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Summer is officially here, and the urge to get out into the community and do something new and fun is huge. As far as getting out in the Metro-East area this summer, I've yet to be so lucky. Right now, I'm waiting on pins and needles to get that phone call from my husband saying his deployment to Iraq is over and he's landed in Wisconsin. After a week up there debriefing, we'll be able to return to our house in Highland. And then, our summer fun will begin.
In the meantime, I would love to share a great place I already know about in Edwardsville with you. If you live in the Edwardsville area, you may have driven by this house every day and had no idea what it was. Little did you know (or hopefully you did, cause then they are getting the recognition they deserve) there is a living history house museum right in the middle of Edwardsville.
The 1820 Colonel Benjamin Stephenson House opened its doors to the public in 2006, and since then it has brought a very interactive way to learn history to the Edwardsville area. As a living history museum, guests are allowed to not only see, but touch and experience the way of life in Edwardsville circa 1820. In the kitchen, you can try to start a fire using flint and steel, and then learn how people used to cook over an open hearth by watching re-enactors dressed in period garb actually make homemade breads and stews.
Inside the house, visitors get a full tour of the building, which was fully restored by the Friends of Colonel Benjamin Stephenson. All of the pieces in the house are either period antiques, or reproduction pieces from that era. Guests are invited to sit on the sofa and wingback chairs in the parlor as a tour guide tells the history of the house and family. Upstairs, visitors can inspect, and then sit on, a rope bed with a feather tick. Compare it to the straw tick bed in the servant’s quarters. Outside, the kids can play children’s games from the early 19th century.
It is so much more than the typical old house tour. You also get to hear interesting stories about Benjamin Stephenson and his family, who were very involved with helping to form early Edwardsville. Did you know Stephenson served in the War of 1812, signed the Illinois Constitution, and died of malaria not long after he completed his home?
The Stephenson House really brings its visitors back to 1820 in every way it can. It is a great way to spend an afternoon. They also have events throughout the year, such as storytelling for children, a fifty/fifty auction, and a very popular historic Valentine Dinner. If you’re looking for something to do locally, give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Visit the Stephenson House at 409 S. Buchanan Street Thursday through Saturday, 10-4, and Sunday, 12-4. Check out their website, www.stephensonhouse.org for a complete list of events and more information on the restoration and history.
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