Search for artifacts at Garfield Farm Museum dig
Garfield Farm Museum in Campton Hills is looking for volunteers to help with archaeological research in July and August.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, July 15-19 and 22-26, as well as the second session Aug. 12-16 and 19-23.
Under the direction of James R. Yingst, director and chief archaeologist of Chicago-based Heartland Archaeology Research Program, and a research associate in archaeology at Garfield Farm Museum, work is focused on understanding the lives of the 1830s-'40s settling farmers in northern Illinois.
Registration is currently open. Individuals enrolling for a minimum of 40 hours receive a complete orientation, structured training involving rotation through the activities of shovel excavation, screening of excavated soil for artifact recovery, and washing of recovered artifacts.
Participants who successfully complete 40 or more hours will receive certificates documenting hours of training and supervised experience in historical archaeology.
Volunteers who cannot commit to 40 hours are also welcome and will receive informal orientations and participate in tasks needed during their hours of participation.
The GFM Archaeology Program accepts volunteers of ages 14-17 with written parental permission. Volunteers under 14 years old must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times. Participants under age 8 are not recommended.
The Culbertson log house/Garfield log tavern stood in the fork of the Chicago/St. Charles Road that branched northwest to Sycamore and southwest to Oregon, Illinois. Culbertson originally claimed 440 acres of land that he improved with a log house, a dug well, and 30 acres under cultivation by mid-1841 when he sold the claim to Timothy Garfield for $650.
The Garfields immediately saw a lucrative opportunity in establishing an inn to capture the business of the numerous farmers hauling wheat past their house to Chicago's port.
To register as a participant, to visit the excavation site, or to financially contribute to the effort, contact the museum at (630) 584-8485, email info@garfieldfarm.org or write to Garfield Farm Museum, P.O. Box 403, LaFox, IL 60147.
Garfield Farm Museum is a 375-acre historically intact former 1840s prairie farmstead and teamster inn that volunteers and donors are preserving as an 1840s living history museum. The museum is located on Garfield Road, off Route 38, 5 miles west of Geneva. Guided tours are given on Wednesdays and Sundays June through September from 1 to 4 p.m.; all other times by appointment.
Visit www.garfieldfarm.org or follow the museum on Facebook.