A FARMHOUSE HISTORY
Delbert Hageman House

By Kelly Considine, 2001 Graduate of Naperville North High School, Naperville, Illinois

A farmhouse is not like a regular house. A farmhouse is built with love. When a man builds his own farmhouse, he adds his own special touch. He is supplying his family with shelter and supplying his children with a future. The walls of his house hold all of his family memories; the floor is worn away to a perfectly fitted divot from the bar feet of his children. His wife knows the inside of the kitchen like the back of her hand. A farmhouse and the land it sits on are the two most important pieces a man could own. 

On February 7, 1843, a man named Nathaniel Crampton bought a piece of land for one hundred dollars. The land was the E ½ of NWW, ½ of Section 28, Township 38, North Range 9, East of the 3rd Principle Meridian, which contained 80 acres. On September 1, 1843, Nathaniel Crampton paid for 40 acres of land in the Naperville area. On December 20, 1843, Nathaniel Crampton and his wife, Lucy, sold the 160 acres to Alpheus T. Thatcher. Altheus T. Thatcher died in the 1850s, and ownership passed to Emma Thatcher Wood, his only daughter and a resident of Aurora. Emma lived into her nineties and rented out the farm property. The first tenants were Leonard and Lena Binder; the second were Herman and Anna Hageman who moved to the farm in 1918. The Hageman's had two daughters, Dorothy and Clara. Two more children, Delbert and Bernice, were born in the house. Emma died in 1949, after which Herman Hageman bought the property. 

During his time on his Naperville farm, Nathaniel Thatcher constructed a farmhouse for living purposes. The farmhouse was constructed sometime between 1843 and 1874. The Greek revival gable front and wing home anchored a prosperous farm owned by the Thatcher family for over 100 years. The house had a low-pitched roof with a slight overhang, complete with ornate brackets and classical entablature. The front entry has an elaborate surround, and transom lights framing the entry door. The house contains a total of eight rooms. The side porch also showcases the cornice details and the vernacular take on the Greek Revival style with the square columns supporting the porch roof. Notable are the Italianate brackets found in the cornice line, often found in many post-1850 Greek Revival houses.

Family life revolved around the farmhouse in the 1800s and early 1900s. Delbert Hageman remembers having a lot of livestock, including dairy cows, steers, hogs, sheep, goats, ducks and chickens. Bernice remembers having to carry water for the animals and get them corn from the corncrib. Every Saturday night, Anna and Herman Hageman would host a barn dance. The Hagemans often hired an accordion player and invited the neighbors over for a dance in their large living room. The kitchen and dining room were Bernice’s favorite rooms. There the children would listen to the radio. When Anna wasn’t baking, canning or making sausage, she was painting the trim on the house. The Hageman children attended Grainger School and Naperville High School.

In August 1999, Carol Massat, owner of the Growing Place Nursery and Farm, attended a farm auction at the Hageman Farm. Carol and her husband, Rich had always dreamt of living on a farm and in a farmhouse, but they just never got the chance. When Carol found out that many of the old farmhouses were being auctioned, she called Rich and told him to get there as soon as possible. The bidding started before Rich arrived, but Carol decided to bid on her own. She was the second bidder, and won the house for three hundred dollars. She originally thought of just using the trim of the house for decoration, but then the City of Aurora gave her a call, saying that they wanted to save the farmhouse for a historic landmark. So she decided to move the house to her Aurora farm location. 

On November 6, 1999, the house was divided into three pieces and was moved four miles on huge semi trucks. Putting the house back together and restoring it took about one year. Carol and Rich also received a Mayor’s Award and the official historic landmark certificate for the farmhouse. The farmhouse is surrounded by an heirloom and cottage garden, including an outhouse garden, with the actual outhouse door in the middle of it. The house is used for the Garden Treasure Shop, while the upstairs contains offices and a conference room. The summer kitchen is now a place for parties and events the Growing Place will have.

Carol Massat feels that the farmhouse definitely adds a homey atmosphere and brings publicity and attention to the Growing Place. Carol is delighted and privileged to be a part of this historical event. Besides having an addition of a new home, Carol and Rich also have the addition of many new family members. The Hageman’s and The Thatcher’s both watched their old home auctioned off with teary eyes and sighs. Now all they have left are their memories, and the relief knowing that their childhood home is safe.

This farmhouse is very important to the history of the Aurora-Naperville area. It shows how families lived back then, and how they adapted to nature and the lack of machines. The stories that also go along with the farmhouse are truly special and show how a life can revolve around a house and a farm.