Naper Settlement

Well today we enjoyed a soggy walk through the Naper Settlement. We went back into time, to the late 1800's and learned about the way people lived. My group's first stop was the Martin Mitchell Mansion, built in 1883. Mr. Mitchell made his money in the brick and limestone business. He made his fortune re-building the city after the Chicago Fire. He had one of the first indoor bathrooms in Illinois. We then went to the Murray House which was built in 1842, and it represented a middle class American home. We learned that everybody in the house took one shower a week and that they all used the same water. (Ew!) They took showers in order from oldest to youngest. We also stopped by a replica of Fort Payne, the Century Memorial Chapel , the Paw Paw Post Office, and ended our tour with the Copenhagen Schoolhouse. My group especially liked the school house where if students misbehaved they had to wear a sign of shame and stand with their nose touching the chalkboard. Parents would then know if their children misbehaved when they came home with chalk on their nose! We were a tad wet, but we enjoyed our day.