Kate's Brief History

William and George Knoch were a couple of young go-getters who ran a cigar factory and tobacco shop in town. The Holland’s editor praises W...

Naperville had two bankers listed in Holland’s 1886 Directory, both of which were also merchant tailors first. Last time, we looked at Georg...

While progress has replaced many of Naperville’s earliest structures, not only does George Reuss’s business building still stand but so does...

Naperville today has an abundance of drinking establishments and it was much the same in 1886. In fact, there were six saloons in the downto...

The 1886 Holland’s Directory lists three hotels in Naperville: American House, Pre-Emption House, and Washington House. All of them were on...

In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s take a look at the woman-owned businesses that were listed in the 1886 Holland’s Directory. At leas...

At the time when Holland’s Business Directory was published in 1886, Dr. Hamilton Daniels and his son William operated a drug store on Washi...

If you do any research into DuPage history, at some point you will read   A History of The County of DuPage Illinois   by C. W. Richmond &am...

Joshua Erb was born in 1803 in Pennsylvania Dutch country. The “Dutch” is actually a reference to “Deutch,” the German word for “German” and...

While William Henry Hillegas built an upstanding reputation in the Naperville community, it’s his son that the guides on the ghost tours tal...