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Bonner Heritage Farm celebrates old-fashioned country fair

Posted October 06, 2013 1:26 pm

Daily Herald report

Leah Stiles, 4, of Grayslake feeds a baby goat Sunday while visiting the Bonner Heritage Farms Country Fair in Lindenhurst. The event featured wagon rides, crafts, games and a petting zoo on an 1842 farm. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

Bonner Heritage Farm in Lindenhurst was the site Sunday of an old-fashioned country fair.

The Bonner Country Fair featured wagon rides, crafts, games, a petting zoo and more. Visitors were invited to bring a picnic and enjoy live entertainment.

The farm, which is part of McDonald Woods Forest Preserve, originally was homesteaded in 1842 by Scottish immigrants William and Margaret Bonner. In 1995, their great-grandson Howard “Shorty” Bonner donated an 8-acre cluster of buildings to the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

The most historically significant structure on the property is the main barn. The original oak-and-hickory structure was built in 1848.

“There are farm shows and different fall festivals around but this is the only one I’m aware of that’s open to the public at an 1842 Centennial Farm,” said Katherine Hamilton-Smith, director of cultural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

Morgan Pfeifer, 7, of Waukegan paints pumpkins Sunday while visiting the Bonner Heritage Farms Country Fair in Lindenhurst. The event featured wagon rides, crafts, games and a petting zoo on an 1842 farm. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

Drake Shaw, 6, of Lindenhurst tries using stilts Sunday while visiting the Bonner Heritage Farms Country Fair in Lindenhurst. The event featured wagon rides, crafts, games and a petting zoo on an 1842 farm. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

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