Step back in time at Garfield Farm Museum's 'Candlelight at the Inn'
Take time away from the chaotic rush of the holiday season and travel down the country road to Garfield Farm Museum for the annual "Candlelight at the Inn."
Interpreters wearing period clothing will share with guests what life was like for people during the height of the horse-and-wagon era from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7-8, at the museum in Campton Hills. There is no charge for the candlelight event, but donations are most welcome.
Candlelight has always been one of the most popular events at this 1840s farm and tavern museum. It evokes a pace and peace that is so foreign to life today. It requires a conscious effort on the part of the modern day visitor to linger and savor the experience, to strike up a conversation with others, and enjoy what was once a great luxury: a brightly lit home full of travelers and neighbors, making for a most jovial atmosphere on a winter's night.
Dulcimer music by the Scantlin' Reunion and friends will be played in the ballroom and refreshments will be offered in the inn's dining room.
The first Garfield Inn sat in the junction of the St. Charles-Oregon and Sycamore Roads. From July of 1841 until October of 1846 a log structure greeted travelers. It was replaced by the more substantial 10-room brick inn.
At the time, a heavily loaded team of horses with good weather could only travel about 15 miles a day. Inns were busy places that offered weary travelers an occasion to take a break from the monotony of their journey. A guest of the Garfield's could eat, sleep and most importantly talk to others. News traveled slowly and travelers provided news from far and near, as well as telling entertaining stories. Inns became a center for the community hosting dances, militia drills, weddings, "donation" parties for local clergy, political meetings, and other functions.
Following a visit to the 1846 inn, walk up the glowing lantern path to the Burr House where the museum will feature a homemade bake sale. On Sunday from 3:30 to 6 p.m., Dr. Steven Smunt and Tania Nezrick will perform traditional 19th-century Irish, American minstrel, and Christmas tunes in the Burr House parlor.
The Burr House was built by Atwell Burr (namesake of Burr Road in St. Charles Township) in the 1840s and stood a half-mile southwest adjacent to the Timothy Garfield farm. In 1990, it was moved to the museum and donors invested over $500,000 to adapt it as the museum's visitors' center and office.
The house was last owned by the Van Bogaert family. A ground-level ceramic tile floor was recently installed with donations from the Van Bogaert family who inscribed tiles with their past and present generations' names.
The candlelight tour offers visitors a chance to meet the volunteers and donors, who are the lifeblood of the farm. Visitors can become members of the museum or support its various restoration projects. The event is a time for those interested in becoming involved to meet those who already give so much to 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 375-acre Garfield Farm Museum is the only historically intact former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn being restored by donors and volunteers from 3500 households in 37 states as an 1840s working farm museum. Garfield Farm Museum is located on Garfield Road, off Route 38, 5 miles west of Geneva. For information call (630) 584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org.
Visit www.garfieldfarm.org or www.facebook.com/GarfieldFarmMuseum/.