Holiday Events at The Iles House

CANDLELIGHT TOURS DECEMBER 3 AND 10

On Saturday afternoons, December 3 and 10, traditional Candlelight Tours will be held from 1 until 4 p.m. The House will be lighted with candles and decorated for a 19th century Christmas. Refreshments will be served.

ILES CHRISTMAS TREE AT GOVERNOR’S MANSION

It is “time” to stop by the governor’s mansion to see the trees decorated by organizations from across the state. The Iles House Tree has a very special theme this year – you will love it!! And - in case you missed it - last year’s tree will be displayed in the Iles House Springfield Museum.

AN HISTORIC CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 17

On Saturday December 17, there is a progressive tour of historic houses. An Historic Christmas will feature the Lincoln Home, Iles House, Lindsay House and Edwards Place. The Sound Celebration Choir will perform period holiday pieces at each site with guests Abe and Mary Lincoln. Be at the Iles House by 2 p.m. for this special performance. The Iles House is hosting a craft sale by Lincoln Memorial Garden (a National Register site) and will have cookie decoratingand crafts for children of all ages.

Terry Ransom to Present Underground Railroad Program

Terry Ransom wraps up the Fall fireside chats at the Iles House on Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00 P.M. with a program on the Underground Railroad in Illinois.

Terry was born in Champaign, Illinois and was raised in Springfield, Illinois. His interest include Scouting, of which he has been a volunteer for over forty years. He is an accomplished leather crafter. He enjoys enjoys hunting, fishing and almost anything that has to do with the out-of-doors. His major interest for the past two decades has been the history of African Americans as it relates to the Underground Railroad in Illinois .

Terry has based his research on the work of W. B. Siebert, whose book, The Underground Railroad – From Slavery to Freedom, which was published in 1898 and continues to be the most authoritative source of information on the subject.

Terry has had the opportunity to participate as a researcher with the National Park Service studying the routes of the Underground Railroad within Illinois . He has presented an overview of his research at a national Underground Railroad advisory committee meeting in Washington , D.C. He has presented programs for the Illinois State Historical Society, various county historical societies schools and many private and civic organizations.

The program will provide an overview of the Underground Railroad in Illinois , to include laws, routes, the three primary entry points and various personalities and safe houses.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served after the program.

Fireside Chats Slated for September

A series of programs at the Elijah Iles House highlighting our city's heritage is slated for Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on September 14, 21 and 28, 2011.

September 14: Tim Townsend, Historian Lincoln Home National Park, will discuss Jamison Jenkins, Lincoln's African American Neighbor.

September 21: Erika Holst will present the Edwards Place Restoration Plan.

September 28 Terry Ransom will discuss The Underground Railroad.

These programs are free and open to the public.

Iles House Gardens Highlighted in the SJ-R

The State Journal-Register ran a very nice story about the period gardening at The Elijah Iles House. Our stove-pipe hats are off to docent and master gardener Gary Lazar who has maintained the garden along with other volunteers from the University of Illinois Extension Office. Their attention and expertise has really paid off with eye-catching and inviting results.

Blogger link

A couple of bloggers named Chuck and Kate recently visited The Iles House and posted a really nice review at their blog, The Wanderers. The post features several good pictures that are really worth the click.

Strawberry Party Time

Clara Irwin's Strawberry Party will be held on Friday, July 1 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. As in past years, we will feature frozen strawberry daiquiris, real strawberry short cake, hot dogs and brats, kids' games, story telling, music and other events.

Strawberry parties were a popular excuse for friends and neighbors to gather in frontier-era Springfield. The Iles House revival of this tradition continues to be one of our most popular annual events. It's a great way to kick off a patriotic Independence Day weekend with the whole family.

Dana Hand to Appear at The Iles House

Deep Creek authors Dana Hand (Will Howarth and Anne Matthews) will discuss history and fiction at a fireside chat at The Elijah Iles House on Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 PM.

Will Howarth is a longtime volunteer for the Iles House, serving as the original editor of this blog. A Springfield native, Will is an authority on the history and literature of travel, places, and nature. He served as editor-in-chief of The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, chaired The Center for American Places and, in over forty years at Princeton University, explored nature-culture conflicts in courses ranging from pre-colonial America to postmodern fiction.

As historian and critic, he specializes in trans-Atlantic romanticism, literary nonfiction, and the environmental humanities. As free-lance writer, he has covered assignments for many national periodicals. He first learned of the events at Deep Creek in 1981, while on assignment in Idaho for National Geographic.

Anne Matthews writes about American places facing sudden and often unwanted change. Where the Buffalo Roam, on the depopulating Great Plains, was a Pulitzer finalist in nonfiction. Bright College Years, a New York Times Notable Book, examines the American campus. Wild Nights: Nature Returns to the City describes the wilding of urban spaces and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. She served on the Library of America editorial board for the two-volume collection, Reporting World War II. A contributing editor for American Scholar and Preservation, she has lectured and taught at Princeton, Columbia, and New York University.

Deep Creek has been distinguished among the best novels of 2010 by The Washington Post. Download it to your Kindle or order a hard copy for your library.

...the characters, among the most courageous and

original to be found in Western fiction, don’t reveal

their secrets until they’re good and ready.

— Sarah Johnson, editor, Historical Novels Review

Dramatically, even lyrically...the authors elegantly

weave an engaging, thrilling, lively narrative... A

splendid read.

— William Wong, San Francisco Chronicle

Astonishingly effective...a gripping, spooky historical

novel, based on true events, told in a way that closely

resembles real life, full of the unknown and unknowable....

— Carolyn See, Washington Post

The best piece of Old West historical fiction I've seen

since Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. It deftly . . .

tells a compelling story of people wrestling with the

dark and tragic side of the frontier.

— Donald Worster, author of Under Western Skies

Iles House Opens for 2011

The Elijah Iles House is preparing for its 2011 season with several events slated for April.

Join us for the 2011 Grand Seasonal Opening of the Iles House on Saturday, April 16 from noon until 4:00 P.M. The event is free and open to the public. Complimentary cake and refreshments will be served.

A major fundraiser for the house and "a feast fit for a king" will be held on Saturday, April 30 at 5:00 P.M. The Royal Spring Awakening will be hosted by The Elijah Iles House Foundation, featuring a silent auction, a traditional Maypole Dance by the Springfield Ballet Company, music by Thistle and Thyme and catering by Carol Jean's Fine Cuisine. Reservations are $50.00 per person. Email Laurel29@me.com for more information.

Every year from April 15 through May 5, the Iles House observes days of mourning for our fallen President Abraham Lincoln, a friend and frequent visitor of the house in his day. The house will be draped in black and purple crepe bunting, commemorating Springfield's response to the nation's tragedy in 1865.

Iles House Wins DSI Award

Downtown Springfield Incorporated named the Elijah Iles House as the winner of their Outstanding Volunteer Effort award for the recovery from the May 26, 2010 flood. The award was one of a series presented by DSI at their annual banquet on January 26th at the Hilton Springfield.

DSI is a not-for-profit organization working to promote Springfield's historic central business district.

Although the historic sections of the Iles House remained well above water, the 2010 flood damaged the lower level, destroying cabinetry and drywall throughout. An amazing and heartening volunteer effort had the lower level, which includes museum space, the kitchen and restrooms, fully restored in time for the popular annual Strawberry Party on July 2nd.