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Fabyan Forest Preserve
The museum and garden are open from May through mid-October. Please check the Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley website for visiting hours. To tour the windmill, please refer to the Forest Preserve District of Kane County website.
The Museum was once the home of George and Nelle Fabyan from 1908 to 1939. An existing farmhouse dating to the mid-1800s was enlarged and remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907. The house exhibits many of Wright’s Prairie style hallmarks. The Museum contains artifacts collected by the Fabyans, historic photographs, and some period and original furniture.
It was designed by Taro Otsuka, an emigrant Japanese landscape architect, who had an office in downtown Chicago and designed gardens for the wealthy across the U.S. Inspired by their mutual interests, the Fabyans’ Japanese Garden was a uniquely serene oasis and was featured on many postcards in the 1920s and 30s.
While the Fabyans added personal elements, such as tulips, a gazing ball and an electrified lantern, their garden exemplified traditional gardens of Japan, incorporating water, stone and plants to represent the natural world. Today’s visitors to the Fabyan Japanese Garden can see many of the historic features and can experience the singular serenity of Japanese-style gardening.
The garden has been

Both sites are owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve District, and operated by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, a non-profit historic preservation advocacy group.