The Stockton Heritage Museum is located at 103, 105 and 107 West Front Avenue. The original Museum building at 107 West Front Avenue was built in 1908 and housed the Niemeyer Drug store until 1956. It was built by Henry Niemeyer, a young druggist who moved to Stockton from Galena in 1895 after purchasing the Tyrrell and Oliver Pharmacy. After 1956, it housed several grocery stores, a bakery, a driver’s license station and a tavern (under various names and owners) until it was purchased and remodeled into a museum in 2003.
In 2005, the Heritage League of Northwest Illinois and the Stockton Historical Society merged to form the Stockton Heritage Museum and moved to 107 West Front Avenue. The Museum acquired the buildings at 103 and 105 West Front Avenue and the Rausch Family Annex was added to the Museum in fall 2017. This building once housed Kaufman’s Variety Store in the 1940s and Helen’s Shoppe in the 50s and 60s. Helen Brown was proprietress of a women’s clothing and accessories business and a downtown fixture for many years!
Stockton is the eastern gateway to Jo Daviess County, a part of the driftless area of Northwestern Illinois. We are the home of the first Kraft Cheese plant and an early hub of the Chicago Great Western Railroad. Our Main Street is the highest elevation main street in Illinois. Please come visit!
Address:
Stockton Heritage Museum
107 West Front Avenue
PO Box 93
Stockton, Illinois
Phone: 815-947-2220
Email: info@stocktonheritagemuseum.org
Hours:
We are open for weekend hours, May through October and offer special programs throughout the year.
Saturday 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. — 2 p.m. or by appointment (call or email the Museum)
The Stockton Heritage Museum is funded wholly by membership fees, donations and grants.
The Stockton Park District assists in the maintenance of the Museum buildings.
