MUSEUMS & TOURISM From the museum, you can access a variety of trails (below) through the Forest Preserve.
Get to know the forest and its creatures at Trailside Museum
MARC STOPECK
MARC STOPECK
Live treeLi climbing clim Black Rat Snakes together coil up to inside the museum.
The Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum at Chicago Ave. and Thatcher in River Forest. By Robert K. Lifka Contributing Reporter
N
inety years after its founding, the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum is still drawing visitors to River Forest.
The museum opened on May 22, 1931,
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with the mission to educate the public about and to exhibit plants and animals found in Cook County. The 16-room Victorian Italian Villa style mansion at the corner of Thatcher and Chicago avenues had served as the first headquarters of the Forest Preserve District since 1919.
Irene Flebbe, assistant director, said the museum and grounds attract all
ages from near and far, including senior citizens, bird watchers and school classes from grade school to college. She said visitors include tourists and “a lot of locals,” illustrating the museum’s relationship with River Forest residents. “River Forest is proud to be home to the Trailside Museum,” said village
