Exterior
Our homestead farm is situated on 6 1/2 acres in rural Clinton County in Warren township north of Frankfort on State Road 26. We are surrounded by tilled fields owned and operated by several different farming families or corporations
The house was constructed in 1860 by John and Isabella Young, early settlers of Clinton County. We have owned our farm since 2000.
The home is approximately 2,500 square feet. On the first floor are the laundry room, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living room, and Grand Parlor (which we use as the Master Bedroom).
On the second floor are two finished bedrooms, an unrestored bedroom, the servant's quarters, and access to the attic.
A grand staircase, which is not restored, and a servant's staircase connect the two floors.
The yard around our farmhouse is planted with mature oak trees, locust trees, and tulip trees. There are heritage lilacs and snowball bushes.
The park like setting is truly tranquil and the best of country life.
There is a lovely wrap around porch that we enjoy sitting on to watch the storms roll in or visit with the kitties that help keep rabbits out of our garden. We enjoy many nights sitting around our bonfire pit and watching kids swing on the tree swing.
We normally enter the house from the doors on the porch. There is an outdoor hose that is used for watering the outdoor animals or the garden and flowers. The upstairs porch has not been used but the access door is from one of the upstairs bedrooms.
The Garage
The 4 car garage is made of cement block. The upstairs of the garage is one open room and is adequate for a workshop, weight room, or any other configuration. The bay on the right includes a 1950 era stove and outdoor canning kitchen setup. There is no water in the garage.
Back view of the garage and enclosed yard around it. We have housed chickens, ducks, and turkey in the fenced in portion, but it now houses an outside dog.
On the north side of our garage is a fenced in yard, currently being used for our outside dog. Our outside dog has kept deer out of the garden and coyotes away from our livestock. Also pictured is the back side of the compost bins and wood storage.
The Property
In the past we have gardened nearly 2 acres of prime growing land. Presently we are gardening six 125 foot rows of permanent structure. We grow all vining plants up and over the structures.
There are three rows of cattle panel arches. There are 15 arches in each row, bringing the total to 45 arches. There is a permanent wooden arch system. We grow 175 feet of Joan J patented raspberries and about 33 feet of thornless blackberries.
Established, low maintenance thornless blackberries are seen here. Although our farm is not registered organic, we have never used any chemicals in our garden.
Pictured here is a mature stand of asparagus, Joan J patented raspberries, and a bed of strawberries.
Acreage looking northeast from the edge of the garden. This area is appropriate for additional gardens or for building another house or pole building. There is another well on this site.
Facing straight north from the garden. There are 3 old barns on the property that have fallen down. They are original to the farm.
First Floor Interior
The porch door opens into the Dining Room. The door pictured here leads into the grand staircase (not restored).
The dining room viewed from the halldoor. The living room is to the left. The ceiling is hand painted.
Adjacent to the Dining Room is the Living Room. The original amazing hardwood floors and trim run throughout the house. Custom sized natural fiber wool and silk rugs will come with the house. The double french doors in this picture lead into the Grand Parlor, which we use as our Master Bedroom.
The Grand Parlor (used as a Master Bedroom) opens from the Living Room. The four giant windows allow us to feel like we live outdoors in nature. We have hundreds of birds that eat from the birdfeeders hanging just outside our windows, and we lay in bed and watch them.
The door to the left leads to the Grand staircase (unrestored). This room also contains a wall mounted propone stove that we use to augment the heat.
View of vanity and sink.
The Upstairs
The servant's staircase opens into Upstairs Bedroom #1, the largest of the restored upstairs bedrooms. The door to the left opens into Upstairs Bedroom #3 (not restored). The door (to the right of the clothing rack) opens into Bedroom #2. The wall mounted propane stove heats this bedroom.
Upstairs Bedroom #1 from another angle. The door to the left opens to the servant's hall and staircase. The door to the right opens to Upstairs Bedroom #2.
Bedroom #1 from another angle. This door leads to Upstairs Bedroom #3.
Bedroom #2 opens from the back Servant's Quarters and staircase. This room also contains a wall-mounted propane stove to heat the room. The attic access door is also in this bedroom. This bedroom contains a small closet.
Natural light floods Bedroom #2. The ceilings are hand painted.
Bedroom #3 is an unrestored large bedroom with 4 huge windows. It is currently being used as attic storage but has potential to become a huge bedroom. There is electricity to the chandelier, but the room lacks a heat source.
The Basement
The basement is a true root cellar. The floor is brick. We use it for canning storage.
View of the cellar stairs. The furnace is to the right and is about 5 years old.
The cellar contains water softener, water heater, and furnace.
We have created a growing room in the cellar for plant starts. There used to be plant growing lights and heat mats on these shelves but we sent them to some missionaries in Alaska, so they could grow food. There is a faucet and hose and heated air access from the furnace. The room is surrounded with panda plastic to retain heat.