Step back in time and experience what life was like on a DuPage County Farm in the 1890s. Stroll through restored farmstead structures and meet the historically-costumed interpreters operating this living-history farm using the tools and techniques of the past. Activities and events at the farm re-create the seasonal rhythms that have governed farm life for centuries. There is always something to see, do and learn at Kline Creek Farm.
The Farmstead
The farmhouse was the center of domestic activities and today contains original artifacts and reproductions that enhance its homelike atmosphere. House tours start on the hour from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and present topics from baking, canning, quilting and spring cleaning to preparing the house for special celebrations.
Depending on the time of year, staff and volunteers plant heirloom fruits and vegetables in the kitchen garden, tend to the orchard, work in the wagon shed or cure sausages in the smoke house. Percheron work horses help plant and harvest crops of corn, oats, and other small grains; and resident livestock, such as the farm’s Southdown sheep, Shorthorn and Angus cattle, and chickens, occupy the farm’s coop, barn, fold, and pastures.
Beekeeping is also a long-standing tradition at Kline Creek Farm. Since 1984 volunteer beekeepers have managed the farmstead’s apiary by caring for the bees, extracting and processing honey, and leading educational programs and tours that focus on the honeybee’s role as primary pollinator for two-thirds of all U.S. crops. The sale of honey at the Timber Ridge Visitor Center helps to support farm programs and operations.
