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NSCDA-IL Collection

The collection of The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of Illinois (NSCDA-IL) is representative of what the Clarke family would have owned and furnished the home with during their residency (1836-1872). The NSCDA-IL Collection consists of period furniture, decorative arts, ceramics, glassware, and other household items which help interpret family life in pre-Civil War Chicago.

CHM Collection

The Clarke House Museum Collection consists of items relating to the history of Chicago’s oldest building from its construction through its transformation into a public museum. The collection contains architectural fragments, original paint and wallpaper samples, photographs and publications from the occupancy of the St. Paul Church of God in Christ (owners 1941-1977), and archives related to the restoration of the house in 1977 and 2004.

Chrimes-Walter Family Collection

Clarke House Museum has an extensive archive of photographs, family mementoes, and documents from the residency of the home’s second owners, the John Crimes family (owners 1872-1941). The collection was donated to the museum by great-grandson Howard Summers Walter in 1984 and is available to researchers by appointment.