Nancy Flannery stands among some of the historical items stored in a city of Wheaton annex. Flannery, named receiver of Wheaton Historic Preservation Council items, said few items she comes across in her research have documentation. (Provided photos)

First in a series looking at how Wheaton’s history was lost and what is being done to reclaim it

Nancy Flannery found a piece of drain pipe in a Wheaton banker’s box and doesn’t know the significance of it.

For all she knows, it could be from the home of Jesse Wheaton, one of the founders of the west suburban city.

With no documentation attached, Flannery and others are left to wonder about the historical significance of the piece of pipe.

Flannery finds herself on a “National Treasure” type quest to recover a city’s history, but it is a starring role she didn’t aspire to attain.

“This is exhausting,” said the retired Flannery, who has put in more than 215 hours since the end of June uncovering and chronicling Wheaton’s historical artifacts stored in a city annex.

Flannery has been named receiver of the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council, which dissolved in 2017, and the 1,100 banker’s boxes of artifacts that were left behind.

The Wheaton resident said box after box contain artifacts but no documentation.

“There are old photos, I assume of residents. There is jewelry and a Bible,” Flannery said. “I have no idea who it belongs to because there is no name.

“People donated these things. On occasion, I will find an accession sheet (a form used to record the acquisition of an individual item or a collection of items). Occasionally, I will find something in the boxes providing documentation.

“However, there are 600-plus boxes that I have gone through and only 1 or 2 percent of the items have had documentation.”

The Wheaton Historic Preservation Council was formed in 1990, providing events and researching the city’s history. It started with a annual budget of $20,000, but by 1999 had a budget of $250,000 per year.

Historical items stored in a city of Wheaton annex

In 2021, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against the Preservation Council alleging that WHPC board members illegally transferred more than $300,000 to board president Alberta Adamson. The Attorney General’s Office is still seeking that money.

Nancy Flannery joined the city of Wheaton’s Historic Commission, which served as a liaison between the city and the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council.

Flannery said she became concerned about artifacts when the WHPC sold its Colvin House location to a developer and got evicted from its Front Street location.

“When a nonprofit is dissolved, it is supposed to donate the artifacts. The DuPage County Historical Museum could have taken items,” Flannery said. “The WHPC did not give the items to them.”

Instead, some items were auctioned off through Donnelly Auction House in Union – 11 uncashed checks total more than $65,000. Other items were stored away.

As a Wheaton resident, Flannery said, it is hard to fathom the disregard and lack of respect members of the Historic Preservation Council had for the city’s history.

“I am outraged by it,” Flannery said. “I think it is incredibly unfair. The city of Wheaton for decades supported the WHPC with time, money and donations of artifacts – and now items are missing.

“No one wants items to be lost. I feel Wheaton has lost its history. We need some answers on where things are … How do we know what matters?”

WHPC board president Alberta Adamson and her attorney, Joseph Ziccardi, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

kbeese@chronicleillinois.com