Illinois Rural Heritage Museum to open in Pinckneyville

Charlie Greer’s dream has finally come true.

This Friday, the Illinois Rural Heritage Museum will celebrate its grand opening, putting a cap on a 10-year journey for the lifelong Perry County farmer and his wife, Mary.

Charlie first envisioned his dream 10 years ago — opening a museum dedicated to farming and life on the farm. It was something the Greers even considered selling their family farm to open. Charlie has 86 restored antique tractors he has collected over 25 years, and he and Mary collected many other types of farm memorabilia and antique items.

Charlie had the idea and eventually found the perfect location. Five years ago, childhood friend Irl Engelhardt listened to the dream and helped get the ball rolling.

The Illinois Rural Heritage Museum is the first of many community projects that have been initiated by the Foundation for Pinckneyville, who purchased the site for the Rural Heritage Museum in January 2008.

In 2010, the Foundation received a $750,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the initiative, to also be evenly used for the Illinois High School Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Greers have been working diligently in the meantime, collecting items for display and raising money for construction and renovation to the complex next to the Perry County Fairgrounds where the American Thresherman Association hold their annual Steam, Gas and Threshing Show.

Last August — in time for the show — a ribbon cutting was held for “the Barn,” the main part of the complex that houses the museum office, memorabilia store and horse-related artifact exhibits.

“The Barn” was phase one of three of the museum project.

Phase two is now complete, and now the Illinois Rural Heritage Museum is ready to open on a regular basis.

“There’s been a lot of people come in, and they’re really amazed about how it looks,” Charlie said.

The phase two building has an educational room; the Monsanto Exploration Hall, which details innovations in farming over the last century; a recreation of a general store; and a doctor’s office featuring items that were previously in the office of Dr. James Scott Templeton, a physician in Pinckneyville from 1898 to 1958.

There are a number of antique tractors on display, including a 1912 80 HP steam engine tractor on loan from Maschoff Farms of Carlyle.

Charlie said renovations of the phase three sections of the museum complex will begin this summer for opening this fall.

Those two larger sections will eventually be remodeled to house antique tractors and larger equipment.

Charlie, the museum’s president, said there was a lot to learn in the years of working to make his dream come true.

“It’s a lot different than sitting tractors in a machine shed where people can see them,” Charlie said.

As Charlie walks through the museum last Thursday afternoon, he can pick up each item on display and tell the story behind it. When the museum opens, visitors will be able to walk-through on an informative self-guided tour. But if asked, Charlie would be happy to take them through and relay the stories of generations of farming that the museum’s items contain.

When asked how he can recall so much historical information, Charlie jokes, “This I can remember, names I’m lost on.”