Classic Book Club
2025-05-10 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-06-14 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-07-12 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-08-09 10:30 - 11:30 (America/Chicago) | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book set in the Jazz Age in New York, first published in 1925 in the United States.
The novel follows a cast of characters living in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The plot revolves primarily around the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his bizarre passion and obsession with the lovely former debutante Daisy Buchanan. The Great Gatsby, considered Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, painting a portrait of the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale about the American Dream.

American History Book Club
2025-06-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Part 1
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 is a 2003 biography of the 35th president of the United States, John F, Kennedy (JFK), who was assassinated in 1963. It was written by Bancroft Prize-winning historian Robert Dallek, a prominent History professor at Boston University. The author is a presidential historian who taught at Columbia University and UCLA prior to accepting his professorial role in Boston, and was the author of nearly two-dozen books. Dallek researched JFK for five years, using National Security Srchives, oral histories, White House tapes, and medical records in his preparations. Dallek contends that historians have underestimated JFK’s achievements, especially in regards to his impressive accomplishments in foreign policy, including his averting nuclear war during the Cuban Missle Crisis and his early steps towards detente with the Soviet Union, which began with his Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of August 5, 1963

Mrs. Furst's Charity Tea at the Rose Garden
2025-06-07 13:00 - 16:00 | IL
Mark your calendar and purchase your tickets early for this very special event. Please call 708-534-8635 for any additional information.
Please note on-line purchase include a small convenience fee.
Purchase tickets below

MHS Membership meeting
2025-06-12 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-07-10 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-14 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-09-11 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-09 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-13 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-11 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-08 18:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Join us for our monthly membership meetings. Details and special speakers will follow.

American History Book Club
2025-07-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Part 2
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 is a 2003 biography of the 35th president of the United States, John F, Kennedy (JFK), who was assassinated in 1963. It was written by Bancroft Prize-winning historian Robert Dallek, a prominent History professor at Boston University. The author is a presidential historian who taught at Columbia University and UCLA prior to accepting his professorial role in Boston, and was the author of nearly two-dozen books. Dallek researched JFK for five years, using National Security Srchives, oral histories, White House tapes, and medical records in his preparations. Dallek contends that historians have underestimated JFK’s achievements, especially in regards to his impressive accomplishments in foreign policy, including his averting nuclear war during the Cuban Missle Crisis and his early steps towards detente with the Soviet Union, which began with his Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of August 5, 1963

American History Book Club
2025-08-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
WINNER, 2023 Illinois State Historical Society Russell P. Strange Book of the Year Award!
A territory split by slavery, a state forged for union
Avenues of Transformation traces the surprising path, marked by shame, ambition, and will that led to Illinois’s admission to the Union in 1818. Historian James A. Edstrom guides the reader through this story by associating each stage of the narrative—the original statehood campaign, the passage of Illinois’s statehood-enabling act by Congress, and Illinois’s first constitutional convention—with the primary leaders in each of those episodes. The lives of these men—Daniel Pope Cook, Nathaniel Pope, and Elias Kent Kane—reflect the momentous tangle of politics, slavery, and geography. This history maps the drive for statehood in the conflict between nation and state, in the perpetuation of slavery, and in the sweep of water and commerce. It underscores the ways in which the Prairie State is uniquely intertwined—economically, socially, and politically—with every region of the Union: North, South, East, and West—and captures the compelling moment when Illinois statehood stood ready to more perfectly unify the nation.
This volume is the first full-length book in over a century to describe and analyze Illinois’s admission to the Union. It marks the first time that a historian has analyzed in detail the roll-call votes of the first state constitutional convention, seated evenly by pro- and antislavery delegates. Edstrom’s wit and prose weave a lively narrative of political ambition and human failure. Patiently crafted, Avenues of Transformation will be the first source for readers to turn to for gaining a better understanding of Illinois statehood.

MHS Annual Art Auction & Wine and Cheese Reception
2025-08-09 15:00 - 19:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Join us for our Annual Art Auction & Wine and Cheese Reception.
Stroll the beautiful Creamery building, while enjoying a live musical performance by the Doug Horne Quartet. Sip a glass of wine, enjoy artisian cheeses and charcuterie among friends, old and new. Our silent auction will feature a variety of items, including one-of-a-kind art pieces from local artisians. All while helping to support the on-going mission of the Monee Historical Society.
Tickets include an exclusive MHS wineglass, 2 glasses of wine and light hors d’oeuvres.*
Must be 21 or older to purchase wine tickets.
*Online purchase includes convenience fee

Burnham's Chicago
2025-08-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Join us as we spend a day at the fair. Co-presented with the Peotone Public Library District.

American History Book Club
2025-09-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s classic life of Lyndon Johnson, who presided over the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and other defining moments the tumultuous 1960s, is a monument in political biography. From the moment the author, then a young woman from Harvard, first encountered President Johnson at a White House dance in the spring of 1967, she became fascinated by the man–his character, his enormous energy and drive, and his manner of wielding these gifts in an endless pursuit of power. As a member of his White House staff, she soon became his personal confidante, and in the years before his death he revealed himself to her as he did to no other.
Widely praised and enormously popular, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream is a work of biography like few others. With uncanny insight and a richly engrossing style, the author renders LBJ in all his vibrant, conflicted humanity.

