Chellberg Farm (sometimes Anders Kjellberg Farm) is a historic farmstead which in 1972 became part of Indiana Dunes National Park. Chellberg Farm is significant as it represents the ethnic heritage of a nearly forgotten Swedish-American settlement. The farm includes a family home, water house with windmill, chicken coop/bunkhouse, and the original barn. Other nearby Swedish landmarks have been restored or preserved, including the Burstrom Chapel and the Burstrom Cemetery. [1]
Swedish immigrants located in Baillytown, in Porter County, Indiana for several reasons, one being that there were new jobs available, another because like most immigrants, they sought out others like themselves. Baillytown's proximity to Chicago connected it to the larger paths of Swedish immigration from the 1840s to the 1920s. The railroad came to the region in the 1850s and it provided for settlement and the transport of lumber from the lakeshore. A local story has it that an earlier Swedish immigrant, Jonas Asp, aided Joel Wicker in recruiting Swedes, including the Kjellberg family to work his lands. [2] These settlers then encouraged friends and families to join them. [3] The immigrants provided the necessary labor force for developing farmland, railroads, and industry in the area. The close-knit Swedish-American community emphasized their cultural heritage, teaching their children Swedish, establishing Swedish churches, and participating in social events where Swedish traditions were observed. [4]
Built in 1885, the house is considered folk Victorian. This was a common style across the United States at the end of the 19th century. The original structures was built on the 'T-shaped plan'. A two-story gable abutted a one-story wing. This created a location for a porch addition in the L between the gabled section and the wing. There may have been a second porch on the west side before the '1901' kitchen addition was added. [5] Unlike many houses of this time, ornamentation was restrained. The house included a parlor, plenty of bedrooms and the kitchen. Overtime, a craftsman fireplace was added in the dining room and later a glass-enclosed front porch. The glass enclosure was removed during rehabilitation. [5]
Like many structures in this area, local labor and local materials were put to good use. The clay soils were turned into a thriving brick industry. the red brick facade is made of porter brick.
Built over 130 years ago, the barn remains intact. [5] Like its neighbors, the Chellberg barn is located north of the main house. It was built between 1870 and 1879, using a design common for that time. [5] The 1880 census showed the Chellbergs having 'two milk cows, six other cattle, two sheep and five horses.' Over the years, the use of the barn changed and so did its design. By the 1900s, the family was operating a dairy farm. It is believed that the windows were installed during this period to improve light and ventilation. [5] In 1917, a silo was added to provide for silage. [5]
The barn is a three-bay structure with a gabled roof. It is 50.67 feet (15.44 m) by 24.25 feet (7.39 m), standing 25 feet (7.6 m) tall. The construction is on four bents built using two 8 inches (20 cm) by 8 inches (20 cm) uprights. [5] Two bents form the east and west ends, with the remaining two bents forming the center bay. The wood consists of a mix of oak, elm, ash, maple and basswood. [5] Originally built on stone piers, Carl Chellberg added a concrete floor in 1938. [5] The barn is located in an east–west alignment to provide maximum sun on the structure. It is also adjacent to the wood ravine, which helps block the winter winds. [5]
The current corncrib was built in 1941, designed and built by Carl Chellberg. [5] Over the years, the Chellbergs had several different types of corncribs. Originally, the farm had a drive-through corncrib, [5] which gave way to the silo during the dairy farm period. [5] The current crib is a single storage structure located just north of the house. The orientation is north and south apparently to conform to the property limited space. [5] The existing structure is built on concrete piles to repel rodents. [5] Large squared timber beams are placed atop these posts and then floored using tongue and groove flooring, which was taken from the silo. In the silo, the flooring ran up and down the structure. For this structure, the boards were split in half and cut to the necessary length and laid horizontally. [5] At a later date, a wire mesh was placed on the inside of the walls for better protection from pests. [5]
The south wall of the shed was shared with a tractor shed, which is now gone. [5] The tractor shed housed the Chellbergs' 1939 Allis-Chalmers tractor. Once the tractor arrived, it was used instead of the horses for the harvest. [5]
A two-story, wood-framed building, just west of the farmhouse. [5]
The sugar Shack, built in the 1930s as a utilitarian structure of one-story made from concrete block, was built for processing sugar maple sap into maple syrup. The single room is 12'x24' with a gable roof over the concrete floor. Double vertical board doors, standing seam metal gable roof cover the structure. The building has a boiling pan over a brick fire box. This is connected to the brick chimney. The roof includes gabled ridge vent with hopper panel vent, and metal ball finials. A small shed addition was added to east. [6] The camp is still in use each spring. [5]
Historic American Buildings Survey Gallery
This one-story, single-room structure was built ca 1879. It has a gable roof of wood shingles. It is 10'x24', on a brick foundation. The siding is vertical board and batten. Interior walls have been plastered. [6]
The Kjellberg Arrival in America
Anders Ludwig Kjellberg (born March 22, 1830) and Johanna (Anderson) Kjellberg (born April 28, 1829) were married in Sweden in the 1850s. They emigrated to the U.S. in 1863 with their son, Carl (born 1859). Family tradition says that they immediately moved to the Bailly area. They did not set up a home on the current location. They first lived on Mineral Springs road, south of the tracks from the Swedish Lutheran Church. [7]
The 1871 Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the Swedish community in Chicago. Many Swedish residents choose to move to the Swedish community of Indiana. A popular story that is the Kjellberg family met Joel Wicker (the son-in-law of Joseph Bailly) while in Chicago and that Joel hired Anders to clean out brush in preparation for planting. Joel is said to have provided a small log house for the family.
