History
The oldest house on Parkside
Sheldon Peck’s 1839 homestead is still on its original ground, and it is a verified stop on the Underground Railroad.
Lombard · Saturday, September 12, 2026
The oldest house in Lombard is still where it was built: the Sheldon Peck Homestead, 355 East Parkside Avenue, at the southwest corner of St. Charles Road and Grace Street. Parking is off Parkside. The museum is free, with a suggested five-dollar donation to the historical society.
Sheldon and Harriet Peck came to Babcock’s Grove in 1837 and finished the house in 1839. Sheldon was a folk portrait painter and an abolitionist. The homestead is on the National Park Service Network to Freedom as a verified Underground Railroad station. Family lived there until the late 1990s. It has been a public museum, run by the Lombard Historical Society, since 1999.
The society’s Tales + Tombstones walks were at Lombard Cemetery on October 2 and 3, 6 to 8 p.m., ages 12 and up. If you missed the flashlights, the house on Parkside is the visit that stays open.