American History Book Club
2025-10-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Part 1
A deeply researched, superbly crafted biography of America’s most complex president.In Richard Nixon , award-winning biographer John A. Farrell examines the life and legacy of one of America’s most controversial political figures. Beginning in 1946, when young Navy lieutenant ‘Nick’ Nixon returned from the Pacific and set his cap at Congress, Farrell traces how this idealistic dreamer became the ruthless man we remember Nixon as today.Within four years of that first win, Nixon would be a senator; within six, the vice president; and then president. His staff of bright young men devised forward-thinking reforms addressing health care, poverty, civil rights, and protection of the environment. It was a fine legacy, but Nixoncared little for it. He aspired to make his mark on the world stage instead, and his 1972 opening to China was the first great crack in the Cold War.But Nixon had another an America divided and polarised. It was Nixon who launched the McCarthy era, who set South against North,and who spurred the silent majority to despise and distrust the country’s elite. Finally, in August 1974, after two years of the endless intrigue and scandal known as Watergate, Nixon became the only president to resign in disgrace.Richard Nixon is a magisterial portrait of the man who embodied post-war American political cynicism — and was destroyed by it.

kids Book Reading and Craft Workshop
2025-10-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
A ghost who was a quilt?
Float in to hear the story and craft your very own ghost to take home.
Free event, but registration is required.
Space is limited.
Please sign up only for the child/children who will be participating.
Adults do not need to register for this event, but an adult must
accompany children on the day of the workshop.

A Walk Through Time
2025-10-04 12:00 - 13:30 | St. Pauls Cemetery, 5223 W Margaret Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Take a walk through St. Paul’s Historic, Landmarked Cemetery. Just 2 blocks from the Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery.
Hear the stories of some of the founding settlers, then join us at the Monee Heritage Center for refreshments and genealogical research.
Free event, please RSVP to save your space.
Guided tour begins at St. Paul’s Cemetery: 5323 W. Margaret St., Monee, IL
Ask our expert genealogy researcher for tips on researching your family history. Use one of our laptops or bring your own device.
We’ve got all the ingredients for a hauntingly memorable afternoon.

MHS Veterans History Project
2025-10-28 - 2025-10-30 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
If you or someone you know would like to record an oral history interview, gather and donate a veteran’s original photographs, correspondence, or other materials, please call or e-mail your preference for scheduling times.
Please allow 1 hour for video interviews. Interviews will be held at the Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery
5210 W. Court St., Monee, IL
Videos are property of MHS and will be available for public viewing on the MHS website.

American History Book Club
2025-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Part 2
A deeply researched, superbly crafted biography of America’s most complex president.In Richard Nixon , award-winning biographer John A. Farrell examines the life and legacy of one of America’s most controversial political figures. Beginning in 1946, when young Navy lieutenant ‘Nick’ Nixon returned from the Pacific and set his cap at Congress, Farrell traces how this idealistic dreamer became the ruthless man we remember Nixon as today.Within four years of that first win, Nixon would be a senator; within six, the vice president; and then president. His staff of bright young men devised forward-thinking reforms addressing health care, poverty, civil rights, and protection of the environment. It was a fine legacy, but Nixoncared little for it. He aspired to make his mark on the world stage instead, and his 1972 opening to China was the first great crack in the Cold War.But Nixon had another an America divided and polarised. It was Nixon who launched the McCarthy era, who set South against North,and who spurred the silent majority to despise and distrust the country’s elite. Finally, in August 1974, after two years of the endless intrigue and scandal known as Watergate, Nixon became the only president to resign in disgrace.Richard Nixon is a magisterial portrait of the man who embodied post-war American political cynicism — and was destroyed by it.

American History Book Club
2025-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
O. Henry’s classic tale of the wisest gifts of Christmas, brought to life by P.J. Lynch’s extraordinary art, is itself a gift to share and treasure.
In a shabby New York flat, Della sobs as she counts the few coins she has saved to buy a Christmas present for her husband, Jim. A gift worthy of her devotion will require a great sacrifice: selling her long, beautiful hair. Jim, meanwhile, has made a sacrifice for Della that is no less difficult. As they exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, the discovery of what each has done fills them with despair, until they realize that the true gifts of Christmas can be found more readily in their humble apartment than in any fine store. O. Henry paints a masterly portrait of unfaltering love, a haven from the harsh world outside. The poignancy of his story is captured in P.J. Lynch’s eloquent art, wherein every glance, every gesture, tells a subtle truth.

Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus
2025-12-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
HO HO HO! The big man in red and his Mrs. are stopping by MHS to check his list twice! Stop in to make sure you are on the nice list.

MHS Holiday Market
2025-12-06 10:00 - 15:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Are you looking for the perfect gift for a special someone? Shop the MHS Holiday Market first!
2 floors of vendors and you are sure to find that perfect gift.

Happy 250th birthday Jane Austen!
2025-12-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Celebrate the 250th birthday of the English author, whose portrayal of common people going about their daily lives initially gave her books their essentially modern tone. Through the course of her life, she released four novels.
Enjoy a cuppea tea, biscuits, and birthday cake along with
a discussion of your favorite Austen book.
Dress the part or come as you like.
All are welcome.
Free event
Tuesday, December 16th
6:00 pm
The Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery
5210 W. Court St., Monee, IL

Presented by
The Monee Historical Society
The Peotone Public Library District

Art Exhibition
2026-02-10 10:00 - 2026-02-24 15:00 | Monee Heritage Center at the Creamery, 5210 W Court Street, Monee, IL, 60449, United States
Join us on Tuesdays in the month of February to celebrate the very talented art students from Crete-Monee High School.
Open from 10 am – 3 pm.
Heritage Day Saturday, February 14, open 10 am – 3 pm.
