Spence Farm

Spence Farm is the oldest family farm in Livingston County, Illinois. The Spence Farm is a place where people can come to learn about diversity, heirloom crops, heritage breed animals, conservation of natural areas, woodland management, restoration of buildings, and preservation of heritage. Tours are available through reservations and educational programs and events are offered throughout the year.

Fall Internship 2004:

Issue: A one-room schoolhouse needed to be moved from the Belle Prairie Township to the Spence Farm. One of the key problems was determining where the funding was going to come from.

Goals: Complete the Save our History Grant and determine the movers, the foundation builders, and the restorationists. Grants would need to be completed in order to fund all those projects.

Results: Although the Save our History grant fell through, money was found to complete the move of the one-room schoolhouse and the community was involved in working on the foundation and the publicity of the event. The schoolhouse will serve for many generations to come as an educational facility. Money is still needed for the restoration of the building.