Anders Kjellherg had been a tailor and a lay preacher the Lutheran Church in Sweden. He continued to place an emphasis on his religion after immigrating and helped to establish the Swedish Lutheran Church, now the Augsburg Lutheran Church. The Kjellbergs' second child, Carolyn, was born in the mid-1860s. She died at the age of three or four. The family also had a foster son, Simon Larson, who was born in 1874 and joined the family before 1880. [4]
Arrival in Northwest Indiana
In October 1869 the family took legal title to the Chellberg Farm property. On November 1, 1869, the Kjellberg (Chellberg) family took possession of what is known as the Chellberg Farm. John Oherg and Anders Kjellberg represented the family in the purchase of 80 acres (320,000 m2) from J. H. Wicker. It cost $12.00 per acre. They also paid off an older contract of Wicker's worth $1000.
There were no structures on the land, nor was it cleared for agricultural use. The 1870 Population and Agricultural Census. The family of four living on the property with only 4 acres (16,000 m2) of improved land. No crops had been produced in their first year, but they had several animals, two milk cows, two other cattle and two swine. Their only farm production and possibly only source of income was 100 pounds of butter that had been produced. Meanwhile, John Oberg's farm also had 4 acres (16,000 m2) improved and a higher production level, 10 bushels of Spring wheat, 25 bushels of Winter wheat and 1 bushel of Irish potatoes. The Obergs owned one swine, two milk cows and had produced 150 pounds of butter. There appears to be some confusion over whether the Chellbergs were actually on the 'farm site' or if it was the Obergs who were residents at the time of the census. [8]
Clearing the land would have been a slow process. In a good year, they might be able to clear only 15 acres (61,000 m2) per year. It's more likely that they only cleared 5 acres (20,000 m2) to 10 acres (40,000 m2) a year. Clearing the land would produce sell-able lumber and cordwood, i.e., firewood. Most farms in the area were small and did a little of everything. The Chellbergs had an orchard which may have produced apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, strawberries, and raspberries. [4] [9]
On April 4, 1872 Anders Kjellberg purchased an additional 40 acres (160,000 m2), the northern half of the property, from Joel H. Wicker. The house (prior to the current brick house) and the barn had been built between 1869 and 1872 when this additional land was obtained. It is assumed that the well and outhouse also built early for use by the family. By 1879 the farm included thirty poultry, eight cows, two sheep, eleven swine, and five horses. A chicken house was probably constructed between before 1879. Evidence also indicates that a corncrib may have been built prior to 1879. That year, the farm produced 100 bushels of Indian corn, from the 40 acres (160,000 m2) cultivated. 9 acres (36,000 m2) of Indian corn produced 100 bushels. 3 acres (12,000 m2) of oats produced another forty bushels and 1-acre (4,000 m2) of rye produced fifteen bushels. One hundred and twenty-two bushels of wheat came from 9 acres (36,000 m2). Hay is measured in tons, and five tons were harvested from 5 acres (20,000 m2). An area of 1-acre (4,000 m2) was planted in Irish potatoes, which produced 75 bushels. [4]
The construction of the brick farmhouse in 1885 was a major addition to the farm. For many families the construction of a new, larger house would have indicated an improved level of prosperity, however, the Chellberg farmhouse was constructed as a direct result of the disastrous fire that consumed the original family home. The use of brick for the new house was more likely to be an attempt to guarantee that another fire would not threaten the family, than a display of a new level of wealth
Second Generation at the Chellberg Farm, 1893–1908
Anders Kjellberg was 63 when he died on April 16, 1893. His son, C. L. Chellberg became the owner of the farm when he bought his mother's and sister's inherited interest. C. L. paid $3500 to the two and agreed to shelter and feed them for the rest of their lives. C. L. took a more scientific approach to farming. He read The Farm Journal for a year, considered alternative approaches to farming and courted Ottomina Peterson. His scientific approach was furthered, beginning in 1896 when he subscribed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmer's Bulletins. [4]
