This house museum is accessible.
Regular tours during museum hours.
Colonel Robert R. McCormick (1880–1955) was an American media pioneer, outspoken patriot, and noted philanthropist. As president of the Tribune Company from 1911 to 1955, he controlled powerful newspapers in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. McCormick also founded WGN Radio and Television in Chicago.
Robert R. McCormick Museum/Cantigny
1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189, USAMedia pioneer Robert R. McCormick once called his Cantigny Farm estate a “fitting monument at the western portal of the City.” This 500-acre property in Wheaton is now a public park, and McCormick’s home is a museum that connects his life and legacy to the modern world.
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Exterior
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HISTORIC FIGURES
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ANIMALS
McCormick was an accomplished equestrian and avid pet owner. He rode horses at Cantigny for fox hunting and polo, and his pet dogs often traveled with him on vacation and to work. Amy McCormick, his first wife, founded Orphans of the Storm, an animal shelter in Deerfield, Illinois.
House Museums related to "ANIMALS"
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INVENTIONS
As a newspaperman, Robert R. McCormick held several patents that improved printing press operation, but his fascination with mechanics and engineering went beyond the media. While serving as president of Chicago’s Sanitary District from 1906 to 1911, McCormick designed new ways to keep drinking water safe. He also invented a multi-purpose shovel in World War I.
House Museums related to "INVENTIONS"
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POLITICS
McCormick and his grandfather, Joseph Medill, used their positions as editors and publishers of the Chicago Tribune to promote certain political candidates and policies. They personally influenced the presidential elections of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
SERVANTS
Robert R. McCormick had several homes in and around Chicago, all of which were maintained to picture perfection by a modest corps of domestic servants. Several maids, a butler, a valet, and a chauffeur worked in the McCormick household on the Cantigny estate.
House Museums related to "SERVANTS"
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BOOKS
The library of McCormick’s Cantigny Farm estate contained over 3,000 volumes. McCormick himself also authored ten books. His 1918 book "With the Russian Army" propelled him to stardom and encouraged him to produce additional works on the American Revolution, the freedom of the press, and the Civil War.
House Museums related to "BOOKS"
- International Museum of Surgical Science
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- The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace
- Adlai E. Stevenson II Historic Home
- Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
- The Grove National Historic Landmark
- Kalo Foundation/Iannelli Studio
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PHILANTHROPY
McCormick gave generously to many charitable organizations. Chicago-area museums, universities, hospitals, youth organizations, and animal rescue groups regularly received funding from him. Today, his philanthropic spirit continues through the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
House Museums related to "PHILANTHROPY"
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FAIRS & EXHIBITIONS
At 13 years old, McCormick attended Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exposition. This experience inspired a lifelong sense of hometown pride. He used the Chicago Tribune to promote the city by sponsoring large-scale sports, music, and aviation events. Eventually City Hall took notice, and named Chicago’s premier convention facility, McCormick Place, after him.
House Museums related to "FAIRS & EXHIBITIONS"
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NATURE
Robert R. McCormick relished the outdoors. At his Cantigny estate, he hiked, hunted game, and rode horses. McCormick valued protecting nature and wildlife as well, and used the Chicago Tribune and WGN to encourage thoughtful land stewardship and progressive agriculture to the public.
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HOUSEHOLD TECHNOLOGY
Robert R. McCormick updated his rural Colonial-style Cantigny home with the newest technology of the 1930s. Innovations included air conditioning, recessed lighting, a heated dumb-waiter, private movie theater, and automatic fire doors.
House Museums related to "HOUSEHOLD TECHNOLOGY"
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Interior
image credit: Mark Battrell
Exterior
image credit: Mark Battrell