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SPENCE FARM
Settled in 1830 by Valentine Darnall, Spence Farm is the oldest family farm in
Livingston County, Illinois. The farm has a rich history of trades, crops, stories
and photographs.
In 1830, Darnall bought 160 acres for $1.25 an acre. By the late 1800’s,
his grandson Malachi Martin (MM) Spence was in charge of the farm business and
the land comprised nearly 1,000 acres. There were 36 buildings on the property
including horse barns, cow barns, sheds, milk houses, chicken houses, and tenant
houses. Horses were sold to England and cattle shipped to Chicago and the east
coast. At one point, four generations and farm hands lived in the “Big House”,
which was built in 1902. It was a bustling place to be.
In the 1950’s maple syrup was one of the important crops for the farm.
WD Spence tapped nearly 600 maple trees and sold syrup from the farm. The family
still makes syrup today using the old syrup house and pans.
However, by 1981 the farm was down to the original 160 acres again and Grandma
Hazel, being 74, realized it was too much for her and sold the house and buildings.
She retained the farm ground and the 40 acre woodlot.
Grandma Hazel regretted the sale, and when the house came up for sale in 1999,
she purchased it back in order to leave a legacy for her daughter Willa and grandson
Marty.
The family pulled together to begin restoration of the 1930’s sheep barn.
(See pictures of the barn before and after.) They worked one weekend a month
for about five months, twenty-two people in all. The barn had been used to house
cattle, which had kicked and bumped it off the foundation. The barn was jacked
up and new foundation was laid before it was set back in place. The doors, sides
and windows were replaced and a new metal roof added to cover the old shingle/metal
patched one.
Marty and his wife Kris, stewards of the farm, continue to restore the buildings
along with help from Marty’s mom Willa. There are only a dozen original
structures left on the property. The oldest building dates back to the 1840’s
and is a small dome topped root cellar. Eventually all the buildings will be
restored and usable again.
In 2003, Marty and Kris began transforming the farm into an educational establishment
where people come to learn about diversity, small family farms, specialty crops,
natural resources, and the rich heritage and history of the people of the Midwest.
Programs are open to the public and include candle dipping, apple cider making,
nature walks, and history tours, and demonstration and production gardens.
The response to their educational enterprise led to the need for a facility
in which to hold programs, do hands-on projects, gather out of the weather, and
offer educational gatherings. In April of 2005, after hearing that their township
might need to consolidate voting, Marty and Kris approached them with an idea.
Their town voting facility is an 1860 one-room schoolhouse, and they were concerned
as to the future of historic schoolhouse, should the voting be relocated. Their
idea was to move the schoolhouse to the farm where it could serve its original
purpose - an educational facility and a community building. The township approved
and gave them the building on the condition they could get it moved. On April
22, 2005, with the help of the community, they were able to move the schoolhouse
to the farm. They are now working on restoring the building by taking off siding,
adding insulation, and rewiring it. And, the building will still serve as the
township’s voting facility. The move also brings history back to the farm
as the first voting in the township was held on the farm with Valentine Darnall
presiding.
In the next few years, they will begin work on another historic project –
locating the original site of the 1830 cabin that Darnall built. They will then
recreate the cabin on the original location, construct outbuildings, and once
again involve the community in the project. Eventually, Spence Farm will become
a place that will represent different time periods in history. The seven acre
recreated prairie gives a glimpse into pre-settlement times, the cabin of 1830
and schoolhouse of 1860 will give a view of the 19th century, and the 1930’s
barns and outbuildings will show the history of that time. It will all be tied
together into today’s times with educational programs and specialty crops.
Through education, it is the hope of Marty and Kris that the rich heritage
of the people of central Illinois will survive and a future can be seen for small
family farms. For more information or tour reservations, phone (815) 692-3336
or browse their website: www.thespencefarm.com.
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