The Fox River Valley Public Library District will offer an array of events in 2026 to celebrate 150 years of serving readers in the Dundee Township area.
“Our PR team and the entire library staff have been working on this milestone for more than a year, and I’m excited for our community to experience and enjoy the results of everyone’s hard work,” library district spokeswoman Corinne Vargas said.
The district’s graphic designer Dan Mitchell created a 150th anniversary logo and other staff launched a history page on the library’s website, www.frvpld.info/library-history.
Workers prepare the floors for new carpeting inside the newly built Dundee Library prior to its opening in 1975. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
The latter traces the library from 1876, when it became one of the first in Illinois to support a library through local taxes, to current day, with the Dundee Library operating at 555 Barrington Ave. in East Dundee and a smaller branch open at the Randall Oaks Recreation Center, 500 N. Randall Road in West Dundee.
Vargas said that while an official founding date for a library does not exist, there is a handwritten document in its records dated Jan. 11, 1876, that the district considers its benchmark.
“While it may suggest an early milestone, we cannot confirm it as the exact founding date and therefore recognize 1876 as the library’s founding year,” she said.
Staff also uncovered another letter, circa 1871, in which local residents declared their intention to form a literary society under Illinois state law. This early effort marked the beginning of a shared commitment to learning, enrichment and community values that still define the library today, Vargas said.
Exterior of the Dundee Library in East Dundee. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
The library’s social media coordinator, Lindsey Grugul, is using information like that as part of “Flashback Friday,” a yearlong series of weekly posts and videos about the district’s history.
Displays at the libraries will soon be going up to promote “Our Library’s 150-Year History: A Historical Review with Phil Aleo,” a program that will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Rakow Center, 665 Barrington Ave., Carpentersville, not far from the Dundee Library.
Vargas said one of the topics Aleo will cover is how Dundee Library started with a collection of about 50 books in English and German collected through the efforts of Dr. E.F. Cleveland and Fred Haverkamp, civic leaders at the time.
Other topics will include the role alcohol played in the library’s early history, the impact of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the various spots where the library has had locations.
“The library has moved eight times over its 150-year history. Its journey has taken it from a drug store to an opera house and even to the original (now West Dundee) city hall building, among other interesting locations,” Vargas said.
Interior of the Randall Oaks Library branch in West Dundee. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
One was at 21 Washington St. in Carpentersville. In 1895, Mary Carpenter Lord — in memory of her deceased husband J.A. Carpenter — built and donated a building to be shared by the Congregational Church and the Literary and Library Association of Carpentersville, she said. This landmark, designated a historic site by the state of Illinois in 1973 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the current Dundee Township Park District Administration Building.
To highlight such key moments, the library is creating large timeline columns that will be displayed at the Dundee and Randall Oaks locations.
This summer, the district will set up suggestion boxes through which community members can recommend items for inclusion in a time capsule, which is to be buried later this fall.
They’re also creating 150th anniversary pole banners to be displayed in the Dundee Library parking lot, East Dundee’s downtown and along Main Street in Carpentersville.
And this spring, the district will begin a large-scale renovation of its East Dundee building. The library moved into its current building in 1975. Its most recent major renovation was in 2009, when $1.7 million was spent to modernize the facility.
Two community members dive into research at the Dundee Library in East Dundee in 1990. (Fox River Valley Library District)
Planned improvements include replacement of the roof and insulation, a new HVAC system with updated duct work, a building control system, new windows and the addition of sunshades.
At a cost of about $3.5 million, the work will be paid for with money in the district’s special reserve fund and possibly with money from a federal grant. It should be completed by early summer, Vargas said.
Festivities will culminate with a celebration from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Dundee Library.
“This big celebration will invite the community to meet local partners, play games and explore everything the library has to offer,” Vargas said. “The event is a wonderful opportunity to highlight and celebrate the strong partnerships that connect the library with our community and partnering organizations. And yes, there will be birthday cake.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
