a few handmade cases in the basement of the Grundy County Courthouse. Eventually in 2001, the Society rented a storefront on Liberty Street in Morris.
Then, in 2008, space was purchased in the historic Coleman Hardware Building and our Museum was fully realized. After 84 years, the collection finally had a permanent home. In 2018 we added an additional 5,000 square feet for display, storage and research purposes. We offer private tours of the museum and the Caboose with 24 hours notice. In addition the Museum has a meeting room which can comfortably seat up to 10 people around a conference table or 30 people in auditorium seating for use before or after a tour.
Our Board of Directors
We would like to welcome our new Board member–Carter Corsello. At our Annual Meeting on May 24th, the members present voted to increase the number of Board members from 9 to 11. Carter joined as our 10th Board member. We will be electing the 11th member at the 2023 Annual Meeting. If you live in Grundy County and are interested in becoming a Board member, please contact the Museum.
- Marion Gore (2023), President
- JoEllyn Johnson (2023), Vice President
- Judy Bernetzke (2024), Treasurer
- Lisa Barkley (2025), Secretary
- Carter Corsello (2025)
- Dave Finch (2024)
- Donna Sroczynski (2025)
- Theresa Lamb (2023)
- Duane Wolfe (2024)
- Karen Zelko (2025)
Our Staff/Volunteers
Staff
- Debbie Steffes, Curator
- Mary Collins, Executive Director
Weekly Volunteers
- Judy Bernetzke
- John Zappia
Key Donors Fiscal Year 2022/2023
The Museum would like to recognize the financial contributions from the following individuals/organizations. Without their support we would not be able to keep our doors open.
Special thanks to:
- $15,000 +
- City of Morris
- $1,000 – $14,999
- Grundy County
- Illinois Humanities
- Marion Gore
- $100 – $999
- Tim Beck
- James Carey
- Art Hornsby
- Shawn Hornsby
- Margaret Hudgins
- Jennifer Streit
- Shugies/Applebutter
- Morris Lion’s Club
- Goose Lake Prairie Partners
Our Community Sponsors
A special thank you to our local communities that have become members of the Museum.
Village of Mazon
A special thank you to the local libraries that have become members of the Museum
Coal City Public Library District
Three Rivers Public Library District
Museum of the Grundy County Historical Society 