The Black Farmstead, 200 Years and counting!
How many families can claim to have a Bicentennial Farm listed on the National Register of Historic Places? Steve Black’s family does. He shared his beautiful family Farmstead with me and my husband Keith. Steve is a 5th generation descendent. He along with other family members, own the home and some of the surrounding farmland from 200 years ago. The Black Farmstead is located outside of Carrollton, Illinois, in Greene County.
Margaret Hobson Black
The story of the Black Homestead Farm begins with a true pioneer woman, Margaret Hobson Black. The Black family meticulously kept records, family notes, photos and documents. So now, they are able to retell her story. The 5th of 13 children, Margaret was born on December 18, 1771. She was born near Wheelbarrow Hall in Cumberland County England. Margaret married William Black on December 2,1802. They settled at Standing Stone, on the edge of Wigton, England. Together they had three boys, John, David and William, then twins, Thomas and Elizabeth. They rented a farm until William died at the age of 41 of pneumonia. on June 11, 1817. This left Margaret a widow with five children.
Margaret and her brothers had long been keen on America. In England it was hard to own land. Most belonged to the aristocracy, so most farms were rented. America may have seemed the land of opportunity. So, Robert Hobson, Margaret’s brother came to the US with his son in 1820, to establish land grants for the family. They arrived in New York in 1820, Steve Black shared, “They had a rather cool reception. No one liked the English on account of the War of 1812.”
Land in Illinois
Hearing of the rich prairie soil in Illinois, Robert and his son Peter traveled by stagecoach to Pittsburgh. Then down the Ohio River by Steamboat they traveled to Shawneetown. Then they traveled overland to Edwardsville, Illinois. Here they staked out land for their family in Greene County. “Robert paid $1.25 an acre. They had to buy 80 acres from the land office in Edwardsville,” Steve Black said.
In January of 1821, Robert Hobson purchased 1,750 acres. He bought it in his name, his brothers James and William Hobson and Margaret Black. She was the only woman to own land in the township. Steve shared, “Most of the land was native prairie with some parcels containing woodlands.”
The book The Legacy of Margaret Hobson Black, by Elizabeth Black Haas shares, information from 1821 about the local timber. It included pecan, hickory, black walnut, oak, persimmon, ash, hackberry and more. The grasses were of all different heights. Each year the grasses burned with annual fires that “swept the hills and the prairie ground below”.
To add to the danger, at night they could hear the scream of the panther and howling of wolves.
Margaret’s journey
On June 10, 1822, Margaret, her five children, her hired man, John Armstrong, and brother James with his family left behind everything in England. They headed to a new land that Margaret’s brother Robert had purchased for them. Margaret’s brother William stayed behind. Margaret was 51 at the time. They sailed first on the ship the “Niagara”. Amazingly, this shipwrecked and they had to return and board the “Yamacraw”. At sea for 47 days, they arrived in New York on September 4, 1822. Steve added, “The group avoided New York City where yellow fever was prevalent. They bought horses and wagons in Jersey City and set out for Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh they decided to try flat boats and sold the horses.”
They traveled in flatboats, wagons and horses and steamboats. On December 9, 1822, they finally arrived. They came the town Robert had platted out called Mt. Pleasant. The Black family have a cherished family heirloom owned by Margaret, a derringer. Margaret owned this back in the 1800’s, perhaps to protect her during her travels. Most everything her family owned was left behind, but Margaret brought her blanket chest, and sugar chest from England to the new land. Both items are in the house today.
After they arrived, the family stayed in log cabins Robert had prepared. That winter they survived the harsh weather, subsisting mostly corn bread, called “corn dodgers”.
The Black Homestead Farm
Anxious for a permanent residence, Margaret signed a contract for brickwork on her home on April 19, 1823. Brick made from clay was dug and fired onsite. Margaret paid $6.50 cents per 1,000 bricks. Steve Black estimates there are 120,000 or 150,000 bricks used building the house. “I think it cost around $1300.00,” Steve added.
The house, a two-story brick federal style home, was completed by November 30, 1823! While not completely done, the family moved in during December. The home was designed like the family house in Wheelbarrow, England.
The move to America was not without tragedy, Margaret’s son John died of consumption in May of 1823. Over the next few years, Margaret’s holdings increased. She remained an independent woman raising her children. Eventually she signed her land holdings over to her sons David, William and Thomas. She returned to England one last time in 1851. She was 80, and her daughter Elizabeth was 41. Returning to Greene County, she passed on February 7, 1854. This pioneer woman died at the age of 82, in the home she had established 31 years prior.
The Black Homestead Farm over the years
Years later when a new road went through the area, Margaret’s son Thomas Black changed the front entrance to accommodate the new roadway. “When the house was remodeled in 1855, the columns were added,” Steve said.
A wash house and carriage house were also added. Those buildings are still onsite today. In September of 1998, the family celebrated the 175th anniversary of the homestead. In 2023 they celebrated 200 years.
Farming History
The Black family has a lot of local agricultural firsts that are part of agricultural history. William Black was one of the first men in the area to breed thoroughbred cattle. He was also responsible for purchasing the first reaping machine, a Manny reaper (made in Rockford, Illinois). He bought this in partnership with William Eldred. Selling his interest to Mr. Eldred, he then bought a “Hussey” reaper, and later a “Buckeye,” two-wheel reaper. In her book, Elizabeth Black Haas states, “William was the first man in Greene County to sow 100 acres of wheat and get it harvested, and to market.”
In a 1910 census, the Black Homestead Farm besides the acreage, home and buildings, had various animals that included cows, pigs, horses, and chickens. From the farm they sold milk, butter, fowl and eggs.
The first tractor, an International Harvester 15-30 Titan came to the farm from Fishback and Borlin in 1918, for $1,485.25.
Two barns were onsite, one a cattle barn, and another, a horse barn built in the 1880’s or so. In 1927, a devastating tornado destroyed the cattle barn and the Centerville school. The school was just down the road from the homestead. In her book, Elizabeth Black Haas shares, “Robert T. Black and his son Thomas were two of the first people to reach the school in the aftermath. All the children inside the school survived, but sadly; the teacher, Miss Annie Keller was killed”
Annie Keller had saved the children’s lives by telling them to get under their desks. She didn’t have time to get under her own. “Grandpa and my uncle brought kids here for a place to go. The tornado hit buildings outside of Carrolton,” Steve Black shared.
A statue in Annie Keller’s honor is in Whiteside Park in Whitehall, Illinois. The memorial was dedicated August 25, 1929.
Steve Black’s Story
Steve Black grew up near the Black family homestead. His grandfather lived in the home. Steve, who moved away said, “I came back and farmed from 2001-2011, then we moved to Arizona. A friend farms the land now.”
Prior to farming, Steve worked for the Natural Resource Conservation Service under the US Department of Agriculture for 31 years. He retired in 2001, when he took over farming. Working on environmental projects, Steve has continued to assist in conservation efforts. For years he served as the President of the Greene County Historical Society.
The Black family is proud of their pioneer heritage and celebrates their 200 plus year history in central Illinois.
Do you have a historical family farmstead? If so, I’d love to hear about it. I love agricultural history, in fact that is the topic of my eBook Agricultural Treasures Guidebook. I am all about agricultural preservation, and the Black family is a true example!
