Stacy's Tavern Museum

Stacy’s Tavern Museum is an award-winning restoration of an authentic 1840’s wayside inn which is owned by the Village of Glen Ellyn and operated by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. It stands in its original location on Geneva Road. The tavern was built by Moses Stacy and his wife Joanna in 1846. The construction was mainly wood on a foundation of native boulders. The building was acquired by the Village in 1968. Restoration began in 1971. The museum is open today through the join efforts of the Village of Glen Ellyn and the Historical Society. It is open for tours by volunteer docents two afternoons each week. Visitors will see what life was like in the 1840’s, for the Stacy family and for their guests.
The Stacy’s son, Philo, remembered:

“In the early days, my father operated a sort of tavern for the land-seekers and travelers, charging them fifty cents for supper, lodging, and breakfast, and two horses to hay. It took several days to go from Stacy’s Tavern to Chicago. Farmers with their products and settlers heading west were welcomed.”
As St. Charles road was improved, stagecoaches could make the trip, carrying mail and passengers. The first stagecoach in this area was Dr. Temple’s, which made the trip from Chicago to Galena tri-weekly. Passengers paid five to six cents per mile. Fresh relays of horses waited at taverns along the way. The coaches traveled at the rate of six miles per hour with four horses as a team. Stagecoaches accommodated 9 – 12 passengers with mail carried on the flat tops of the coaches.

About
Tavern Day
Tavern Day is a living history celebration of the mid-1800’s held the last Sunday afternoon of September. It is a family event, with events designed for everyone to enjoy! Check our calendar page for more details.

The Museum is located at 557 Geneva Road in Glen Ellyn, just west of Main Street, in the “Stacy’s Corners” or “Five Corners” neighborhood of north Glen Ellyn. There is free parking behind the museum and at the History Center, 800 N. Main St. Glen Ellyn. The parking lot behind the museum is not paved. Unless you need to park there for accessibility reasons, we encourage you to park at the History Center. Come into the gift shop at the History Center on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from April 1 thru mid-December and let the cashier know you would like a tour. The museum is closed in the winter.
The back entrance of the museum has a ramp that makes it wheelchair accessible. However, there are stairs to the second floor of the museum; currently, no elevator is available. The entire first floor is accessible. The History Center has wheelchair accessible rest rooms.

Directions

Stacy’s Tavern Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places!