Time was, you could catch the interurban trolley at Main and Washington streets in downtown Oswego and, with inexpensive transfers, ride electric lines all the way east to the Atlantic Coast and all the way west to the Mississippi River.
That era will be brought to life once again at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street, Oswego hosts “The Fox River Trolleys” by Doug Rundell.
Register in advance, $5, by calling the Oswegoland Park District at 630-554-1010 or pay at the door the day of the program. Proceeds will benefit the Museum.
A little over a century ago, the discovery and commercialization of economical electric power helped create a new branch of the transportation industry: Electric interurban trolleys. Interurban trolley cars offered clean, efficient, all-weather transportation for urban and rural passengers, freight, and mail.
In 1900, Oswego was linked to the huge network of these lines that was rapidly growing up in the United States. They provided vital transportation links in the era before good roads and economical motor vehicles, but then quickly disappeared when both roads and motor vehicles were perfected.
Doug Rundell is a volunteer at the Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin. He will discuss the fascinating history of some lines that served Chicago as well as the line that served the Fox River Valley as far south as Yorkville
For more information on the program or on the museum, call them at 630-554-2999, visit their web page, www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org, or send them an email at director@littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.
—Oswego Little White School Museum