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Campton Township annual Prairie Fest offers outdoor fun

After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the city's fire department recording secretary wrote a letter to his cousin.

"It's awful," began Hiram Amick's letter to the Corron family, one of the first families to settle present-day Campton Township.

The letter is one piece of written history that will be on display Saturday at Campton Township's eighth annual Prairie Fest.

Held at the historic Corron Farm, 7N761 Corron Road in Campton Township, the fest features staples such as music, farm animals, tours of the 1850s brick Greek Revival Corron House, built by Robert Corron, one of Campton Township's earliest settlers, along with tours of the prairie and savanna.

"The Corrons have been there all the time. They never threw anything away. It's just mind-boggling in terms of written material," said Laurel Garza, a member of the Corron Farm Preservation Society who is helping catalog and preserve letters, postcards and newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s.

"The postcards are really cool. A lot of local stuff," Garza said.

Like past years, tours of the savanna and prairie will be given, and the day will include scavenger hunts, a raffle, live music, free refreshments such as doughnuts and cider, and local vendors offering goods ranging from honey produced at the farm to craft items.

"Adults will enjoy visiting as well. It's not entirely for children," said Lisa Mertz, Campton Township open space manager.

Another new attraction this year is a geocaching demonstration.

"The wagon rides are very popular," said Tom Serewicz, Campton Township manager for parks, maintenance and operations.

Organizers will have two wagons going this year and also have recruited about 50 vendors.

The event will be held rain or shine and admission is free. For more information, call (630) 549-7947 or visit campton-parks-and-open-space.com.

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