Building with hats, pens for sale
- Fairbury News staff
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
If you ever wished you owned a historic building and enjoy a good hat collection, there is a building for you in Forrest.
Almost 40,000 pens and pencils and 17,000 hats are displayed inside Jerry’s Hat Museum at 201 North Beech Street, formerly the Church of God. The building has original stained-glass windows, woodwork, church pews and the altar with over 4,900 square feet and two levels.
The hat museum is for sale and offered at $200,000 with all memorabilia inside included in the sale. However, if a buyer has different plans for the property, it could be negotiable.
Jerry Roth first began collecting hats in his garage and basement – mostly baseball hats with logos. When he started to run out of room, he began to brainstorm what he would like to do with all of the hats he had collected. Roth had the opportunity to purchase an old, closed down church in his current town and saw an opportunity to bring something unique to the area.
Every hat in the museum has been stapled by hand and every pen or pencil is secured by hand on a wooden board. Additional unique memorabilia can be found in the museum’s basement.
A complete renovation in 2017 included new drywall, insulation, electrical, flooring, roof, paint, a public restroom, furnace and air conditioner.
Interested buyers should contact Amber Barsema, listing broker with Keeley Real Estate at 309-750-3289. Museum tours for spectators are available by appointment. Contact Jerry at 815-374-0336.
