TROTOM to re-open May 1st...
Covid willing
The Region of Three Oaks Museum is scheduled to re-open Saturday, May 1st, assuming that public health rules allow re-opening. Museum hours for 2021 are 12-5 PM, Friday-Sunday.
We are offering programs about local history to our members via Zoom. If you'd like to check those out, consider becoming a member-- only $10 a year for an individual and $20 for a family. Email us at if you're interested.
New exhibits will include:
Dentistry-- We'll have a 1930s-era dentistry office set up in the museum. Some older area residents may recognize equipment and furnishings used by dentists T. H. McKenzie and Lester Knight.
Fire!-- 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. 1871 brought massive wildfires to the Three Oaks area, as well. Our exhibit will also include a look back at other major fires in the area, like the blazes that burned large parts of downtown New Buffalo in May 1962 and which engulfed Galien in 1971.
Crossroads-- We'll look at the people behind the road names Martin Road and Minnich Road. The Martins have had a family reunion in the area for 157 years (!), and the Minnichs began farming in Chikaming in 1892.
Returning exhibits include:
Featherbone-- the invention that made Three Oaks a fashion capital and a booming factory town at the turn of the 20th century.
Fred Warren's Amazing Calculating Engine— An 1875 invention that the Smithsonian says may have been the first working calculator made in America (made in Three Oaks!)
The Marx-o-Chime Colony— For 45 years, New Troy was home to a factory that made very unusual musical instruments
Three Oaks Then & Now— Photo montages showing the changes a century has made in the Village of Three Oaks
Toys from a Bygone Era— How did kids spend leisure time before screens took over?
Historic installation on Elm Street
In September, Three Oaks village workers installed a new sign along Elm Street, part of an effort by the museum and its partners to bring history to where the people are. The sign tells the story of Three Oaks, from native tribes until the present day.
TROTOM performed the research, wrote the text for the plaque and found illustrations for the various chapters of Three Oaks history.
The village provided the spot, next to the bust of E. K. Warren, the local tycoon who built much of our town.
Lynn and Allen Turner generously underwrote the project. Come check it out!
