Glenview Illinois, where our Staefa Control System Pest Control is located, and The Glenview Park District owns Wagner Farm, which spans 18.6 acres. Wagner Property is the surviving remnant of a larger farm owned and farmed by the Wagner family since the 1850s.
History
Rose Wagner, the only surviving member of the Glenview Wagner family, died in 1997. Her will instructed Glenview State Bank, her estate’s trustee, to sell the farm to the highest bidder, with the money benefiting her family’s parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview. A group of local residents approached the park district, requesting that it purchase the farm and maintain it as a historic working farm for the community’s education and enjoyment. The park district bought the farm in 2000 after voters authorized financing for it in 1998. Over 54,000 people visited the farm in 2007. Wagner Farm also became the home of the Glenview Farmer’s Market in 2007.
Johann and Katharina Wagner immigrated to the United States in the winter of 1855 from Weiler, Germany. They eventually moved to Gross Point (modern-day Wilmette), an area with a large German immigrant community. The Wagners eventually settled on the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and Wagner Road, in the heart of what is now Glenview. The Wagner farm’s 91 acres were replaced by homes and roads by 1898. Thomas, Johann and Katharina’s youngest son, married Julia Brachtendorf of Northfield Township in 1892. Ten years later, they bought the Hoffman farm near Lake Avenue and Wagner Road. Wagner Farm today. The land was 40 acres (16 ha) at the time, but Thomas inherited land on the northeast corner of the two roads as well. In the farm’s estate, Thomas’s siblings inherited this acreage. Thomas and Julia had five children, four of whom raised their families on the property. Thomas’ children ran the land until Rose’s death in 1997. Rose’s Will required that the farm be sold and given to a local Catholic church; the Glenview Park District now owns it.
Now
The Glenview Park District funds Wagner Farm’s hands-on programming on the farm. The activities vary from season to season but typically include horseback riding, tractor driving, and other activities that resemble the life of a farmer in the 1920s.
Establishment
Glenview Women of Today founded the Glenview Farmers’ Market in 1988. After years of running it, the group recognized that it was no longer in their best interests to keep the market going. Following the cancellation of the yearly event by the group, the Glenview Park District decided to relocate the market to Wagner Farm. This changeover was historically appropriate for the farm, as Wagner was once a truck farm that produced commodities in bulk for the Chicago area. Wagner’s website includes a spreadsheet with the number of crops grown in each city. A market wagon was built to commemorate Wagner’s truck farming history and is currently on display in the museum. Every Saturday from June 25 to October 8, the Farmer’s Market is open. It is located across the street from Wagner Farm, allowing customers to tour a working farm from the twentieth century. In addition to the farm’s vegetables and other items, the Market has a new musical talent performing each week. It’s a fantastic family-friendly destination.
If you’re having pest issues in your Glenview household and need pest control contact Staefa at (847)316-0620 right away! While you’re at it stop by our website to learn about Our Lady of Perpetual Help also located in Glenview.
