Illinois State Museum

• Native American Settlements

• Early Settlement

• Developed Farms

• Gentlemen Farmers

• Modern Farming

The Gentleman Farmer

There was a movement in the 1860s toward the idea that suburban farms need not look rustic, but could look idyllic by the addition of great lawns in front of the house. Many of the County history books of the late nineteenth century contained etchings of such establishments. There were histories of farmers who had started in a log cabin and later built a large house or mansion surrounded by beautiful grounds that looked like English estates.