A July 2026 update on conditions at the Bishop Hill Museum

 I wanted to address some issues that we have run into at the museum at the Bishop Hill State Historic Site. Late last summer a failure in the HVAC system in the building caused a spike in humidity levels which led to some minor mold growth. The failure in the HVAC system was addressed, dehumidifiers were brought in, and the humidity soon returned to normal levels. This arrested the mold growth and we have seen no further growth since.

However, since there are technically no “safe” levels of mold, we have kept the space closed and have limited employee access to the space out of an abundance of caution.

Here’s what’s going on now:

• IDNR is working to replace several aging parts of the HVAC system – for now the failure we experienced has been addressed but it’s only a temporary fix and without this intervention another failure is likely; I don’t have a timeline for this work but my guess would be a few months

• A professional mold test found that – with the exception of the HVAC room where no artifacts are stored – mold levels inside the building are significantly lower than outdoor levels

• I have had a registrar and an artifact conservationist from the Illinois State Museum come examine the artifacts and none of them have been or are in danger of being damaged; I’m still waiting on their final report but they were confident that the artifacts are completely safe

• Some of the artifacts will need to be cleaned before being returned to display; this work will either be done on site or at the ISM in Springfield. The final determination on that is pending the report.

• I am working now to have the mold remediated in the museum building. Since this is specialized work it may take a little longer than expected to find a contractor .

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions and I’ll get back you as soon as possible.

Jeff Nevins

He/him/his

Historic Sites Division Manager

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

1 Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL  62702

Office: 217-785-9383