CAMPTON
HILLS - Garfield Farm Museum will host its
annual Candlelight at the Inn open house on
Sunday, December 6 from 3 to 7 p.m. Visitors
are invited to experience the warmth and
atmosphere of 1840s hospitality in the
museum's restored 1846 brick inn.
The afternoon and evening will feature live
music and period interpreters sharing
stories of life in the early days of
northern Illinois. Light refreshments and
tea will be served in the inn, and a bake
sale will be held in the 1840s Atwell Burr
House. This event offers visitors a chance
to explore the historic buildings, meet
museum volunteers, and learn about the
ongoing efforts to preserve this unique
piece of Illinois history.
Candlelight at the Inn evokes a time when
the local tavern served as an important
refuge for travelers crossing the vast
Illinois prairie. After long journeys by
stagecoach over rough roads and through
unpredictable weather, an inn offered
warmth, food, conversation, and sometimes
music and dancing. The soft glow of candles,
period clothing, and music throughout the
inn help recreate a glimpse of that earlier
world and experience of those who settled
and traveled through the Fox Valley.
The annual open house is also an opportunity
to learn about Garfield Farm Museum's nearly
five decades of preservation, restoration
and educational programming. Now in its
ninth year of the $4 million 2027 Bucket
List campaign, the museum is working to
finish major restoration and development
projects by its 50th anniversary in November
2027. More than half the planned projects
have been completed, with others underway.
These efforts include restoring natural
areas, preserving or restoring historic
structures, and developing facilities to
support the museum's livestock and
educational programs.
Admission to Candlelight at the Inn is free,
although donations are greatly appreciated
and help support the museum's continuing
preservation and educational efforts.
Visitors can also learn about membership,
volunteer opportunities, and ways to support
future restoration projects.
Garfield Farm Museum is a 375-acre historic
site and the only historically intact former
1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and
teamster inn being restored as an 1840s
working farm museum. Its preservation is
supported by donors from 3,700 households in
37 states.
The museum is located at 2N930 Garfield Road
in Campton Hills, five miles west of Geneva,
Illinois off Illinois Route 38.
Please email info@garfieldfarm.org or
call 630 584-8485 if you have questions.
Donations can be mailed to the museum at
P.O.Box 403 LaFox, IL 60147 or go online to
our website www.garfieldfarm.org and
click on the Donate button. Thank you.
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