NAPERVILLE TOWNSHIP ROLLING MEADOWS FARM (1943-1951)

Bertis R. Stalions (1905-1955) bought the Naperville Rolling Meadows farm in December 1943 from Alexander Ferguson. A detailed description of the farm is given in the “Plat of Survey of the Alexander Ferguson Farm” in the DuPage County, Illinois courthouse land records. The property is commonly referred to as the “Ferguson Survey” property.

Alexander Ferguson bought the farm in December 1937 from an Ashling family. Ashling’s (John, William, et. Al.) owned the property for many years. John Ashling first bought part of the property from Joseph S. Ferry in 1868. Earlier land records in the DuPage County courthouse show that members of the Ferry family owned portions of the property as far back as the 1850’s. DuPage County, Illinois courthouse land records are available back to 1843 showing other pioneer families that owned different portions of the property that eventually became known as the “Stalions Rolling Meadows” farm. (Land survey records of the territory currently known as DuPage County, Illinois prior to 1843 do not exist in the DuPage County courthouse because the territory now known as northern Illinois had not yet been surveyed by the United States government. Such surveys performed until 1842 and later under the U.S. Federal Preemption Act of 1841. 

The Rolling Meadows farm does indeed have an interesting history that is associated with many of the early farm families of Naperville Township. The family histories of many of these pioneers, including the Ashling and Ferry families, are given in the excellent book, Naperville Area Farm Families History, published in 1983 by the Naperville Farmers’ River walk Committee ( Reference 3)

At the time of Bertis R. Stalions’ (1905-1955) ownership of this farm, some of the neighboring farm families included those, of Elmer Ferry, Roy Frieders, Brummels, and Diehls. During those years, work was often swapped, particularly during the harvest season, with many of the surrounding farmers.

Although all of the farm work was mechanized, the team of Belgian horses still came in handy every now and then. For example, Bob Phillips, a neighbor who sometimes worked on the Stalions farm, tells of a time when a farm tractor got stuck in a muddy field. Attempts to pull out the tractor with a second tractor also getting stuck. Finally, the team of Belgian horses was used to pull both of the tractors out!

With all the machinery and the horses, the services of a local blacksmith shop, in Warrenville, were occasionally required to repair the machinery or shoe the horses. This shop was owned and operated by Hugo Kleinwachter and later by his son, Herbie. The shop has been out of operation for several years, but the building still stands (in the southwest corner of the intersection of River Rd. and Warrenville Rd.)

The raising of purebred Herefords, as mentioned previously, was the main business at the Stalions Rolling Meadows farm. A breeding bull with a very prominent lineage that Bertis R. Stalions owned became very well known among other Hereford cattle stockmen. He bought the bull in Texas and paid $30,000 for it! That was a small fortune in those days. It was a good investment, however. He more than got his money back over the years from breeding fees and the sale of offspring. At cattle sales held on the farm, for example, it was not unusual for a top quality heifer to sell for $3000-$5000. 

There were two main residences on the Rolling Meadows farm. At the main farm site on Route 59 about a quarter mile south of Ferry Rd., and on Diehl Rd, about one third of a mile west of Route 59. Each of these residences is described as follows.

This residence was at the main farm site on route 59 about a quarter mile south of Ferry Rd. It consisted of a white frame house, a long, large white barn with the name “Rolling Meadows” painted on the front side, and several outbuildings. This was the residence for Herbert O. Albert (1898-1978) and hi family who initially managed the farm from 1943-1946.

The Rt. 59 residence was also the residence of Marvin Holtapp and his family after Herbert O. Albert (1898-1978) left the farm in 1946. Marvin Holtapp, who had previously assisted Herbert O. Albert in running the farm, then managed the farm from 1946 until it was moved to Georgia in 1950.

The long white barn was unusual in that it was a combination of two individual barns. Before Bertis R. Stalions acquired the farm in 1943 from Alexander Ferguson, the latter had moved a barn from another part of the farm (possibly near the Diehl Rd. residence?) and attached it to an existing barn at the Route 59 residence. The resulting long barn was an impressive structure and a showpiece of the farm.

None of the buildings remain at this site today-only trees and bushes remain. However, the house was relocated in the early 1970’s (1973-1974) to a nearby site on the south side of Ferry Rd. just west of the Illinois Praire Path (the former C.A.&E. electric railroad). The house was later remodeled. The first family that lived in the relocated house, according to area residents, was a Gottwalt family who rented the house from the owner, William P. Rodgers, of Naperville.

Another building, a large tool shed, was bought about 1980 by the Dieter and Sons trucking business of Naperville. They moved it to their location on the north side of Ferry Rd. just west of Route 59. It has also been remodeled.

The second residence on this farm where Bertis R. Stalions and his family lived on Diehl Rd. about one third of a mile west of Rt. 59, The house, which was just recently demolished, was located just west of the East-West Technology Center and on the north side of Diehl Rd. across from the Country Lakes development. It was a white, two story, frame house with a green roof and black shutters. It was originally built by the Ashling’s and had some remodeling in later years. On the West Side of the foregoing house there was a small white frame house that was used by Marvin Holtapp and his family during the time he was assisting Herbet O. Albert in operating the farm. This house also was demolished in August 1993.

Both of the foregoing houses were located on a 10 acre portion of the farm. The property is now commercially owned.

With the exception of a small triangular parcel in the northwest corner of the Rolling Meadows farm, the property north of the toll way to Ferry Rd. and between Rt. 59 and the 
ROLLING MEDAOWS FARM (continued)

Illinois Prairie Path is now all commercially owned. However, the land is being farmed through renting to local farmers. As pointed out previously, the property south of the toll way to Diehl Rd. is mostly commercially developed.

The small triangular parcel in the northwest corner, is still owned by William P. Rodgers who purchased the farm from Alexander Ferguson in 1954. In the ensuing years, all of the farm property was sold by William P. Rodgers except for this small parcel.