Bensenville fest offers glimpse of past
As he walks through the house, pride and fascination can be detected in Jon Sebastian's body language.
He relishes in telling the tales of the old farmhouse, its cabin and its former occupants. It's hard to believe that a one-time saddle maker in Napoleon's army somehow ended up in Bensenville and sired one of DuPage County's oldest dynasties.
But that's exactly what Conrad Fischer did.
"The cabin. It's the oldest surviving structure in DuPage County," says Sebastian, a young historian who works as an intern for the Bensenville Park District.
The cabin dates back to 1836.
Sebastian, who gave tours Saturday during the park district's Heritage Day festival, has been active in working to restore the old farmhouse that dates back to the 1920s.
The festival took place at Fischer Farm, 16W680 Grand Ave., where descendants of the Fischer family lived until the 1990s, Sebastian said.
Sponsored by the park district and the Bensenville Arts Council, the festival celebrates the arrival of fall. It generally attracts hundreds during a course of only a few hours.
The event featured children's activities, live entertainment and this year it focused on local life in the 1800s to the early 1900s.
"This is fantastic," said Karen Balog, who was visiting her daughter in Bensenville and decided to tour the farmhouse. "We preserve buildings like this because it is the antiquity of our society."
It's the second year the park district has offered tours of the old farmhouse during Heritage Days, Sebastian says. But many historical artifacts have been added.
Saturday's visitors saw Dr. Otto's Fischer's office cluttered with jars of old cough syrups, handwritten letters, medical books and even an 1848 German bible. Antique furniture, linens, newspapers and appliances spruce up the home.
"There's definitely a lot of history here," Sebastian said. "I can sense it as I walk through."
In fact, Sebastian is preparing an argument to present before the National Register of Historic Places. He hopes that one day, it will be placed on the national register.