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Welcome to the website for the Maryville Heritage Museum located in Maryville, Illinois. Our museum is inside the old village hall/firehouse that was constructed in 1916. The museum is located at 112 East Zupan Street, one block off of highway 159. This page will be constantly changing, so keep checking back often.
Maryville Heritage Museum and our 1958 Seagrave fire engine. The Maryville Heritage Museum is looking for a couple 12 volt hand lanterns from the 1960’s/70’s. We would like to have them mounted onto the 1958 Seagrave fire engine. If you have any old hand lanterns, similar to the pictures, please email us if you would like to donate them. Please email to: maryvilleheritagemuseum@gmail.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- The regular meeting day of the Maryville Heritage Museum committee is on the third Monday of the month at 10:00 am, at the museum, 112 East Zupan Street.
- The museum committee is always looking for donations of any items regarding Maryville or her history. Contact us below if you have any to donate.
- The museum is looking for additional volunteers to help our committee. Volunteers are also needed to help to do online research and moving/carrying objects. Please send us an email if you are interested.
- The museum is looking for older style 6 volt battery lanterns. Pictures are above. Please email the museum if you have one to donate.
- The museum is open on the first and third Saturday of each month. The museum times are from noon until 2:00 pm. If you have a special request to visit the museum, please contact the museum committee at 618-223-8902 or email museum@maryville-il.us for more information.
- The museum is still looking for any items of clothing made from old grain or feed sacks. We are particularly looking for any type of patterned clothing such as dresses, aprons, scarves. We are also looking for old wooden crates or bushel baskets.
- In July 2019 “The Friends of the Maryville Heritage Museum, Inc.” a 501c3 was formed to support and preserve the history of Maryville through the Maryville Heritage Museum by providing: Education to the community and local schools, Financial assistance through fundraising and donations and Initiating expansion, improvements, projects and special events. The “Friends of the Maryville Heritage Museum” sells museum t-shirts, ornaments and books and also provides a way for members of the community, businesses and organizations to make financial donations to support the Maryville Heritage Museum. Please email: friendsofthemhm@gmail.com for more information.
Featured Museum Items
Each month we will feature items from the Maryville Heritage Museum collection. This month we are featuring the Maryville Drost Park lake.
| These photographs are a small sample of items in the museum collection representing Maryville life. The museum has similar photos and items on display in the museum. We are always looking for old photographs or other items relating to Maryville life. |
The Maryville Heritage Museum has many photographs in the museum. Some photographs are often difficult to display in the museum for all to enjoy. We will be posting many of these photographs, depicting life growing up in Maryville on this page. The photos displayed will change from time to time. If you have any photographs to donate, or we can scan them for you, so you can keep your original, contact us below.
1958 era photo of Chinatown Pond
Originally called Chinatown Pond, Drost Park lake sits on property that used to belong to the Donk Brothers Coal and Coke Company. This original eight-acre lake was used to provide water to the Donk Brothers Mine #2 for operation of their steam generators.
Map of Drost Park lake, still showing the Chinatown area of Maryville.
Main park area in the 1970’s.
The lake and surrounding area was used by early residents as a place to gather and have fun. For many years people fished, paddled small boats, swam, played, had picnics and camped when the weather permitted. The fields around the lake was also used for hunting squirrels, rabbits and doves. When the weather turned frosty, the lake was used for ice skating and playing in the snow. During prohibition, local gangsters were known to use the little park area for target practice. This would cause the younger children playing there to run home in fear of the “notorious” figures.
The above photo shows Maryville boys swimming in the lake in June 1958.
The Maryville Fishing Club eventually obtained exclusive rights to the “pond”. However, the “pond” had a reputation for being an ideal place to catch fish and soon signs had to be posted to keep “outsiders” and “nonmembers” from fishing from her banks.
Often the fishing club would “seine” the lake. A seine net would be used. This is a method where a large, curtain-like net is dragged through the water to trap fish. This is method is often used for collecting samples to identify fish species, monitor their health, and assess population sizes.
The lake seining event was popular and many of the local children would join in to help or just watch.
In 1963, under the leadership of Mayor John Drost, he himself and avid sportsman, the Village purchased the pond and 9.8 acres from the Illinois Terminal railroad for $1500 dollars. The price was regarded as a bargain because it was the same amount the railroad had paid for the property many years earlier.
After Mayor Drost passed away, the Village board renamed Chinatown Pond and called it the “Drost Park Lake” in his memory. Over the subsequent years administrations have added on to the property.
Under the guidance of the Maryville Park Committee, picnic pavilions, a one-mile walking trail, restrooms, playground equipment, a boat ramp, pickleball courts and much more have been added. Drost Park connects with the property owned by the Village Municipal Complex and the Khoury League ball fields where more restrooms, pavilion and a snack stand are located.
Have something to donate, have a question or comment, or just want to contact the museum? Please fill out the form below and someone will get back to you.
Thank you for your response. ✨
Correspondence should be mailed to:
Maryville Heritage Museum 2520 North Center, Maryville, IL 62062
Maryville Heritage Museum 