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News from Garfield Farm |
CAMPTON HILLS, IL: Coming up during the second weekend in March (10th
and 11th), the 55th annual Fox Valley Antiques Show to benefit Garfield
Farm Museum will be held at the Kane County Fair Grounds at 525 South
Randall Road, St. Charles, Illinois.
Hours on Saturday are from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday
10 am to 4 pm. There is an $8 admission to see over 55 dealers from 16
states. The dealers that are exhibiting are selectively chosen for this
show by Chicago Suburban Antique Dealers Association (CSADA). The
Inglenook Pantry, out of Geneva, will be offering their catering
specialties for lunch or dessert.
The CSADA has been in existence since 1957 and
has been holding this show for 55 years. They are a non-for-profit
organization striving to preserve the past and educate. A component of
CSADA’s mission is to hold shows to bring people together to
discuss and learn about antiques. The theme for this year is
“Expressions of Life.” Dealers will be displaying pieces
from several centuries, going from the 17th to the early part of the
20th century.
The proceeds from the show will benefit
Garfield Farm Museum in Campton Hills. The museum is a not-for-profit,
privately funded project that has been in existence since 1977. The
farm is interpreted to the 1840s when Timothy Garfield first purchased
the property.
Timothy Garfield was not the first person to stake a
claim on the property. Museum Operations Director William Wolcott
recently discovered new information about Sam Culbertson, who first
settled it in July of 1835.
Each admission includes a booklet containing a map of the
show, a brief story of how the Culbertson family arrived to stake a
claim in 1835 and an abridged biography of Timothy P. Garfield. A
special display on the museum will be in the atrium of the
fairground’s building.
There is a natural relationship in the realm of
antiques and museums. Having an interest in one area often leads to an
interest in the other. By visiting museums, visitors will be able to
see artifacts and antiques in context to the time period whereas what
is available at the Antique Show can be brought home. Because the CSADA
is a juried show requiring proof of all items originality, it is a
great learning experience just attending the show.
In 1957, an unexpected chain reaction of events
began when an expanding interest in antiques in the Fox Valley would
lead to the first Fox Valley Antique Show. In 1967, Iva Stork, late of
Pennsylvania, home of the antique enthusiasts’ society Questers
International, founded the first local Questers chapter, Thornapple, in
St. Charles, IL. This pioneering group supported the historic
preservation of the Bryant Durant House leading to the founding of
Restorations of Kane County (RKC), renamed Preservation Partners, that
founded the Fox Valley Fall Antique Show in 1974.
In 1977, members of Thornapple and RKC founded two
groups, Garfield Heritage Society and Campton Historic Agricultural
Lands, (CHAL), to establish Garfield Farm Museum and preserve history,
farming and the environment.
For information contact info@garfieldfarm.org or call
630 584-8485. The 370-acre site is a
historically intact former 1840s farm and teamster inn being restored
as an 1840s working farm museum by volunteers and donors from around
the country.