It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but the Huntley Historical Society is one of the newest and youngest organizations in the community. At three years old, the group has about 75 members, including businesses, couples, and individuals living throughout the Huntley community.
HHS also has a strong Sun City connection. Several members of its newly-elected 11-member board of directors are Sun City residents, including Dr. John Bierlein, Jim Blasky, and Elaine Kadakia.
“We have a good mix of Huntley lifers (lifetime or long-time Huntley residents), some who are just interested in history, and Sun City residents,” said Pam Fender, who is the new society president and also a member of the Huntley Village Board.
Like many brand-new organizations, the society improvises when it comes to communications and a central meeting place. The group meets monthly in the Huntley Park District’s REC Center, but has no physical place they can use as an office, a dedicated place for public meetings, or a place to display the growing number of artifacts and memorabilia about the nearly 160-year-old community.
However, they have embarked on an initiative to change all that.
Over a year ago, the society and park district agreed in principle on a project to create a home for the society in the former Sun Valley Farm property at the southwest corner of Main Street and Lois Lane. It would be in the farmhouse that once belonged to the Deicke family, after whom the park district’s largest park is named. The two parties and their attorneys, along with the Huntley Park Foundation, have been negotiating for several months on an agreement that would define the society’s use of the old farmhouse that is now owned by the park district.
The old Deicke farmhouse is suspected to be the one of the oldest structures within the village limits. (Chris La Pelusa|Sun Day Photo)
“We believe this building can become a home for us now and in the future,” Fender said. “We envision it as an office location initially and eventually as the community’s historical museum. We appreciate the park district’s willingness to help us accomplish that.”
“We think it’s a great idea, and we are working with the society to make this happen,” Thom Palmer, executive director of the park district, said.
Palmer said an initial draft agreement was recently sent to the society’s board, but details of the agreement are not being revealed yet.
“This is a long-range project right now,” Fender said. “We expect to complete this agreement with the park district sometime next year, and then we will begin work to upgrade and renovate the farmhouse, which has been vacant in recent years.”
In addition to the house, the property, which includes just a few acres out of an original 42, contains a barn and several smaller outbuildings, an ice house, a windmill, and even a chicken coop. The original farm stretched southeastward from the present corner of Lois Lane and Main Street to an area now occupied by park district ball fields and Stingray Bay.
The park district has recently upgraded the exteriors of the house, windmill, and barn, and formerly used the house for storage.
“Much work remains to be done on the interior of the house, and decisions have to be made on just what other facilities on the property would be used,” Fender said. “This farmhouse is one of the oldest historical buildings still standing in Huntley, possibly dating back to the mid-19th century. The Deickes apparently used the home as a cottage vacation site at one time. It’s an ideal location for this project.”
In its first three years, the society has focused on building its membership, holding public meetings to educate the community about its history, and gathering artifacts, documents, and memorabilia about Huntley history from various sources.
Long-time residents such as Frances Kreutzer, Mary Beth Manning, Barbara Ernesti, Patricia Hemmer, Margaret and Diane Drendel, and the extended Drendel and Deicke families, among others, have been helpful in these activities, Fender said.
In one of its latest newsletters, the society published an appeal for volunteers to help with this project.
1 Comment
I do not live in the area anymore, but agree that this would be a good choice. I love coming back to town and seeing the historical homes. It would be a good home for the Historical Society.