Laserfiche WebLink
The Metzger Farmstead <br />14309 Adams Road <br />Greek Revival - 1847 <br />This 1847 Greek revival is the third oldest house in <br />Harris Township. This grand home is a two-story <br />Greek revival residence with a few wings built in <br />the same style with the same materials. The two- <br />story section has a gabled roof with the gable facing <br />the street, a deep continuous cornice that creates a <br />pediment common to classical Greek and Roman <br />temples, and a fanlight vent under the gable. The <br />one and one half story wing has a columned portico <br />that originally had fluted Doric columns. <br />Unfortunately, the large barn and other outbuildings <br />have not survived. <br />A long line of Metzger's resided in and owned this <br />Greek revival farmhouse until 1959. A German <br />clockmaker, John Texas Metzger's maternal <br />grandfather, built this home and amassed over 700 <br />acres of land on the Harris Prairie. The Metzger's <br />were also Roman Catholic, and as there was no <br />church or chapel nearby Holy Cross priests said <br />Mass at the home. In the early 1840s and early <br />1850s, this house was a stop on the Chicago Trail <br />stagecoach line. Travelers could stop for the night, <br />rest, and receive rural hospitality. <br />Designated a Local Landmark in 2000. <br />Harris Prairie Cemetery <br />14600 Adams Road <br />Harris Prairie Cemetery is named for one of the first settlers of European descent to live on the <br />prairie in the Hams Township area: Jacob Harris, who arrived in 1829. The Hams prairie was <br />"nearly a mile in diameter, and surrounded by burr -oak and hickory bushes." The cemetery itself <br />consists of two acres of land and contains many large and ornately carved headstones and <br />monuments. It has retained its integrity as an early cemetery. Several mature trees and bushes <br />enhance the landscape. <br />Many of Harris Township's earliest settlers rest in this cemetery including: Jacob Harris, Elijah <br />Bonebrake, Peter Kipliner, Jacob Beyer, John Kirkpatrick, and John, Amy, and Margaret <br />Follmer, owners of the Follmer-Kownover Farmstead (1837-1906). <br />Designated in a Local Landmark 1999. <br />