Geneva Republican, December 5, 1974.
The holiday tradition of Candlelight at the Durant-Peterson House began in 1972 while the home was still undergoing restoration. Several local chapters of Questers, an organization that studies antiques, were working to restore the house and hosted a "Christmas Open House" for their members and families. The house was lit by candlelight and decorated as it might have been in the 1840s. By 1974, several members of these Quester chapters had created a new, separate non-profit organization named Restorations of Kane County (now, Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley) to raise money to finish the restoration and open the 1843 house as a museum. This organization continues to operate the museum to this day with support from the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
Authenticity since its beginning in 1972 has made Candlelight a uniquely special event. Volunteers do an extraordinary amount of work to decorate the little home using traditional decoration techniques, bringing the past to today and emulating the way Jerusha Durant may have decorated when she, her husband Bryant, and six children lived there from 1843 to the 1870s. News reports from the first few years of Candlelight vividly capture the event:
1972: “After many years of standing empty and alone, the Durants’ little prairie farmhouse was a-glow again for the holidays… A real old-fashioned Christmas tree, trimmed with ropes of cranberries and popcorn, candy canes, antique ornaments and candles was placed in the parlor… To add to the feeling of recreating the early 1800s, members and their children were asked to wear authentic period costumes.”[1]
1973: “The house was decorated for Christmas, with a tree trimmed with strings of popcorn, cranberries and colored paper chains. Greens were hung in various rooms, as Jerusha Durant might have decorated in the 1800s.”[2]
1974: “The little house in the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve will be resplendent in decorations supplied by or handcrafted by friends of the Durant House as Jerusha Shurtliff Durant might have fashioned them in the mid-19th century.”[3]
Many families return annually—some for decades—as Candlelight has become a beloved family holiday tradition.
In 2024, Candlelight will be on Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8 from 3 to 7 PM. Tickets are $5 per adult and $1 per child and entry times are at half-hour intervals to ease congestion. Before or after the scheduled entry to the Durant-Peterson House, ticket holders can enjoy a traditional Christmas Pageant at the Sholes School Museum at 3:30 PM, 4:15 PM, 5:30 PM, or 6:15 PM.
Thank you for reading! If this story interested, inspired, or informed you, please consider subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter so more of these stories come right to you!