Get a taste of an 1840s winter evening at Garfield Farm

Nothing helps make a winter's evening more festive than the aroma of hot spiced tea, the taste of fresh-baked tea breads, and lively fiddle and dulcimer tunes. If you agree, head to Garfield Farm Museum's annual Candlelight Reception from 3 to 7 p.m. Dec. 1-2.

Interpreters wearing period clothing will tell guests what life was like for people during the height of the horse-and-wagon era. There is no charge for the reception, but donations are appreciated.

The Garfields' home sat on the junction of the heavily traveled St. Charles-Oregon and Sycamore roads. The Garfields used their brick house as a tavern, as inns were known, to accommodate guests. At this time, most people traveled by horse and wagon. It was a slow process that could take weeks, as a heavily loaded team of horses with good weather could only travel about 15 miles a day. Inns were places that offered weary travelers an occasion to take a break from the monotony of their journey.

A guest of the Garfields could eat, drink, sleep and, most importantly, talk to others. News traveled slowly and travelers brought far away news, as well as entertaining stories. Inns became a center for the community, hosting dances, weddings, fundraisers, and other local functions.

Following a visit to the 1846 inn, walk up the glowing lantern path to Burr House and enjoy even more, as the museum will feature its Homespun Holiday Market.

In its third year, the Homespun Market, features local artisans bringing in their goods for the public to purchase. The market features a variety of crafts, such as knitted ware, pottery, household items and many other handmade items. Held in the museum's Burr House, the market runs from noon to 7 p.m. for both days. A percentage of the profits made by the artisans are donated to the museum.

A bake sale is also featured at the Holiday Market, whose goods are entirely donated by museum volunteers.

The Candlelight Reception is the museum's oldest special event. It offers visitors a chance to meet the volunteers and donors, who are the lifeblood of the farm.

The event is a way for those interested in becoming involved to meet those who already help sustain the museum and keep it moving forward.

The event also benefits the museum's ongoing efforts to restore the historic buildings and to provide educational programming. The 370-acre Garfield Farm Museum is the only historically intact former 1840s Illinois farmstead and teamster inn being restored -- by donors and volunteers, from 2,800 households in 37 states -- as an 1840s working farm museum.

Garfield Farm Museum is 5 miles west of Geneva, off Route 38 on Garfield Road. For information, call (630) 584-8485 or e-mail info@garfieldfarm.org.