Booming Business in the Beauty Spot of the Fox Valley to be on Display from February - August
For nearly 100 years, the Blue Goose Market has served as an icon of St. Charles.
The St. Charles History Museum’s new exhibit, Booming Business in the Beauty Spot of the Fox Valley, will take a look back at the legacies of some of St. Charles’ most outstanding businesses over the course of its history.
The exhibit will feature the stories of St. Charles businesses and industry which saw a major boom at the beginning of the 20th century as waves of new immigrants and settlers arrived in the Fox River Valley looking for work. Through never-before displayed artifacts and photos, the exhibit will provide a snapshot of each of the companies that have had a distinct and lasting legacy and contributed to St. Charles becoming the city it is today.
Workers assembling pianos at the Cable Piano Factory in the early 1900s. The factory was a large employer of St. Charles residents during the City’s business boom in the early 20th century.
Among the 14 companies featured in the exhibit are Colonial Café and Ice Cream, Blue Goose Market, and Rehm Electric, three of St. Charles’ longest-running family-owned businesses. Other featured companies include the Cable Piano Company, Heinz Cut Glass, and Howell Manufacturing, each of which are notable for making significant contributions in cutting-edge technology and manufacturing procedures and employed scores of St. Charles residents over the years.
“St. Charles has enjoyed a long history of diverse business and industry,” said Museum Executive Director Alison Costanzo. “We are excited to present this celebration of the legacy of local business as we enter the next chapter of our community’s history.”
The new exhibit is sponsored by Sterling Bank of St. Charles. The exhibit will open with a VIP and Museum Members-only reception on Thursday, February 6th from 5-7 p.m. and a public reception on Saturday, February, 8th from 3-6 p.m.
For more information, contact the Museum at 630-584-6967 or via e-mail at info@stcmuseum.org.
