Getting to Know Grace Exhibit

The Bureau County History Center presents a revealing exhibit on Grace Clark Norris and her family. We invite you to travel back in time to learn the history of this prominent Bureau County family – from the early days of the Civil War to post-WWII, from Dover to LaMoille to Princeton.

Samuel P. Clark and his wife Anne, and later Grace and her husband, Alfred Norris, were busily involved in various industries in the county, and were frequently privately philanthropic, often funding the education of numerous college-bound students, while also playing host to grand holiday celebrations, fancy dress parties, and exuberant anniversary receptions. From a family relationship and personal gift from Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant to a letter writing campaign to President Woodrow Wilson, the family’s connections continue to captivate and intrigue visitors to their home today. Despite the vivacious, social exterior this family displayed, they endured a deeply private pain at the deaths of six children in the family over two generations, from illness to public tragedy.

Through it all, Grace Clark Norris and family displayed an enduring devotion to their community, to their friends, and charitable organizations.

Come walk the halls of their beautifully preserved 1900 Colonial Revival style home at 109 Park Avenue West, Princeton, and learn the history of this place through never-before-seen artifacts and documents that tell the story of this family, and this county, in a new way.