Ellwood House Museum

What Ellwood House Museum does

The Ellwood House Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit historic house museum located at 420 Linden Place in DeKalb, Illinois, operating a ten-acre campus that includes seven historic structures, four gardens, and 6,000 square feet of exhibit space in the Patience Ellwood Towle Visitor Center. The museum is anchored by the 1879 Ellwood Mansion (built for barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood) and the 1900 Ellcourt House, and stewards a collection of over 10,000 historic objects. It was established in 1965 when Mrs. May Ellwood and her children gifted the Mansion to the DeKalb Park District; the Ellcourt House was added via donation in 2011. The Ellwood House Association, Inc. and the DeKalb Park District jointly operate the site.

The museum's core offerings fall into four product lines: (1) guided and self-guided tours of the Mansion and Ellcourt, supplemented by a virtual tour platform and at-home learning resources; (2) event rentals across the Hearthside Room ($75/hour), Ellcourt ($350/hour), and garden wedding venues ($500 ceremony fee); (3) educational programming including field trips for DeKalb County K-12 schools, Ellwood Explorers youth programs, and the Frame of Mind student art rental program; and (4) rotating and permanent exhibits (Arts in Action, The Ellwood Eclectic, Fencing Frontiers: The Barbed Wire Story). Signature cultural events include Music at the Mansion, Wine on the Terrace, Holiday Traditions, and Ellwood After Dark flashlight tours.

The business model is a hybrid of earned and contributed revenue: tour admissions and event rentals (transactional/per-hour), memberships starting at $25 annually (recurring), museum shop sales, and donations/charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations (including Give DeKalb County and workplace giving). Distribution is regional — Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin — through the physical campus, online booking, social media, a quarterly newsletter, school partnerships, and collaborations with Northern Illinois University, the DeKalb Park District, the DeKalb County History Center, Healing Illinois, and the DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board. Governance is by a Board of Directors (President Scott Tews) and led by Executive Director Matthew Toland.

Name

Ellwood House Museum

Legal name

Ellwood House Association, Inc.

Website

https://ellwoodhouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Ellwood House Museum is a nonprofit historic house museum in DeKalb, Illinois, operating a ten-acre campus with seven historic structures. It offers guided mansion tours, event rentals, youth education programs, and rotating exhibits to visitors across Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic House Museum and Cultural Heritage Services

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Sites, Heritage Landmarks & Archaeological Sites (THAJACAC), Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Historic house museum
• Museum tours
• Event venue rentals
• Educational programs
• Historic preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

DeKalb

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tour Admissions: Revenue from guided tours of the Ellwood Mansion and Ellcourt Home offered Wednesday through Sunday
2. Event Venue Rentals: Rental income from Hearthside Room ($75/hour), Ellcourt ($350/hour), and garden wedding venues ($500 ceremony fee)
3. Membership Program: Annual membership contributions starting at $25, providing free tour admission, event invitations, newsletter subscription, and gift shop discounts
4. Museum Shop Sales: Retail revenue from gift shop featuring books, locally made jewelry, Victorian-inspired items, and commemorative products
5. Donations and Contributions: Charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations supporting restoration, collections, and operations. Includes Give DeKalb County participation and workplace giving programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Ellwood House Museum operates a historic house museum campus on ten acres in DeKalb, Illinois, offering guided tours of the 1879 Ellwood Mansion and Ellcourt House, event venue rentals (Hearthside Room, Ellcourt, garden wedding spaces), educational programs for schools and youth, and interpretive exhibits on the Ellwood family and American barbed wire history.

Product overview

The Ellwood House Museum is a historic house museum offering a unified portfolio of cultural heritage products and services. The core offerings include guided tours of the 1879 Ellwood Mansion and the Ellcourt historic venue, alongside diverse event rentals (Hearthside Room, Ellcourt, garden wedding spaces). Educational programming encompasses youth programs (Ellwood Explorers, Frame of Mind art initiative), field trip programs for grades 2-5, and at-home learning resources. The museum presents rotating and permanent exhibits including Arts in Action, The Ellwood Eclectic, and Fencing Frontiers. Membership and donation programs support ongoing operations and restoration efforts. The museum campus consists of seven historic structures on ten acres in DeKalb, Illinois.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ellwood Mansion Tours Guided tours of the 1879 Ellwood Mansion offered Wednesday through Sunday, showcasing Victorian architecture, original furnishings, ornate woodwork, and stained glass, providing visitors insight into the Ellwood family's history and impact on DeKalb.
• Ellcourt Event Venue Historic event venue in the Tudor Revival home built in 1899 as a wedding gift for Perry and May Ellwood. Available at $350/hour for small receptions, rehearsal dinners, wedding ceremonies, and corporate events, with first floor and covered porte cochere included.
• Hearthside Room Rental Event space in the Visitor Center available at $75/hour for intimate receptions, baby and bridal showers, birthday parties, memorial gatherings, and celebrations of life, accommodating up to 80 guests with a small patio and fully equipped kitchen.
• Garden Weddings

