Take a tour of the Garfield Farm Museum

The Wednesday and Sunday afternoon tours have started at Garfield Farm Museum.

Here, the values that made America a success can be discovered by a young generation that faces great economic challenges in the decades ahead. The modest donation for admission is worth much more to acquaint young and remind old of the hard work day in and out that made America a world leader in the 20th century.

The fun and informative tour at Garfield Farm Museum, with its historic barns, the restored 1846 Inn, and historic breeds of farm animals, appeal to all ages.

The tour looks at the lessons of the 1840s that are especially relevant today. Every farmer depended on his good name for credit to get him through spring planting and the summer before his cash crop in the fall paid off a year of labor. Patience, thrift and frugality were of necessity in the 1840s. Reusing the 1842 hay and grain barn, moving it and converting to a dairy barn in1864 and moving it again in 1911 for use as a machine shed demonstrates the wisdom of building structures to last.

Now through September, drop-in tours on Wednesdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. are hosted by interpreters in period clothing who will regale visitors with tales of the Garfield family, the settlement of northern Illinois and the growth and development of agriculture in the 1840s. Visitors will learn about the types of livestock and crops popular during the 19th century now being rediscovered in local food production.

Tours of the farm are $3 for adults and $2 for children younger than 13. Tours are also available anytime by appointment.

For details or reservations, call (630) 584-8485; write to Garfield Farm Museum, P.O. Box 403, LaFox, IL 60147; or e-mail info@garfieldfarm.org.

The complete 2009 calendar is available upon request. Garfield Farm is a 370-acre historically intact former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn that is being restored by donors and volunteers from 37 states as an 1840s working farm museum. Garfield Farm Museum is on Garfield Road, off Route 38, 5 miles west of Geneva.