Evanston History Center
Concerned that much of Evanston’s early history was at risk of being lost with the death of the earliest settlers, a group of 7 residents founded the Evanston History Center (formerly the Evanston Historical Society) in 1898.
In 1942, Charles Gates and Caro Dawes arranged for Northwestern University to hold their house in trust for the Evanston History Center. Evanston History Center moved into the Dawes House in 1960 after Charles and Caro Dawes had both died.
In 1976 the Charles Gates Dawes House was named a National Historic Landmark.
Today, the Center collects, preserves, shares, and interprets the rich history of the City of Evanston through tours, exhibits, educational programs, community events and research facilities.
We Are Hiring
The Evanston History Center is hiring a Research Scholar for the Evanston Women’s History Project at the Evanston History Center. Click here to view the position description.
For more information about the Evanston Women’s History Project, click here.
For more information about the position, please contact Krista Fabian DeCastro, Director of Public Engagement, at kfabian@evanstonhistorycenter.org.
Staff
Deborah Kasindorf
Deborah Kasindorf has joined the Evanston History Center as Executive Director after spending the last eight years in the museum world on the East Coast. Most recently she was CEO/Executive…
Krista Fabian DeCastro
Krista Fabian DeCastro is a cultural manager specializing in creative partnerships, educational programming, and grantmaking in arts and culture. Prior to joining the Evanston History Center in 2024, she served…
Suzanne Farrand
Suzanne has been with EHC since 2019 and assists the Director of Archives and manages the research room. This includes helping patrons with research, and retrieving items from the archival…
Kris Hartzell
Kris has been with EHC since 2007. Kris directs the preservation and maintenance of the Dawes house, serves as the collections registrar and oversees the artifact collection. She also leads…
Erin Hughes
Erin works part-time as the Digital Content Manager for the Evanston History Center. Prior to this role, Erin was the Curator of Collections from 2007 to 2014 for the Evanston…
Rachel Jennens
After volunteering in the collection for over 20 years, Rachel was named Interim Costume Curator 5 years ago, and Costume Curator in January of 2022. She oversees the care and…
Grace Lehner
Grace has been with EHC since 2013 and is responsible for managing the research room and archives, providing reference services, accessioning and describing the collections, and providing research assistance for…
Kristen Nelson
Kristen joins the Evanston History Center as Director of External Relations continuing a twenty-year career rich in maximizing capacity building for mission-driven nonprofit organizations from Boston to southeast Virginia. As…
Board of Trustees
President: Katie Tucker Trippi
Vice-President, Facilities and Collections: Michael Girard
Vice-President, Membership: Jenifer McCartney
Secretary: Michael Sullivan
Treasurer: Geoffrey Bonn
Trustees:
A. Louis Allred
Bob Burns
Kelly Bush
Jill Berryman Demma
Morris Fisher, MD
Nabil Foster
Consuelo (Connie) Gillock
Kim Hamilton
Gary Kaufman
Len Koroski
Ross Mathee
Susan Turner
Tosha Wilson
Emeriti:
J. Robert (Bob) Barr
Sharon L. Ephraim
Eston Gross
Doug Honnold
Matt Struve