Want to help? Have a skill to share or want to make a donation? Get Involved in Your Community! Contact us at treasurer@LongGroveHistory.org
Step right up, folks! Have we got a tale for you about Long Grove’s very own historical game of “Move That Barn”! Back in the 1840s, Long Grove was just a twinkle in the Ruth family’s eye. Fast forward a bit, and their homestead was the life of the party, with festivals and buildings frozen in time like a mannequin challenge gone historical.
By the roaring ’80s (1980s, mind you), Long Grove had swelled up like a proud peacock to 2000 souls, and the Ruth family’s old barn found itself playing musical chairs, scooting across the field to take a breather by the Village Hall. This wasn’t just any barn dance; it joined the shindig with a tavern-turned-Village-Hall and a one-room schoolhouse with a past life as a garage. Talk about a comeback story!
Now, this isn’t your usual snooze-fest history lesson. Oh no! This barn and school were where the cool kids hung out—third graders, to be precise—playing ol’ timey games and learning how not to confuse a pitchfork for a dinner fork, courtesy of local legends and mayors-turned-docents. In ’86, the Illinois State Historical Society even gave us a gold star for our living history hoedown.
But hold your horses—there’s a plot twist! Long Grove has grown more than a teenager’s appetite, and that dandy old barn is playing chicken with progress. The new hot gossip? There’s a master plan to shuffle the Ruth Barn and its schoolhouse chum right into the heart of downtown, turning it into the belle of the historical ball, complete with festivals that’ll knock your socks off.
Here’s where you come in, dear villagers and history buffs! The Historic Downtown Long Grove is putting on its top hat and calling all hands on deck. If you’ve got time, skills, or a few spare coins jingling in your pocket, your chance to be a part of Long Grove’s next historical hoopla is knocking! Contact treasurer@LongGroveHistory.org to join the barn-raising bonanza. Remember, it’s not every day you get to help a barn dance its way into the future!
