Villagers are used to attending special events in historic downtown Lemont. But a new event is coming to town that will have participants learning about a completely different part of Lemont history.

“We are inviting people to (the) Lemont Street Fair & Ice Cream Social right in front of the Lemont Area Historical Society museum, which is housed in the Old Stone Church, originally known as the Lemont Methodist-Episcopal Church,” said Joanne Pick, event co-chairwoman and historical society president.

The outdoor fair will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, on the 300 block of Lemont Street between Illinois and Cass streets.

“This will be the historical society’s first annual Lemont Street Fair,” co-chairwoman Sue Roy said.
Expecting it to be great fun, Pick said, “We want everyone to feel welcome — from our regular members to a whole new group that we can introduce to the historical society and all it has to offer.”

The old-fashioned social will have ice cream, food, music, tours of the museum and more. Among special events, there will be a beauty shop quartet and a marimba ensemble performing throughout the day.

“Plus, there will be an antique appraiser doing a ‘roadshow’ from 1 to 3 p.m. So bring your treasures, and for a small fee, which will benefit the museum, they can be appraised by a qualified appraiser,” Roy said. “The day’s events will also include craft vendors and antique dealers, one of the local pumpkin farms selling pumpkins and fall decorations, and some surprises.”

Pick said she expects people to especially love the tours.

“The church was originally completed in 1861. It was built of what were called tailings from Lemont’s limestone quarries, and we restored the historic antique stained-glass windows to their original beauty just a few years ago,” she added.

Since that time, people have been renting the sanctuary for weddings and christenings, Pick said.
In addition, tours of the dioramas and special exhibits in the lower level should allow people to feel a little of what a store, school, farm and even a print shop in Lemont would have been like back in the day. Plus, people will be introduced to the genealogical and photo library housed at the museum.

Besides introducing participants to the museum and society, Pick said funds raised will help defray expenses incurred by the recent restoration of the historic building’s steeple. But most important is reminding people of the treasure they have here, she added.

“I’m looking forward to bringing people to the museum,” Pick said. “I would love to have everyone know more about us and how they can make it their museum.”

For more information, call the museum at (630) 257-2972 or Pick at (630) 257-6273.