Lewis History Center Offers Link to the Past

Situated across from ’s main campus on Route 53 in Romeoville, the attractive limestone building has been a landmark for more than a century and a half.

Built in the 1840s, the Fitzpatrick House, 15701 Independence Blvd., has ties to the history of the university and the Heritage Corridor, or the towns along the I&M Canal.

Now, after being as the Lewis University History Center/Heritage Corridor Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), the building is providing a link to the past.

Guests to the history center can travel back through time, revisiting the history of the communities along the canal.

Dennis Cremin, associate professor of history at Lewis and director of the history center, said the building is home to a permanent gallery containing artifacts related to the history of the Fitzpatrick House, Lewis University, Lockport’s Gaylord Building and the Heritage Corridor in general.

The home was built by Irish worker Patrick Fitzpatrick, who helped build the canal and went on to become one of the largest landowners in Will County, Cremin said.

The family donated a large parcel of land to the Diocese of Chicago, leading eventually to the founding of the university.

“Lewis University rises eventually out of that,” Cremin said.

The home, built out of locally mined limestone, hearkens back to an earlier time, he added.

“The exterior really does transport you back in time,” Cremin said. “I think of it as a remnant landscape.” The home is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In addition to the permanent gallery, which includes artifacts from the the Howard and Lois Adelmann Regional History Collection, a temporary photo exhibit is currently on display at the Fitzpatrick House, Cremin said.

“Right now we’re showing photos from a former Lewis professor emeritus,” Cremin said. The images, taken by retired professor Paul Kaiser, depict sites along the canal.

“He decided that he would photograph the entire Heritage Corridor,” Cremin said. The exhibit will be on display through the spring, he added.

The Lewis History Center also serves as a learning lab for students in Lewis’ museum studies and history programs, Cremin said.

“From now on, I’d like to have students more involved in creating the exhibit for the public,” he said.

Promoting the Heritage Corridor

The Fitzpatrick House is also home to the new headquarters of the CVB, which works to promote tourism and economic growth in communities along the historic canal. Employees moved into the historic site in July.

“It’s just abeen a combination of things that just came together to make this work,” CVB President/CEO Robert Robert Navarro said of the partnership between the history center and the CVB. “To be in this historic building and be along the canal just made sense to us,” he added.

Although the CVB has visitors centers in Bolingbrook, Joliet and Utica, most staff members work out of the Fitzpatrick House, Navarro said.

“Our whole goal is to bring people from outside the area into our area and spend money,” whether it’s on shopping dining or overnight stays, Navarro said.

The Lewis History Center and CVB is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday Thursday and Friday. Guests can also arrange a time to visit by calling 815-588-7940.

“The hope is that we’ll expand the hours over time,” Cremin said.