Patch Passport: Travel Back In Time

What do buffaloes, a python and President Gerald Ford have in common? They are all highlights in Buffalo Grove’s history.

Buffalo Grove's history is well known. It was incorporated in 1958, and the village received its name because a herd of buffalo grazed by the trees along Buffalo Creek. But did you know that Buffalo Grove’s history is much older? According to Debbie Fandrei, the Raupp Museum’s coordinator, Buffalo Grove has an intriguing history. The Potawatomis once lived in the area. Settlers from New England arrived in the 1830s, and farmers from Germany arrived in the 1840s. “Until the 1950s, Buffalo Grove did well, but it wasn’t growing,” Fandrei said. The following were the key factors that influenced Buffalo Grove’s early years as an incorporated village. By the 1960s, Buffalo Grove’s population would total more than 1,500 residents. The village had…

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Scouts Spruce Up Raupp Museum Gardens

Cub Scout Pack 36 members offered helping hands during last weekend's beautification project.

Despite a light rain and a high of only 50 degrees, 15 members of Cub Scout Pack 36 and their families spent Saturday morning assisting in a beautification project at the Raupp Museum. “The Scouts are encouraged to do beautification projects during May,” Andrew Stein, the Pack’s Cubmaster, explained. “The Raupp Museum is part of Buffalo Grove’s heritage, and it is nice to do a project that people can see and appreciate.” Prior to the Scouts digging in and planting geraniums, celosias and petunias in the flower beds in the front of the museum, Museum Coordinator Debbie Fandrei explained how to dig holes for the flowers and spread the mulch. She also explained that mulch retains moisture for plants, and that worms are good for the soil. The …

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The Raupp Review

Introducing the Raupp Museum

Museum coordinator Debbie Fandrei kicks off Buffalo Grove Patch's new historical column.

Hi. Every relationship begins with a great introduction, so let’s begin. The Raupp Museum is the local history museum for the Buffalo Grove area — we tell the story of Buffalo Grove from Native American settlement in the early 1800s, through one hundred years of dairy farming life and on into the bustling suburb of today. However, one of the most romantic stories of all is the story of how the museum came to be. During 1960s Buffalo Grove was growing like mad — farmland was being sold, houses were being built block by block, and families were moving in every day. Literally, every day — the principal of the grade school at that time remembered that every Monday morning he would come to school and have at least two or three new students to …

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