O
O
UR
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MISSION
MISSION
To preserve and maintain Pleasant Home and its grounds as an historic house
museum and exhibition facility so as to provide a public educational, recreational
and cultural resource for all residents of and visitors to Oak Park, Illinois.
Q
Q
UICK
UICK
F
F
ACTS
ACTS
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:
1897 Investment banker John Farson, commissions Prairie School architect, George W. Maher, to design a home
"fit for entertaining."
1906 Alterations to the home and grounds are completed including a carriage house, gardens, screened summer
house and tennis court.
1910 John Farson dies suddenly and his wife, Mamie Farson, sells the home to Herbert and Leonie Mills.
1939 The Park District of Oak Park purchases Pleasant Home from the Mills family and names the grounds Mills
Park. The home functioned as a community center until 1989.
1972 Pleasant Home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is included in the Illinois Historic
Structures Survey.
1990 Pleasant Home Foundation is incorporated to study the house and its use.
1996 The National Park Service makes Pleasant Home a National Historic Landmark.
TODAY Pleasant Home stands as a cultural center for the community and an architectural wonder for tourists.
