Northwest Territory Historic Center — Attraction in Dixon Township

I can’t believe that after living in the area 20 years I had never been to NHTC. This place exceeded expectations for exhibits, beauty, and charm. I particularly enjoyed the exhibits chronically the life of Chief Black Hawk and the war, the dioramas of the city, and the displays about the truesdale bridge disaster and roller rink fire. I learned things about my community I had never known and understood the intrusion of white settlers onto Sauk lands with far more clarity than ever.

This place is free! Teachers take your students! Parents take your kids! They show movies all day on Thursdays and have scavenger hunts for kids to complete. The new space exhibit is interactive with tablets where kids can fire lasers at various moons and planets.

As a bonus you get to admire a fine example of 20th century architecture as the buildings former life as a school is meticulously and beautifully observed. The only thing I wish is that the one preserved classroom told us more about what education was like (in words) during the early 20th century.

I’m not even a fan of Ronald Reagan and I found his Jelly bean shrine and idolization to be fascinating. After all it’s his fame (or notoriety) that we have to thank for being the impetus that created this Dixon hidden gem in the...

Wow, what an experience, we stopped as an afterthought, with many complaints from the children about not wanting to go to an old boring museum. Not the case! We were met at the entrance by a staff member, she gave the children a scavenger hunt paper to fill out, the children were so excited ( they were promised a prize if completed!) We explored for two hours! The children found items on the list and so much more!! It was interesting to hear what they had to say about “ the old school building “ considering it was very similar to my high school 😏....

Really informative local museum with lots to learn and helpful guides. From Blackhawk to Walgreens to Reagan they've got plenty of exhibits to keep you busy for a while. Wait, they've got a scavenger hunt and movie nights too? Sounds like a...