Learn about four decades of archaeology at Garfield Farm Museum
On Saturday, April 8, James Yingst of Heartland Archaeology Research Program will present "Archaeology Spanning Four Decades: An Overview of Accomplishments" at Garfield Farm Museum. The program will be an excellent opportunity for prospective 2017 archaeology volunteers to gain a background understanding of the site for this July's season.
The program will begin at 2 p.m. at the museum, 3N016 Garfield Road, Campton Hills. Cost is $6. To RSVP, contact (630) 584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org.
Only tales of the "log cabin" in the oral tradition of the Timothy Garfield family existed when Garfield Farm and Tavern Museum was founded 40 years ago. No physical evidence survived as to the exact location of the original log house that stood on the farm. Although Franklin Green Garfield, the oldest son and biographer of Timothy Garfield, described the general location, expansion, and use of the log house as an inn in 1841, granddaughter and museum founder Elva Ruth Garfield only understood that is was located somewhere near the 1890s granary her father Robert had built.
With the founding of the museum in 1977, archaeological investigation of this listed National Register of Historic Sites farm was part of the project's overall development as an 1840s living history farm and inn museum. Middens (small piles of discarded rubbish) found during the initial restoration of the 1846 brick inn kitchen and the 1849 horse barn demonstrated the need for professional investigation of the site. In 1981, Dr. Stuart Struever's Center for American Archaeology associated with Northwestern University was engaged to offer a field school at the farm searching for evidence of the original log house. Historic archaeologist, the late Lyn Kraus Cowen, supervised three summers of field schools that produced tantalizing evidence but nothing conclusive.
Ensuing research consisted of documentary investigation that was then compiled in 1999 with the contracted help of Fever River Research producing a cultural resource management plan. Several investigations in the 2000s by Fever River yielded evidence of an outbuilding structure and the probable site of the original house.
Noninvasive studies using magnetic gradiometry and ground penetrating radar were conducted and in 2009, Heartland Archaeology Research Program headed by James Yingst, began an annual eight-season investigation of the probable log house site. Several additional investigations were made near the 1846 brick tavern, the 1911 location of the recently restored 1842 threshing barn, and the backyard of the 1859 Edward Garfield/Mongerson Brothers Carpenter Gothic farmhouse.
The documentary and genealogical research by former museum operations director William Wolcott revealed the earlier origins of the log house that was first built in 1835 by settler Sam Culverson of Pennsylvania. Culverson sold his claim and log house to the Garfields in 1841.
Yingst's presentation will discuss the result of these studies, the 2017 season, and the direction of future research at the farm. The museum has invested over $225,000 through the years in archaeological research with the help of thousands of hours of volunteer time, excavating, screening, cleaning, and cataloging of shards and artifacts.
Results have already allowed for better interpretation of the site, the installation of a geothermal system for the brick tavern, and the site disturbance investigations for the restoration of the 1842 threshing barn and the relocation of the Anderson/Barber stone smokehouse to the Edward Garfield/Mongerson Brothers Farm. Ultimately, a log house will be constructed based on all findings.
Reservations are requested for the planning of the homemade desserts and refreshments for attendees. Admission is $6 per person. This is part of a series of talks and programs celebrating the museum's 40th anniversary. To make reservations, call (630) 584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org.
Garfield Farm and Tavern Museum is the only 375-acre historically intact former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn being restored and presented as an 1840 s living history museum by volunteers and donors that have hailed from over 40 states. To obtain the museum's email newsletter, sign up on www.garfieldfarm.org and for the latest photos visit Garfield Farm Museum's Facebook page.