Vendors, food, music, interpreters, pies and even a bike ride will be part of the Historic Marbold Farmstead Association's annual heritage festival Sept. 7 and 8. The association's goal has been to restore the Marbold mansion located at the edge of Greenview, Illinois.
A little more than a decade ago, the mansion was a rundown, rat and termite-infested, sagging old house that had been overgrown by weeds and stripped by looters. Greenview residents interested in saving the home were told that it could never be restored, but many refused to be daunted by the overwhelming work that was needed. Fifty members formed the association in 2011; each gave $1,000 and sought donations to buy the house and 10 acres for $78,500 in 2012. Today, the formerly rundown house looks amazing.
Charlotte Wohler has served as president of the association for 12 of its 13 years. She said, "We wanted to make this a living history farm. That has been accomplished. Every spring students from Greenview come to Farm Day where they learn about farm life in the 1800s."
Students learn in a re-created 1883 schoolhouse set up in the old washhouse. Students have learned how to grind coffee beans and corn, make butter, care for horses and sheep, make rugs, wash clothes using a washboard and more.
John Marbold immigrated from Germany in 1847, settling in Petersburg. In 1850 he bought land and built his brick home in Greenview. He helped other German immigrants get a stronghold in the area, hiring men to help make bricks on site or work the farm. The farm passed to his son, H.H. Marbold, who started the Greenview Marbold Bank and later, in 1915, to his grandson, Benjamin Marbold, who had become president of the Marbold Bank. Benjamin lost his wealth – and his home – after the bank failed in 1927.
The association's fundraising campaigns, such as the festival and annual dinner, have helped raise needed money. The work has been grueling yet rewarding – and never-ending. Workers cleared out old farm equipment, cleaned up dilapidated buildings, fixed and rebuilt the washhouse, summer kitchen, carriage house and smoke house, added gutters and downspouts, fenced the property to keep out trespassers, repaired the kitchen floor that had been eaten by termites, added a new roof, repaired and reglazed windows, added plumbing and much more.
They have also had to contend with unexpected issues. For example, a recent plumbing break caused water to leak through the ceiling of the parlor that had been close to completion and decorated with furniture and a large area rug. Fortunately, the furniture escaped damage, and the rug can be cleaned.
A conservatory was once part of the mansion but had collapsed over time. In 2021, a conservatory with glorious stained-glass windows was added to the house. Almost all of the walls in the house are brick; many will be plastered. Rooms will be designed with as much accuracy as possible, thanks to the help of Greenview resident Charlie Nance, who was born in the house in 1939, and his sister, Eugenia. The association has found and purchased some original Marbold furniture.
Artifacts and letters are on display. The kitchen is under repair but now has a sink that was found in an outbuilding and covered with mortar. Again, the group was told it couldn't be saved; Wohler had the idea to pour vegetable oil on the mortar, which loosened it. A team got to work and saved the sink.
The latest three-year campaign set a fundraising goal of $300,000. Now in year two, $210,000 has been raised.
"We have been able to put in all new windows, do all the interior tuckpointing, add a public restroom and have now started on the restoration of the living room and first floor bedroom," Wohler said.
The Historic Marbold Farmstead Association has never wavered in its determination to restore the Marbold mansion and to make the farmstead a living history site.
Cinda Ackerman Klickna commends the Marbold Association for its work in restoring, not destroying, a beautiful piece of history and has been to many of the Marbold festivals and supported the restoration efforts.
