Eidem Farm Restoration - 1998

In March 1998, the 106 Group Ltd., and Thorbeck Architects Ltd. prepared a Historic Structures Report and made the following determinations.

The Site
A row of tall poplar trees lined the west edge of the driveway, and trees of various species flanked the front yard on the north and west. They provided an enclosed feeling in the yard. Today, new poplar trees are maturing where the original ones were in 1900.

The front lawn remains as it did although the area bordering the poplar trees was left as tall prairie grass a hundred years ago. Flowerbeds still line the north side of the house and tiger lilies Electa Eidem planted in the circular bed at the center of the front yard are carefully maintained today. The lilac shrubs near the northwest corner of the house may be original or, at least, are in keeping with the appearance at the turn of the century.

Although no vegetable garden is visible in photographs, there would have been one, and the most reasonable place is southwest of the house, where the garden is now planted.

The House
We do not have specifics on who built the house, and when. Here is what the 106 Group Ltd., and Thorbeck Architects, Ltd. propose as a possible scenario:

The earliest section of the house, the rear two-thirds, dates to the late 1870's when Silas and Margaretha Merrill owned the property. It conforms to a common Midwestern farmhouse type, from the mid to late nineteenth century - the "upright and wing." This L-plan design generally consists of a two-story, gable-roofed core building with a single story kitchen wing perpendicular to the main gable. In this house, the brackets over the east side bay window show a hint of influence from the Italianate style.

As owners of the property, around 1905, Electa and John Eidem Jr. added on to the house on the north end, giving it a stylish Queen Anne appearance. Elements included a hip roof with a cross gable bay; diamond-patterned siding and decorative millwork in the gable; columns with Ionic-order capitals supporting a full-width porch; and a balustrade with decorative spindle work.

The foundation is granite in the older portion and limestone under the addition, giving ample evidence of two construction dates.

Another alteration made sometime, it is thought, during the Eidem years, is the second story over the kitchen, which may have been used by Electa's father, or by hired hands.

Another possibility is that the farmhouse was constructed as a "kit home," which was a common type of homebuilding in the late nineteenth century.

Or…a rough map of the property during the Merrill's occupation shows a structure in a different location. That could mean a small home was used by the family until all or part of the current farmhouse was built. During restoration of the south shed - which had been plastered at some time - we found newspaper from the 1860's behind the lathes. Could this have been the first home on this property? We just don't know.

Farm Buildings
The barn is a fine example of nineteenth century agrarian architecture and may have been built by Silas Merrill in the 1880s.

It is unknown exactly when the windmill was installed, but given the wide availability of such agricultural equipment by the late nineteenth century; it is quite possible it was operating in 1900.

John Eidem, Sr. wrote of building a wood structure windmill on his farm back in 1889, so John Jr. would have seen the utility of that device before buying his own farm.

The windmill, manufactured by the Aermotor Company in Chicago, rests on a steel tower. There is a pump centered in the base of the tower and resting on a platform, which covers the well. The Aermotor Company began manufacturing windmills in 1888 and, by the turn of the last century, had captured half of the windmill trade in the United States. By 1910, Aermotor had put approximately 400,000 windmills into service.

Between the barn and chicken coop was a gable-roofed, wood-frame corn crib, with wood-slat siding and sides, which slanted outward toward the top. It no longer remains.

In 1900 there apparently was a small out building, possibly a privy, along the east edge of the farmyard, where the Admissions Building now stands. The current structure was moved onto neighboring Archie Eidem's farm in the 1940s and was relocated to its current site in 1976. This building is said to have been the first store in Brooklyn Township, but its date of construction is not known. Currently it is used as an entrance to the Eidem Homestead, and as a gathering area for tours, workshops and demonstrations.