Netzley-Yender House

The Netzley family moved to Lisle from Pennsylvania in 1848. The house they bought burned down about 10 years later, so they built this house. This portion was built first and was used as a kitchen and family room.

The building was restored to look like its 1800s appearance. Each room is themed to show different uses through its long lifetime. As of 2020, the building is 162 years old.

This hearth fireplace was used for cooking and heating the room, which is why it has such an open design. The metal arm and fire tools were made by a MLSP volunteer master blacksmith.

The open hearth oven's heat vent allow heat to rise into the children's bedroom and keep them warm during cold nights.

Broken pieces of china were found underneath the home during an archaeological excavation - some charred, others not. Evidence found from these artifacts has been published, helping find better ways of figuring out different sites across the world.

The Double Parlor is two square rooms that contained a temporary wall. The family hosted tea and Church of the Brethren services here. The wallpaper designs were recreated from original pieces still attached to the walls during the building's restoration.

Jacob and Mary Netzley came to the United States from Switzerland. They settled in Lisle with their 10 children, choosing the community because they were professional weavers: they needed land to raise sheep and farm crops to eat.

This bedroom was where the parents of the household slept. The side door leading outside allows for adults tending the farm fields or home garden to quickly access these outdoor areas.

Frank and Frances Yender immigrated with their family to Lisle in 1844 from Alsace, France. They lived on a farm near the river, north of Southwest Plank Road. Their grandson, George, purchased the Netzley’s property in 1910 and married Mary Letcher 3 years later.

The Summer Kitchen was the third portion of the home to be built. Summer Kitchens are usually not attached to the home, but this one was for convenience. After some fires, the family detached it. Volunteers reattached it when it was moved to its museum site.

The beehive oven is the main feature of the Summer Kitchen and is shaped differently than a hearth oven. Its design pulls heat up through a flue and out of the chimney. This keeps the room cool so that it can be used comfortably during the summer.

The smoke room was used to preserve food for longer - common before the invention of refrigeration. A fire can be built in the at the bottom left of the beehive oven. Smoke rises through the door into the smoke room. Meats and cheeses were prepared with salt and hung to dry out.

Small door from the beehive oven to the smoke room