It is likely that C. L. Chellberg was in the process of developing the herd in 1901. After Emily Kjellberg married Alfred Borg in 1897, she and Alfred continued to live at the farm with their two children until 1901. Alfred was a carpenter and brick worker by trade so; he may have provided cash income by working off of the farm. In 1899 Johanna Kjellberg died at the age of 70. C. L. Chellberg and Emily and Alfred Borg continued to live in the farmhouse together until C. L. married Ottomina in 1901. Then, Emily and Alfred, with their children moved away. They lived with other relatives until ca. 1904 their home, Oak Hill Road and a ravine from the farm was completed. [4]
Chellberg Dairy Farm, 1908–1937
By 1908 the Chellbergs had switched from grain production to dairy and grain farm. The Chicago, South Bend and South Shore Railroad had been completed and a stop was only a mile away. With the daily train, they could sell milk to the dairy in East Chicago. Over the following years, the children of C.L. and Ottomina (Naomi and Carl) and their children continued to work on the farm. Naomi (1907–1988), moved away from the farm only after her marriage to Alden Studebaker in 1926. Even the grand children, Ann Chellberg Medley, daughter of Carl and Hilda Chellberg and Henry Studebaker and Arthur Studebaker, sons of Naomi Chellberg Studebaker and Alden Studebaker spent much of their childhood on the farm. Somewhere between 1920 and the 1930s, the dairy operation. It may have been when the South Shore closed its stop near farm or slowly over time as it became more difficult to get the milk to the train each day. [4]
Third Generation at the Chellberg Farm, 1937–1972
C. L. Chellberg's died in 1937. The farm was between his spouse and three children. His son Carl Chellberg took on the primary management of the farm, but everyone was actively involved in the decisions. They did not keep up with the changing economy as industry replaced farming as the mainstay of commerce. Like many farmers today (2008), he worked in town to make ends meet. Carl found employment in a machine shop in Chesterton.
In 1938, Carl married Hilda Johnson. They had two children. The remodeled second floor of the farmhouse was an apartment where they and children lived. Minnie Chellberg died on November 15, 1952, at the age of 82. Minnie managed the house gardens, both the vegetable garden and the flowers in the front yard. She also oversaw the orchard. She also continued to raise chickens.
Sometime in the 1940s Carl Chellberg began raising sheep and kept about 60 head. The sheep were sold at auctions for meat. The sheep grazed throughout the entire farm property and were kept in two sheep sheds that were constructed during this period. A large extension was built onto the south side of the barn in 1954. It was constructed by Carl Chellberg, Henry Studebaker, and Arthur Studebaker. Another sheep shed was constructed behind the granary. The building was smaller than the barn addition and constructed of corrugated iron. Eventually (sometime in the mid to late 1950s) Carl Chellberg took a job a machine shop in Chesterton and sold the sheep. Hilda Johnson Chellberg worked as a cook at a local restaurant. Once both Carl and Hilda had jobs off of the farm, the farm operation became a secondary effort and no longer the main family business."
Circa 1940 electricity was reestablished at the farm. It was used until the utility company power was brought to the farm in the 1940s after the war. During 1943, 1944, and 1945, Henry and Arthur Studebaker grew vegetables at the farm for sale to local residents. They had a 2-acre (8,100 m2) garden in the eastern portion of the field south of the orchard and north of the current visitor center parking lot. They grew vegetables to sell door to door in Dune Acres. They grew asparagus, lima beans, yellow and green snap beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery (white), kale, leaf lettuce, endive, cantaloupe, watermelons, okra, green onions, leeks, parsnips, peas, green and red peppers, red, white, and sweet potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, red rhubarb chard and white Swiss chard, Jerusalem and butternut squash, red and yellow tomatoes, turnips, rutabagas, kohl robi, cicely, sweet corn (yellow bantam and country gentleman), horseradish, dill, sage, chives, and parsley. [4]
Other nearby Swedish landmarks have been restored or preserved, including the Burstrom Chapel and the Burstrom Cemetery.
Porter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,858 at the 2010 census. Porter is in the Indiana Dunes ecosystem, which played a role in the creation of The Nature Conservancy, and inspired conservation efforts.
