Help us Restore our Historic Sears & Roebuck Barn

Help us RAISE THE ROOF!

Or, more precisely, replace the roof and thus preserve this historic Sears Roebuck barn in our community!

Once the roof is replaced and construction completed, every person who donates $50 or more to this fundraiser will be invited to a special celebratory event with great food, barn tours, and live music!

Thank you for your generosity, and please forward to your friends. Every dollar will help us preserve this historic barn by giving it the new roof it desperately needs.

Donate now or keep scrolling to hear from Kira Santiago, flower farmer and artist who has been stewarding the land and barn for the past 8 years, and Graham Bishop, who represents the 6th generation of the family that owns this historic farmstead. There's also a brief history of this beautiful barn that you won’t want to miss!

Note from Kira (flower farmer renting the farmstead and using the barn):

I moved to this farm in East Peoria 8 years ago and clearly remember the first time I saw the big red barn shining like a beacon at the end of the long lane. When I climbed up into the loft, I was entranced by the smell of the old wood and the way the big wooden beams curved to form a graceful, rustic cathedral ceiling. I'd been in plenty of barns before, but the quality, cleanliness, and beauty of this one was truly something special to behold.

I soon heard stories about how Miriam and Ethel (elderly sisters and members of the original farm family who lived here before me) had kept the barn so clean you could eat off the floor! It was evident that they cared deeply for this barn, and it was very easy for me to fall in love with it and care for it as well. I also learned that the historic Sears Roebuck barn arrived as a complete kit by rail at the nearby town of Groveland in 1927, and some 50 years later, it was featured in Smithsonian Magazine. Today, it’s one of very few Sears Roebuck barns in our area that is still standing tall.

Unfortunately, the barn roof has begun showing signs of its advanced age. The loft roof that once mesmerized us into feeling like we were in a sturdy upside-down wooden ship, now looks like starry constellations as light shines through all the holes that have appeared as it loses more and more shingles every year. So far, the majority of the wood holding up the roof is still in good condition, but we must re-roof it this year to prevent the wood from rotting and the entire structure from collapsing.

The pitch of the barn roof is steep and replacing shingles will not be an easy task, nor a cheap one. That is why we are asking our community to come together and help us raise money for this important project. By restoring this historic Sears Roebuck barn we ensure that the structures of the past stay alive and continue to serve this community. It is also a way for us to give respect to those that came before us, worked the land before we did, and built the buildings that we use in our lives today.

In my early years here on the farm, we hosted many events in the barn—an intimate wedding of a family friend, dinner parties with local chefs, a special show by a touring musician, an artist talk, and the backdrop to countless photo shoots. Once the roof has been replaced, our community will again be able to enjoy barn dinners with Peoria chefs, music shows (the acoustics are amazing!), and otherwise utilize this beautiful and historic building.

With your help, we will be able to continue to care for it the way that Miriam and Ethel truly cared for it. Not only will we replace the roof but, funds permitting, we will also:

-paint the exterior

-replace broken windows

-replace broken doors

-power wash the interior

Once the roof is replaced and construction completed, every person who donates $50 or more to this fundraiser will be invited to a special celebratory event with food, barn tours, and live music! Every dollar helps, so please forward this to your friends. Thank you for your generosity!

Note from Graham Bishop (6th generation to own this farm):

Every year from as far back as I can remember, I spent my holidays on this farm, eating

home-cooked meals made by my Great Aunt Miriam. She was 90 when I was born, but I have never seen a cleaner house, or eaten a better holiday dinner. I remember eagerly finding the plate with my name on it and waiting (not so) patiently for my favorite meal of the year.

Miriam’s sister, my Great Aunt Ethel was unable to speak by the time I was born due to a stroke. But she didn’t need words in order to communicate how much she cared for this farm and for us children, and how much she enjoyed the holiday gatherings. I’ve heard many stories about Aunt Ethel when she was younger. For example, when tasked with collecting berries for canning, she was notorious for eating more than she brought back, unabashed about the evidence all over her shirt and face.

To this day, I continue to hear stories of life on this farm over the past 150 years. Stories of the milk cows in the barn, and of the majestic draft horses, powerful and beautiful in equal measure. And of the grueling task of manually pumping hundreds of gallons of water for the dairy cows each and every day.

These stories that were a source of wonder and enjoyment for me as a child are now a motivation for me as an adult. Knowing just how powerful community has been in the past makes me want to spend my life working to strengthen my own community. I want to help my neighbor when they need it, and know I have someone to turn to when I need help. As a producer, I want to proudly say that I am feeding my community, just as my family has been doing on this farm for more than 150 years.

This barn stood strong and proud, collecting memories for the past 96 years. And now I hope you may be able to help us add another generation of stories and memories before I proudly pass it on to the next generation.

A brief history of this barn:

The land the barn stands on was purchased by Adam Goetz in 1868, just after the Civil War ended. He and his family operated a traditional dairy farm of the day with a diverse mix of crops and livestock.

Year after year, the farm and the Goetz family did well. Then, on a sunny Sunday in 1927, some not-quite-dry hay in the barn smoldered and burst into flames. The family was getting ready to leave for church, and by the time they realized what was happening, they barely had time to get their milk cows, calves, and a team of mules out of the burning barn. After that, all they could do was watch in horror as the barn they loved burned to the ground.

Miriam and Ethel Goetz, two sisters and the last two descendants of Adam Goetz to live on this farm, were teenagers then. They remember suddenly having nowhere to keep their livestock, and their father (Adam's grandson) immediately ordering a new barn from the popular and reliable Sears Roebuck catalog. He chose a model called The Cyclone, designed to withstand strong Midwestern windstorms and tornados.

Just two months after it was ordered, the barn arrived via railroad boxcar at the little town of Groveland, just south of the farm. It arrived as a complete kit — shingles, nails, and all! The Goetz family brought it out to the farm by horse and wagon, and began construction. It ended up costing them about $2000 including labor (a pretty penny at the time), and Ethel remembered that "we even had enough shingles left over to replace the roof on the chicken house!"

Prices have certainly gone up in the almost 100 years since then, but by raising $50,000 with your help, we’ll keep this barn standing for another 100 years. Thank you!