Over the next three years, a site orientation exhibit will be built inside the Ellwood House Visitor Center to will help visitors understand the impact of the Ellwood family upon DeKalb. The exhibit will be designed to share the architecture and history that makes the Ellwood House site so attractive, including the newly obtained Ellwood-Nehring House.

“We will provide a window in which to view the historic mansion and other buildings, begin a public tour and explore the Ellwood properties,” museum director Brian Reis said in a news release. “The exhibit will be made accessible for all, and will be fabricated following the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines for exhibit design.”

Major funding for the exhibit comes from the DeKalb County Community Foundation’s Community Needs grant. The exhibit will be the result of a group initiative led by Ellwood House staff and former Ellwood House Museum Director Jerry Brauer and includes collaborators from the Northern Illinois University Museum Studies program, directed by Peter Van Ael. The gallery will open with a public reception in May 2015.