We aim to preserve materials that document the history of Deerfield and the surrounding areas, including Bannockburn and Riverwoods as well as Lake County in general.
Our collection contains both print and electronic resources, including Deerfield High School yearbooks, Deerfield telephone directories, published books related to Deerfield history, unpublished manuscripts, the Deerfield Review archives, and primary source materials.
You can access our digitized resources online through the Deerfield Public Library Local History Archives. New Local History documents are being added all the time!
To access print materials, come into the library and we can get you set up. If you are interested in donating materials to the local history archive, please contact Anne Jamieson at deerfieldhistory@deerfieldlibrary.org to get started!
This guided walking tour explores the sculptures and paintings publicly on display in Deerfield. Download the art tour guide and map, and use those along with the audio to take your own self-guided public art tour. Allow approximately 35 minutes to complete the tour.
Click below to begin your Deerfield Public Art Tour!
Please note: Headphones are recommended when accessing the audio.
Virtual Tour
Enjoy Deerfield’s public art from anywhere with our 360 video tour, which includes a condensed version of the audio tour, original interviews, and historic photos. For new angles, drag the video with your mouse or move your device around to see in all directions. You can also use a Virtual Reality (VR) device like Google Cardboard for an immersive experience. Please Note: The video may not appear correctly on a mobile device from this page. Click here to watch on YouTube.
Artist Interviews
Tune in to DPL Podcast episode #8 below, which features interviews with artists Mary Block and Lars-Birger Sponberg. You can find all of our podcast episodes on our podcast page.
Sources for the Deerfield Public Art Audio Tour cited here.
Public art in Deerfield maintained by the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission.
The Library, in cooperation with the Deerfield Cemetery Commission, is pleased to present “inside the gates” historical tours of the Deerfield Cemetery. Due to the popularity of this program, the Library created an audio tour[1] that you can use to take a self-guided tour of the cemetery.
Below you will find the Cemetery Tour route, as well as the audio guide. Allow approximately one (1) hour to complete the tour, and please remember to observe the following guidelines:
- The cemetery closes at sundown, so please plan accordingly and make sure if you start the tour in the evening, you have enough time to complete it.
- Do not take the tour at night.
- Watch your step. There are gravestones flush with the ground, so please be careful where you walk.
- Do not lean on the gravestones.
- Be respectful – the persons buried in the cemetery do have living relatives who visit their graves.
Download the Cemetery Tour Guide
Download the Cemetery Tour Route
Click below to begin your Historic Deerfield Cemetery Tour!
Please Note: Headphones are recommended when accessing the audio.
Sources:
Deerfield Area Historical Society. Historic Deerfield Cemetery. Deerfield, IL: Deerfield Area Historical Society, 1996. Print.
Deerfield Cemetery. Deerfield Cemetery Commission, 2014. Web. 2015. <http://www.gisconsortium.org/WebApps/StoryMaps/VDF/DeerfieldCF/s2.html>.
Reichelt, Marie Ward. History of Deerfield Illinois. Glenview, IL: Glenview Press, 1928. Print.
“Welcome to the Deerfield Historic Village” Pamphlet. Deerfield Area Historical Society. Print.
Music:
Baer, Daniel, perf. Op. 17, No. 22: Kulok (Cow Call). Edvard Greig. 2014. MP3.
Baer, Daniel, perf. Op. 54, No. 2: Gangar (Norwegian March). Edvard Greig. 2014. MP3.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Deerfield Historical Cemetery Veterans Day Tour
Explore Deerfield’s military history with a special tour highlighting the veterans buried in the Deerfield Historical Cemetery and the wars they served in.
Download the Veterans Day Cemetery Guide.
Download the Cemetery Tour Route
![Deerfield Cemetery Map]()
Click below to begin the Veterans Day Tour!
Please Note: Headphones are recommended when accessing the audio.
See all sources for the Veterans Day Tour cited here.
Special thanks to the following organizations for their support in this project:
Sources:
Deerfield Area Historical Society. Historic Deerfield Cemetery. Deerfield, IL: Deerfield Area Historical Society, 1996. Print.
Deerfield Cemetery. Deerfield Cemetery Commission, 2014. Web. 2015. <http://www.gisconsortium.org/WebApps/StoryMaps/VDF/DeerfieldCF/s2.html>.
Reichelt, Marie Ward. History of Deerfield Illinois. Glenview, IL: Glenview Press, 1928. Print.
“Welcome to the Deerfield Historic Village” Pamphlet. Deerfield Area Historical Society. Print.
Music:
Baer, Daniel, perf. Op. 17, No. 22: Kulok (Cow Call). Edvard Greig. 2014. MP3.
Baer, Daniel, perf. Op. 54, No. 2: Gangar (Norwegian March). Edvard Greig. 2014. MP3.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The historic Deerfield Road Train Station is the only building in Deerfield on the National Register of Historic Places. But that only came about through the vigorous advocacy of the Deerfield Area Historical Society. Did you know the station made a brief appearance in the movie, Risky Business? Do you know the reason for the station’s “No Kissing” sign? Access our tour guide to find out about the building and the engaging history.
Thank you for visiting our Local History page.
