Historic Site Spotlight: Garfield Farm Museum

Historic Site Spotlight: Garfield Farm Museum

Presented virtually by Jerry Johnson & Joseph Coleman

Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at 7:00pm

TWO WAYS TO ATTEND:

1. Online Via Zoom (Log-in credentials will be emailed.)

2. In-Person Watch Party at Renfrew (Limit 30)

$5 per person / Free for Friends of Renfrew Members

Registration will close at 12:00pm on the day of event.

“Go west, young man” and explore Garfield Farm and Tavern Museum in Campton Hills, IL with Renfrew this fall – virtually! Join Executive Director, Jerome “Jerry” Johnson, and Assistant Site Manager, Joseph Coleman, for a fascinating look at Garfield Farm Museum, a 366-acre farmstead with preserved wetlands, savanna and prairie land located 40 miles west of Chicago.

Boasting numerous historic structures dating from the mid-19th through 20th centuries, Garfield Farm tells the story of America’s prairie farm heritage. At the heart of the farmstead are three original 1840’s buildings – an 1842 hay and grain barn, 1849 horse barn, and the 1846 brick teamster inn which interpret the Garfield family’s short-lived tavern enterprise, a center for community activity housing hundreds of teamsters and travelers. Visitors learn how the Garfield’s inn played host to jubilant Independence Day Dances in the second-floor ballroom, served as a meeting place, and a spot to drop in for good company and a mug of hard cider. The coming of the railroads ended the inn-keeping business for the Garfields, yet they continued to till the Kane County soil. In 1977, the last Garfield family owner, Elva Ruth Garfield, founded the museum to share her family’s farming heritage with a new generation becoming increasingly disassociated with the land.

Today, the museum offers a variety of educational, family, and entertainment events. Seminars are held on such topics as prairie, woodlands, and wetlands management; bat and blue bird box construction; and fruit tree grafting. Specials shows bring rare breed livestock, heirloom garden products and seeds, and collections of antique farm tools to the property. Garfield Farm also hosts monthly prairie walks, social events like barn dances, and a candlelight tavern reception at the Inn in December. Take this virtual journey with us to Illinois and discover how Garfield Farm Museum brings together the farming experiences of the past 150 years with an appreciation of the natural environment settlers found when they arrived. An unspoiled beauty that, thanks to the museum’s preservation efforts for over four decades, folks can still enjoy to this day.

About Renfrew Museum & Park's Historic Site Spotlight Series: This bi-monthly program will feature fellow historic sites with similarities to Renfrew. Drawing on shared themes from architecture and preservation, to artifact collections, ethnic and agricultural heritage, community engagement and more, we’ll explore the vast landscape of the exciting things happening in our region and across the country together – virtually. In a time of great difficulty and challenge for local museums, Renfrew is committed to partnering with peer institutions in the field to increase awareness, interest, outreach, and support. Travel with us on this virtual adventure and discover new historic sites that you’re sure to love!