Frederick Boehme Sr. and his bride Mary came to Romeoville from Chicago in around 1890. They had four sons. Mary was the daughter of Charles and Matilda Bachmann, one of the earliest families of DuPage County. (See Bachmann.) The Boehme family ran a saloon. The saloon and home were completely destroyed by a fire in 1902. As a testimony to unconquerable spirit, Fred Boehme outfitted a shed near the destroyed saloon the next day and was back at work. The family soon moved to a house near 135th Street and the streetcar line. Fred Boehme built a restaurant and saloon next to their home. He also built a smokehouse. The businesses serviced the Chicago and Joliet Electric Line passengers. In 1910, Boehme bought the land of the destroyed Romeo Hotel (Joseph Startz) and built a concrete-block hotel and saloon there, calling it the Riverside Inn. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was one of the most popular local places to go.
Romeoville Area Historical Society
Located in the James P. Sczepaniak Museum