Historic Homer Township barn finds new home on Cedar Road

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Walt Konow stands outside the Tilsy Barn, which he moved to his farm on Cedar Road in Homer Glen. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Updated: September 29, 2011 12:39AM

HOMER GLEN — The Tilsy-Konow Barn, a restored 1870 structure recalling Homer Township’s agricultural history, will have a ribbon-cutting Saturday.

The event will be during Homer Glen’s Earth Day-Arbor Day celebration, held from 11 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Konow Farm, 16849 S. Cedar Road. The ribbon-cutting will be at noon.

The Tilsy Barn stood for 14 decades on South Bell Road in Homer Township. The barn was built by the Tilsy family, but the land was farmed by the Konow family for decades.

Last year, Walter Konow bought the barn and dismantled it with the goal of moving it to its new home. He relocated the barn to the Konow Farm on Cedar Road for purposes of historical preservation and education.

Last May, a groundbreaking was held for the Tilsy-Konow Barn reconstruction project at the 2010 Earth Day-Arbor Day celebration. This Saturday, a year later, the ribbon will be cut on the restored barn.

Admission is free to the Earth Day-Arbor Day celebration. The event also will include food, hay rides, pony rides, master gardeners, recycling, earth-friendly crafts and products for sale, exhibitors and demonstrations.

“The purpose of the Homer Glen Earth Day-Arbor Day celebration is to provide education regarding the role that natural resources play in sustaining a high quality of life in the community and to encourage participation in natural resource protection and restoration efforts,” according to the village website, www.homerglen.org.

Lori Lindberg, a trustee of the New Lenox Area Historical Society, is a fan of preservation projects like this one.

“I remember Old Bell Road was just a gravel road, and it went right through the middle of the Tilsy farm, between the house and the barn,” Lindberg said.

Lindberg commended Walter Konow for moving and restoring the barn.

“The barn matches the era of the farm. It has a perfect place there,” Lindberg said.