Historic Elsah Foundation

Take a step back in time this holiday season while strolling the historic streets of Elsah, Illinois. Visit what’s been called “the town that time forgot,” during Elsah’s annual Home for the Holidays House Tour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, December 7.

Many historic buildings will be open for the event, including private homes, the two room school house, Farley Music Hall, the Elsah Museum, the bed and breakfast inns, churches and villages shops. Tickets for the annual Holiday House Tour are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the tour. Ticket prices include a tour booklet with a photo and description of each building, musical performances, and a self-guided walk thru the historic village filled with sounds of the season from local caroling groups. A limited number of box lunches will be available at Farley Music Hall.

“Since the 1970’s, the Village of Elsah has offered house tours for visitors who can’t wait to get a look inside some of its beautiful historic homes and buildings,” said Blair Smith, one of the organizers of the event.

Proceeds from the tour benefit the Historic Elsah Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to historic preservation and education in the Village of Elsah.

On October 24, Scott Adams will share the story of the Great River Road construction (from Elsah to Grafton) through his eyes. His talk includes his experience as a 13 year old resident in Chautauqua, Illinois, and today as a 50 year veteran of Real Estate Development. This will be a fun and interesting journey, including photos courtesy of the Grafton Historic Society.

“The Great River Road” will be presented at Farley Music Hall, 37 Mill Street, in Elsah, Thursday, October 24, at 7:00 pm. The program is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. Parking is available. Refreshments will be served following the lecture.

This presentation was one of this year’s Hosmer-Williams Lectures sponsored by Historic Elsah Foundation and underwritten by Liberty Bank: A United Community Bank.

In 1852 at age 54, General James Semple (his Illinois Militia rank) moved his family from Vandalia to Jersey County, Illinois, and as he then said, “settled in the woods, at Jersey Landing,” a village Semple later renamed, Elsah.

In this picturesque region of rolling hills and majestic bluffs, four miles from the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, General Semple set about rebuilding his much depleted personal wealth. He purchased the valley in which Elsah Village was established and large tracts of forest and farm land on the bluffs above. He built a family home called Trevue (Tree View), and for the remaining 15 years of his life, this prairie entrepreneur successfully engaged in businesses in land development, freight transfer and farming.

Before moving to Elsah, General Semple had abruptly abandoned a long career in public service. He was a life-long Democrat who served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives; as a diplomatic minister to New Granada (now Columbia in South America); in the Illinois Supreme Court; and in the U.S. Senate. Semple’s years in the Senate left him bitter and dissatisfied with the pettiness of party politics to the point that never again ran for elective office. In Semple’s mind, his achievements in public office had come at too high a price to his family and his fortune.

In “The Semples of Elsah,” local historian, George Provenzano will tell of lives of the General, his wife, children, and domestic servants at Trevue. This story will present new insights obtained from dozens of family letters written during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The letters reveal how the lives of the Semple parents changed as their children married, left home and started families of their own. Be prepared to hear some surprises.

“The Semples of Elsah” will be presented at Farley Music Hall in Elsah, Thursday, September 19, at 7:00 pm. The program is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. Parking is available. Refreshments will be served following the lecture.

If you are unable to attend in person, you may also register to watch the presentation virtually.

This presentation is one of this year’s Hosmer-Williams Lectures sponsored by Historic Elsah Foundation and underwritten by Liberty Bank: A United Community Bank.

Attention media, print and otherwise, for additional information, contact George Provenzano, at [email protected].

The second lecture of the 2024 Hosmer-Williams Lecture Series was presented on Thursday, April 18 at 7 in the evening in Farley’s Music Hall, 37 Mill Street, Elsah, Illinois.

The lecture, Chautauqua: An American Icon was given by Tim Tomlinson, a past president of Historic Elsah Foundation and the Chautauqua Historical Society. Tomlinson has lectured locally and nationally on the topic of Chautauqua as an American social and cultural movement. He is the author of The Western Chautauqua: A History of New Piasa Chautauqua.

This year, 2024, is the 150th anniversary of the founding of the “Mother Chautauqua” in western New York State. The local Great River Road Chautauqua, a “sister Chautauqua” founded in 1885, will be conducting its 139th season. Tomlinson’s lecture will define the Chautauqua Movement for historic and contemporary context, looking for ideas that explain a continued relevance in a sesquicentennial year.

The Hosmer-Williams Lecture Series is a major contribution of Historic Elsah Foundation to the understanding of local history. The Series is underwritten, in part, by Liberty Bank of Alton, Illinois, by Federal Steel of East Alton, Il, by anonymous donors, and by the membership of Historic Elsah Foundation.

To view the lecture recording, watch below: