Preservation Partners formed in 1974 to rehabilitate the 1843 Durant-Peterson House in LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles, Illinois and open it as a museum for the public. Read more about the history here.

Preservation Partners operates the 1910 Fabyan Japanese Garden and 1907 Fabyan Villa Museum in Geneva, and the 1872 Sholes School and 1843 Durant-Peterson House Museum in St. Charles. Through a contractual agreement with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, which owns the sites, Preservation Partners provides tours, local history educational programming, field trips, and more. Preservation Partners also owns a historic home, the 1850 Beith House on the Fox River in downtown St. Charles, which serves as offices and meeting space for staff and volunteers.

Preservation Partners educates the public, city staff, elected officials, and developers about local historic preservation ordinances, grants and tax credits, creative adaptive reuse opportunities for historic structures, and local contractors who can do work on historic buildings. Rather than being confrontational, Preservation Partners takes a collaborative approach to work toward common-sense solutions that maximize a community’s sense of place while providing for its modern needs.

Historic places often bring economic benefits such as visitors to shop and eat, and higher property values. Buildings that are restored rather than replaced decrease construction debris in landfills and lessen the environmental impact of making new materials. Finally, historic preservation improves a community’s quality of life by grounding people with a sense of place.

Click on one of the historic sites below:

• Fabyan Japanese Garden FAQs

• Fabyan Villa Museum FAQs

• Sholes School Museum FAQs

• Durant-Peterson House Museum FAQs

Contact the Forest Preserve District of Kane County at 630-232-1242 or email them at kcfpres@kaneforest.com to book the Fabyan Japanese Garden for a private event.

The Fabyan Windmill is on the east side of the Fox River and is usually open on Sundays from 12-3pm from June through September. See kaneforest.com/fabyan-windmill for more information. Preservation Partners does not operate the Fabyan Windmill.

Yes!

1999 – Family Self-Guided Tour Pamphlet for the Fabyan Villa Museum receives a Certificate of Excellence Award from the Illinois State Historical Society.

1999 – Revisiting Riverbank: The Fabyan’s Grand Vision video for the Fabyan Villa Museum receives the Superior Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society.

2003 – Junior Docent Program at the Durant-Peterson House Museum receives an Award of Excellence from the Illinois Association of Museums.

2006 - Children’s programs at the Fabyan Villa Museum and Fabyan Japanese Garden receive an Award of Excellence from the Illinois Association of Museums.

Yes!

2009 – Driehaus Award for Preservation Advocacy for leading a collaborative effort to acquire funding for the restoration of the 1893 Viking Ship in Geneva.

2013 - Driehaus Award for Preservation Advocacy for working with the city and building owner to adaptively reuse the Pure Oil Station in Geneva.

Visit the Preservation tab of our website at www.ppfv.org/preservation-resources.

FOR MONTHLY UPDATES about local history and preservation, subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.

FOR ALERTS ON URGENT MATTERS (such as demolition) regarding historic districts and structures in the Fox Valley, become a member.

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County owns and maintains the 1910 Fabyan Japanese Garden, 1907 Fabyan Villa Museum, 1872 Sholes School, and 1843 Durant-Peterson House Museum. Preservation Partners owns and cares for most of the artifacts in the museums and, through a contractual agreement with the District, shares the sites’ histories with the public. Generally speaking, the relationship between the District and Preservation Partners is that the District cares for the buildings, and Preservation Partners cares for the stuff inside.

Preservation Partners owns the 1850 Beith House and is solely responsible for its care and maintenance through grants, memberships, and donations.

Preservation Partners provides expertise, efficiency, and cost savings for the District and taxpayers through its operating agreement for the District’s historic sites. For fifty years, Preservation Partners experienced staff and volunteers have educated the public on local history. The staff of Preservation Partners is focused on local history education, therefore allowing staff at the District to focus on conservation, nature education, and recreation. Taxpayers and the District save money with one entity operating multiple small historic sites that would be cost-prohibitive to operate otherwise and would inhibit the public from visiting and learning about these important stories from Kane County’s history.