Garfield Farm and Inn Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Garfield Farm and Tavern
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| Location | Campton Hills, Kane County, Illinois, United States |
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| Area | 237 acres (96 ha) |
| Architect | Timothy P. Garfield |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001156 |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1978 |
The Garfield Farm and Inn Museum is a special historic place in Kane County, Illinois. It's a large farm that used to be an inn in the 1840s. This inn welcomed teamsters (people who drove wagons) and other travelers. Today, it's a museum where you can learn about life in the 1840s.
The museum still has three original buildings from the 1840s. These include a barn built in 1842 for hay and grain, a horse barn from 1849, and the inn itself, built in 1846. There are also other barns and buildings, with the newest one from 1906. The Garfield Farm & Tavern Museum is the only farm like it in Illinois that is still mostly the same as it was in the 1840s. Many people help restore it to show how life was back then.
Contents
A Look Back: History of the Farm
How the Farm Started
Timothy Powers Garfield was a farmer, teacher, and brick maker from Vermont. In 1841, he bought a large piece of land in Illinois. He grew crops like wheat, corn, hay, and oats. He also raised animals for meat and dairy.
Timothy and his wife, Harriet, turned an old log house into a small inn. In 1846, they built a bigger brick house. This new building was their home and also a tavern for guests.
The Busy Inn Life
The inn was a popular stop for people traveling between Chicago and the Rock River Valley. A stagecoach and mail coach would pass by every day. Travelers and teamsters driving wheat to Chicago often stayed the night. It cost about 37 cents to stay!
Sometimes, the inn was very crowded. One night, 54 guests stayed with the Garfield family of nine in the small log tavern. Later, they moved into the bigger brick inn. The Garfield Inn was also a fun meeting place. They held monthly dances on Saturdays upstairs in the tavern. Live music played, and sometimes 100 couples would dance at once!
From Inn to Museum
When the railroad came in 1849, fewer people needed the inn. So, the farm changed from growing wheat to focusing on dairy farming.
Years later, in 1977, Timothy's granddaughter, Elva Ruth Garfield, gave 163 acres of the farm and its buildings to a group. She wanted it to become a museum. Her mother, Hannah Mighell Garfield, had first thought of making the house a museum in the 1890s. Because of this, many old items, furniture, and family letters were saved. The Garfield Farm and Tavern became a special "Historic Place" on June 23, 1978.
Today, two groups work together to run the museum. They preserve the buildings, land, and history. They rely on donations to keep the farm going and are working to restore all 24 historic buildings.
Exploring the Farm's Buildings
The Main Inn and House
The Garfield Farm and Tavern has fourteen buildings on 237 acres. The main tavern and house building was built in 1846. It's made of red brick and has a classic look.
Inside, the house has a center hallway. On one side were two rooms: a parlor for ladies and a bedroom. On the other side was a bar room and a dining room. Upstairs, a large L-shaped ballroom was used for dances. The third floor had bedrooms and storage.
Attached to the tavern is a smaller wooden annex. This part was used as a kitchen, with extra space for cooking in summer, storing firewood, and doing laundry.
Barns and Other Structures
There are four barns still standing on the farm:
- The 1842 hay barn is 44 feet by 32 feet.
- The 1849 horse barn is 28 feet by 52 feet.
- A grain barn from around 1895 is 34 feet by 28.5 feet.
- The 1906 dairy barn is 34 feet by 84 feet.
A carriage house is also still there, looking much like it did long ago. A tall cement silo, built in 1913, stands 50 feet high. A wooden windmill was built after 1906 to get water for the farm, later replaced by a metal one. There's also a deep water well and an outhouse on the property.
Literature
Angie of Garfield Farm is a children's chapter book printed in November 2014. It's a fictional story that uses the names and basic facts about the farm. The story is about a 9-year-old girl named Angeline Garfield in 1847. Ann Brack Johnson wrote the book, and Pamela Hamilton drew the pictures.
