Madison County Farm Steads & Country Homes Presented by:
Managers Report
Last December Madison Service Company began looking for a Madison County farmstead or country home to feature in our 2010 calendar. I am happy to announce that we have found it. When we started the program I didn’t know what to expect. But as time passed, I was very pleased to see the interest we had in the program. During the last 3 months we were able to learn about twenty-one different farmsteads in Madison County.
On March 18th we met with members of our Outstanding Farm Women of Madison County group at a luncheon held at the House of Plenty in Highland. The purpose of the luncheon was to determine the farmstead to include on our 2010 calendar. We reviewed each of the entries. The stories were very interesting and we had fun learning about each of them.
Our winning entry was from Stephen and Julie Frank. Their story was about the Cooper Homestead in northern Madison County. They are the fifth generation of Coopers to live on the farmstead. The home was built from wood brought from the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair by horse and sled wagon across the frozen Mississippi River. Back in the fifties Julie’s grandpa built a 4 ½ acre lake for the family to enjoy. In 2001 Stephen and Julie moved the home to its current location near the lake. On the north side of the lake sits an old log cabin used for recreation. A former Civil War Major General and Governor of Illinois, John Palmer once lived on the property. This farmstead exemplifies the heritage of Madison County.
Our two runner ups in the program were Delmar Korsmeyer and Bob Gvillo. Delmar and his wife Marlene live on their family farm near Alhambra. They farm with their son Kenneth who is the sixth generation of the Korsmeyer family to be involved in the farm. Leef Township was named after Jacob Leef, Delmar’s great-great-grandfather. Bob Gvillo and his wife Daphne live in the home that was once known as the Foster Inn. Abraham Lincoln stayed in the Foster Inn during one of his visits to the area. Their home was built back in 1824 and contains the original stairwell and walnut flooring. The home had once been occupied by Oliver P. Foster, for whom Foster Township and Fosterburg were named.
There is a rich farming heritage in Madison County. Our agriculture is very diverse and through this program we were able to capture the beauty that makes this county unique. We look forward to bringing you our 2010 calendar which will include the Cooper Homestead.