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the term barn is often qualified e.g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, cow house, sheep barn, potato barn. In the British Isles, the term barn is restricted mainly to storage structures for unthreshed cereals and fodder, the terms byre or shippon being applied to cow shelters, whereas horses are kept in buildings known as stables. In mainland Europe, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings. In addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. A small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
Horne Creek Farm is a historical farm near Pinnacle, Surry County, North Carolina. The farm is a North Carolina State Historic Site that belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and it is operated to depict farm life in the northwest Piedmont area c. 1900. The historic site includes the late 19th century Hauser Farmhouse, which has been furnished to reflect the 1900-1910 era, along with other supporting structures. The farm raised animal breeds that were common in the early 20th century. The site also includes the Southern Heritage Apple Orchard, which preserves about 800 trees of about 400 heritage apple varieties. A visitor center includes exhibits, a gift shop and offices.
Edgewood is a historic farm complex located at Wingina, Nelson County, Virginia. Structures located on the 65-acre (260,000 m2) property document its evolution as a plantation and farm since the late-18th century. It includes the main house ruins, a house built about 1790 and destroyed by fire in 1955; the circa 1820 Tucker Cottage; an 18th-century dovecote, dairy, and smokehouse; an 1828 icehouse; an early 19th-century corncrib; and a mid-19th-century barn or granary. Also on the property are a circa 1940s tenant house and machine shed, the Cabell family cemetery, and an original well. The structures are all located along the gravel driveway.
The Swedish American Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana are representative of the numerous rural communities settled by a significant ethnic population. They influenced the religious community and social community. This collection is the most complete early 20th century complex within the Swedish cultural landscape of Baileytown and has retained a great deal of integrity.
Wheatlands is an antebellum plantation in Sevier County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The plantation's surviving structures— which include the plantation house, a storage shed, and smokehouse— have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation house has been called "the best example of a Federal-style building remaining in Sevier County."
Applewood Farm is a farmstead in Ledyard, Connecticut, United States. Constructed in 1826 by Russel Gallup, the farmhouse was built with a colonial center chimney design with Federal style details that has been modernized to the early 20th century without significantly changing the floor plan. Named after the apple orchards planted by Russel Gallup, Applewood Farm developed significantly under the ownership of Everett Gallup, the last member of the family to own the property. The property was later owned by Arlene Meyer Cohen and a 40-acre parcel was sold off in November 1984. After the Betz family became the owners it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and operated as a bed and breakfast through the 1990s. In 1987, the property included five contributory structures, the farmhouse, corn crib, barn, silo and chicken coop. The property also has one non-contributing structure, a machinery shed from the 1960s.
Lynfeld is a farm located on South Road in the Town of Washington, New York, United States, near the village of Millbrook. Its farmhouse, a frame structure dating to the late 19th century, is in an unusual shape for a building in the Italianate architectural style.
Henderson Hall Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-listed historic district in Boaz, Wood County, West Virginia. The primary contributing property is Henderson Hall, a home in the Italianate style from the first half of the 19th century. Other residences at the site are a tenant house from the end of the 19th century, and "Woodhaven", the 1877 home of Henry Clay Henderson. Additional structures include a smokehouse, two corn cribs, a carriage barn that also served as a schoolhouse, a scale house used for storing agricultural equipment, and two barns. Also included within the district are the 19th-century Henderson family cemetery, a wall, a mounting block, and three mounds associated with the pre-Columbian Adena culture.
The Luther College Farm was built between the late 1860s and about 1900 on a hill overlooking Luther College near Decorah, Iowa, United States. The farm comprises a complete ensemble of agricultural buildings, dominated by the farm's barns.
The Pete Larsen Farm is an historic site in Porter County, Indiana.
The Helvig–Olson Farm Historic District is an agricultural historic district located in rural Clinton County, Iowa, United States, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of the town of Grand Mound. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Top Acres Farm, known historically as the Fletcher–Fullerton Farm, is a farm property at 1390 Fletcher Schoolhouse Road in Woodstock, Vermont. Developed as a farm in the early 19th century, it was in continuous agricultural use by just two families for nearly two centuries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The Ballard Farm is a historic farm property on Ballard Road in Georgia, Vermont. At the time of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, it had been under cultivation by members of the Ballard family for more than 200 years, having been established in 1788 by a sale from Ira Allen to Joseph Ballard.
The Rock S. Edwards Farmstead is a collection of farm buildings located at 3503 Edwards Road in Sodus Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The George Louk Farm is a rural farmstead located at 1885 Tooley Road near Howell, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The James M. Jameson Farm is a farmstead located at 10220 North Parma Road near Springport, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Murphy's Barn, also known as the Murphy Barn/Powers Studio is a historic building that was built in 1846, by Matthew M. Murphey in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The structure is recognized as an important American period farm building and the oldest remaining artist’s studio in Carmel. It was nominated by the Carmel City Council as a historical building and an application was submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on July 1, 2002.