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The Historic McKee House in Churchill Woods Forest Preserve
Turn a Vision into a Reality
Turn a Vision into a Reality
To preserve and repurpose the McKee House at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve, the McKee Preservation Group, Inc., Village of Glen Ellyn, Midwest SOARRING Foundation, and Forest Preserves of DuPage County are working to create:
The Native American Cultural & Environmental Center (NAC&EC)
The NAC&EC will preserve Native American Culture, the Environment and Local History. It will be a one-of-a-kind Educational Attraction in the heart of DuPage County.
We Need Your Help
We Need Your Help
The McKee Preservation Group, Inc. is the fund-raising not-for-profit organization for the NAC&EC. Our federal EIN is 36–4844024 and your contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law.
Visit our partner website, Fund The Center, to support, join, and learn more.
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The Journey towards Adaptive ReUse
The Journey towards Adaptive ReUse
Built in 1936, the McKee House has long been a treasure on the along St Charles Road in Glen Ellyn. Having sat vacant for decades, the structures became at risk for demolition.
In 2016, the McKee Preservation Group, Inc. formed and collected over 1,000 signatures to support preserving and re-adapting the historic structures. The hurdles then became to:
Find a purpose for the structures.
Form partnerships.
Secure funding.
Being near the geographical center of the county (no more than 16 miles from any DuPage County) boundary, the site has great potential.
It could be a regional cultural asset for a myriad of uses, e.g. environmental studies, fine arts classes, performances, and rental opportunities.
It would be easily accessible by foot or bicycle along East Branch DuPage River Trail (EBDRT) extension connecting the Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail through Churchill Woods Forest Preserve.
Recognizing its potential, in 2018 Village of Glen Ellyn stepped forward to annex a portion of Churchill Woods Forest Preserve including the McKee House structures and leased that area from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
On September 23, 2023, The Village of Glen Ellyn, the Midwest SOARRING Foundation, and the Forest Preserves of DuPage County signed an agreement to allow the preservation and adaptive reuse of the McKee House as The Native American Cultural and Environmental Center at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve.
McKee House Walkthrough: Take a video tour of how the Conceptual renderings for The Center fit in with the current condition of McKee House.
Also in 2023, the Village of Glen Ellyn contracted AltusWorks, Inc. to create potential plans for the Native American Environmental & Cultural Center.
Having jumped the 1st two hurdles, late in 2024, the McKee Preservation Group, Inc. reorganized to become the fund-raising not-for-profit organization to Fund the Center.
In 2025, the State of Illinois granted $300,000 towards this vision thanks to the advocacy of State Representative Diane Blair-Sherlock's (46th Dist.) Those funds, combined with those of generous donors, are allowing the first phase of repairs to start in 2026. (Check out the March 2026 video walkthrough of the McKee House interior that shows condition of the McKee House with the conceptuals rendersing overlaind!)
Once sufficient funds are secured, and necessary repairs and remodeling are complete, the center will operate under a new entity, a one-of-a-kind educational space benefitting DuPage County for generations to come.
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