Garfield Farm celebrates 29 years of Harvest Days

For 37½ cents, a weary traveler in 1846 could spend the night in the Garfield Farm Tavern and Inn.

And because there was a shortage of coins in those days, the coin would literally be cut in half for that extra half-cent.

Equate that out to a Holiday Inn in 2010, and that same traveler would be spending about $150 for an overnight stay.

The tavern and inn on the Garfield Farm property, about five miles west of the Tri-Cities on Garfield Road, could hold about 60 people at one time during its busiest seasons in the late 1840s. Only men were allowed in the tavern, while women and children stayed in the ladies' parlor, lamenting the fact that the men were drinking too much and gambling away their money.

Visitors learned all of that information and much more Sunday during Garfield Farm's 29th annual Harvest Days and the 175th anniversary celebration for Campton Township.

Tour guides in period costume greeted visitors who could choose from numerous educational presentations and exhibits on portions of the 370 acres that make up the historic farm that Timothy and Harriet Garfield came from Vermont to live on in 1841.

"We've secured all of the grounds here through grants and foundation work," said Garfield Farm Executive Director Jerome Johnson, who was showing visitors how the Garfield family used animal fat and kidneys to make candles and soap.

"But it is very challenging to preserve all of the buildings in a way that we won't have to rely on admissions to the grounds and museum," said Johnson, referring to efforts to raise money for ongoing restoration.

Johnson feels the mission behind Garfield Farm's history targets younger people who may not appreciate how the past affects the future.

"The people who lived on this farm in the 1840s maximized their possessions to increase their wealth, while today we throw away what we consider waste," Johnson added. "What is relevant about our past is what can help us get young people thinking about the future."

Young and old alike were busy learning how Kane County pioneers lived more than 170 years ago as volunteer John Engstrom showed how an apple grinder and masher created apple cider.

"It took a lot of apples and a lot of work to make a gallon of cider," Engstrom said.

Even though he wasn't sure what his machine was called, volunteer Jack Pflederer was pushing corn cobs through a manual husker in the farm's 1849 barn, showing how the kernels eventually became corn meal.

Volunteer Spring DeLeon was busy tanning buckskin near the barn, explaining that colonists learned the skill from Native Americans and turned it into a profitable business.

"When they first came, the colonists had nothing but rags on, so they learned how to make buckskin clothing and ending up sending millions of hides to Europe, because there were laws against hunting there," DeLeon said.

Chris Olsen set up shop for old-fashioned tintype photography, giving visitors an idea of what it was like to hold still for a short time while the photo was being taken.

While families made up the majority of visitors, the event attracted others who felt a piece of their own history on the preserved farm property.

"This reminds me of my roots," said Larry Auchstetter, who made the trip from Charleston, Ill., because he wanted to experience rural farm history.

"My family farm in Mendota dated back to an old 1860s house, and I had decided I wanted to start taking trips throughout Illinois to learn of its rural history," Auchstetter said. "I needed a farm experience, and heard about this event."

Donna Brown of Hampshire had similar thoughts after touring the tavern and inn.

"My father was a dairy cattle dealer out of Itasca, and my family was among the early pioneers of Elk Grove," Brown said. "I am interested in all of this, because I was raised like this, and you see things you can recognize."

Visitors were treated to a special afternoon party in front of the main barn to commemorate the Campton Township anniversary, which marked 175 years since a settler named John Beatty from Pennsylvania came to the region and was the first to make a land claim.