Quantifiable outcome

• Welcomed over 800 visitors during 2024 Holiday Traditions Weekend
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DeKalb County History CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2025Ongoing collaborative project creating inclusive local history exhibits. Arts in Action invites visitors to examine local history through community collaboration and storytelling, exploring themes of fear, exclusion, community, and hope with oral histories and original artwork.
• Northern Illinois University (NIU)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2025NIU Housing and Residential Services participates in annual NIU Cares Day, providing volunteer labor for garden cleanup, visitor center cleaning, gallery preparation, and painting projects. Students contribute approximately 2 hours of service during these day-of-giving events.
• West Suburban Paranormal InvestigationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Ellwood After Dark flashlight tour events, where the paranormal investigation team brings EMF readers and equipment to provide educational insights into 19th century ghost hunting methods alongside museum docents.
• DeKalb Park DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint operation of the museum campus since 1965. District provides building maintenance, repairs, utilities, tree care, mowing, and snow removal of Ellwood Park. The Ellwood House Association manages museum operations, restoration, collections, research, and programming.
• DeKalb County Community Mental Health BoardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFunding partner for the Arts in Action exhibit, which explores themes of equity and belonging through oral histories, original artwork, and interactive displays designed to build stronger, more unified communities.
• Healing IllinoiscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFunding source for Arts in Action exhibit as part of larger effort to build stronger, more unified communities by honoring the full spectrum of lived experiences in Northern Illinois.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer: Grand Island, Nebraska prairie pioneer living-history museum with 200 acres, historic structures, and educational programs. Comparable on multi-structure historic campus, K-12 field trips, and event venue operations, though larger in scale.
• Naper Settlement: Living history museum in Naperville, Illinois operating a 13-acre campus with historic structures, educational programs, and event rentals. Closest comparable peer in scale, programming mix (school field trips, weddings, rentals), and Northern Illinois geography.
• Garfield Farm and Inn: Lafox, Illinois historic farmstead museum with 1840s structures, agricultural heritage programs, and community events. Comparable on small-scale, volunteer-supported historic house museum model and educational programming focus.
• Blackberry Farm: Aurora, Illinois living history museum operated by the Fox Valley Park District featuring pioneer village exhibits, heritage interpreters, and school field trips. Directly comparable as a park-district-operated living history site in the Chicago western suburbs.
• Cantigny Park: Wheaton, Illinois public park and museum complex featuring the historic McCormick mansion, formal gardens, and event venues. Directly comparable on historic mansion tours, premium garden/rental offerings, and dual museum-park operating model with municipal partnership.
• Hoard Historical Museum: Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin regional history museum with exhibits, educational programming, and event rentals serving a similar Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin catchment. Comparable scale, programming mix, and rural-anchored visitor base.
• Landis Valley Museum: Lancaster, Pennsylvania living-history museum operated by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission with historic buildings, demonstrations, and educational programming. Comparable on multi-structure historic campus, K-12 programs, and event rental revenue mix.
• Kline Creek Farm: DuPage County Forest Preserve District living-history farm in West Chicago, Illinois offering heritage interpretation, school programs, and seasonal events. Comparable as a regional Illinois historic site with educational programming and family-oriented visitation.
• Midway Village Museum: Rockford, Illinois regional history museum with a 19-building village campus, educational programs, and event facility rentals. Directly comparable on scale, multi-structure campus, school programming, and Northern Illinois regional draw.
• Geneva History Museum: Geneva, Illinois local history museum operating in historic buildings with exhibits, educational programming, and community events. Comparable on local history mission, K-12 field trip offerings, and Tri-Cities/Northern Illinois service area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ellwood-house-museum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ellwood House Museum