Step Back in Time at Garfield Farm Museum’s 1840’s Days - June 27-28
On Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th from 10am-4pm, visitors
can step back in time and discover what life was like over 160 years
ago during Garfield Farm Museum’s 1840’s Days. The event
offers children and adults the opportunity to learn about their rural
heritage through guided tours and demonstrations.
Life in the 1840’s was very different than it is today. Farm
families, like the Garfield family, had to survive without electricity,
running water, and many other modern conveniences. Farm work and
household chores were physically demanding and there was always more
work that needed to be done. During the event, visitors will be able to
experience daily life in the mid 19th century through period
demonstrations by costumed interpreters.
The restored 1846 brick inn will be open for tours.
Visitors will be able to see the kitchen, ladies parlor, taproom,
ballroom, and customers’ bedroom. Highlights of the tour include
many original Garfield family items, such as, the spinning wheel that
the family brought with them from Vermont when they moved to Illinois.
The tour often sparks conversations between family members as they
recall childhood recollections of growing up on a farm.
In addition to the brick inn, visitors will be able
to walk through the museum’s historic barns. The 1842 barn is the
oldest building on the property. Although damaged by a lightning strike
in 2005, this historic structure has survived and plans are underway
for its restoration. The 1849 horse barn was recently re-roofed. It was
originally built to house the horses for the customers staying at the
inn.
Children will delight in seeing the museum’s
farm animals. These include rare heritage breeds of chickens, turkeys,
geese, sheep, hogs, and oxen. Visitors will have a chance to see the
oxen in action during several ox driving demonstrations over the course
of the two days. Finally, Visitors can also tour the museum’s
prairie, giving them a chance to reconnect with nature while learning
about native plants and the impact of human development on the
landscape.
Admission to the 1840’s Days event is $6 for
adults and $3 for children. A bake sale will be held and
refreshments will be offered in the museum’s visitor center, the
Atwell Burr House. The event benefits the museum’s ongoing
efforts to restore the historic buildings and to provide educational
programming.
Garfield Farm Museum is a 370 acre historically
intact former 1840’s prairie farmstead and teamster inn that
volunteers and donors are preserving as an 1840’s living history
museum. The museum is located 5 miles west of Geneva, Illinois off ILL
Route 38 on Garfield Road. For event information, contact the museum at
(630) 584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org.
For more information about Garfield Farm send an e-mail message to:
info@garfieldfarm.org or
call 630/584-8485.
