It's the Jacob Haish mansion in gingerbread!
In September 2024, the J.F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center proudly hosted "Barbed Wire Weekend," a three-day event that celebrated the 150th anniversary of Joseph F. Glidden's patent for "The Winner" barbed wire. This event brought barbed wire collectors and spectators from 11 states, and featured a dinner at the historic Glidden Homestead, a bus tour that highlighted the barbed wire sites of DeKalb, and a two-day barbed wire expo in partnership with the Antique Barbed Wire Society at the beautiful Altgeld Hall at Northern Illinois University.
I was wearing many hats that weekend, as executive director of the Glidden Homestead, but also as a Haish family descendant and lover of the barbed wire story. Below are just a few photos from that monumental weekend.
Better late than never...
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| A full bus tour for the Barbed Wire Trail! |
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| A somber stop at the parking lot where the Haish mansion once stood. |
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| A stop at the Haish Monument in Fairview Cemetery |
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| Haish family descendant Jeff J. Marshall led the tour through the Barb City |
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| From the bus tour book |
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| The barbed wire expo was held at Altgeld Hall at NIU |
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| Pipe cleaner barbed wire |
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| Haish rail |
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| The exhibitors of Barbed Wire Weekend |
A negative of this image appeared on eBay recently. After digitizing it, the image became much clearer -- a beautiful portrait of the Haish mansion, with a young woman posing in front. While not much else is known, what a wonderful photo...
Click the image to enlarge.
Thanks to Kevin Haish for sharing this photo.
The featured belt buckle for the 1987 Steam Power & Engine Show in Sycamore, Illinois featured barbed wire, a Sandwich gas engine and a Chanticleer gas engine (The Chanticleer line was Haish's most recognizable line.)
The backside reads "This is the sixth buckle in a series for the Northern Illinois Steam Power Club. This buckle shows two small engines that were made in this area and have been exhibited at the show for several years. This is the club's 31st annual show, and the 21st year to be held on the Taylor Marshall Farm near Sycamore, IL."
To learn more about Haish engines, click here.
From the June 26, 1885, DeKalb Daily Chronicle, visitors were invited to explore the newly-built Haish mansion on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in DeKalb.
For previous posts (and photos!) of the treasured Haish mansion, click here.
