Preserving the Mosaic Tile Floor at the Hume-Carnegie Museum

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Overview

Today Heritage Restoration restored the original 1906 mosaic tile floor in the main entrance of the Carnegie Library Building in Mendota, Illinois

In Depth

The first step in this process was to perform a deep cleaning of the tiles after their 115 years of use. Next our staff applied a custom clear gloss coating, designed for antique restoration in high use areas. This coating was left to cure after it was applied to ensure an undisturbed finish. The floor is now rejuvenated and better able to withstand abrasion and chemical contact. By using this process, the mosaic tiles retained their original appearance, but with increased protection from further degradation.

About The Museum

The Hume-Carnegie Museum is one of three museums under the umbrella of the Mendota Museum & Historical Society (MMHS). The Hume-Carnegie houses the local history of Mendota and the surrounding area from the mid 1800s up to the present day. The Union Depot Railroad Museum Houses rail history and showcases a 1940’s working Heckscher–Ohlin model of Mendota. The Breaking Prairie Museum showcases the local agricultural history.

The Hume-Carnegie Museum was built in 1904 with a donation of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie. It became the MMHS in mid-1990’s when Horace Hume made a substantial donation to the city of Mendota. These funds established a new library and concurrently refurbished the existing Carnegie building to become a museum. This site houses approximately 20,000 artifacts and proudly displays wartime history from the Civil War to the Spanish American War to the Iran conflict. James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok memorabilia is also featured (as part of his youth was spend eight miles down the road in Mendota). The Hall of Fame features locals Helen Hochkinson, New Yorker cartoonist, Deacon White, Baseball Hall of Fame, Bill Brown of the Minnesota Vikings, August Holland, a world renowned maritime artist, Horace Hume inventor & philanthropist and many more.