The Gray Campbell Farmstead

Hello from the Gray Campbell Farmstead! We had a beautiful day hosting students from Hillcrest High School. We love sharing the history and fun at the farm. Come out to Nathanael Greene Park on Saturdays and Sundays from 1:40-4:30 to get a glimpse of the past or visit our website at graycampbellfarmstead.org

A little chilly start to our day, but we had a great time selling native plants at the Park Partners’ plant sale!

We had a wonderful day today sharing the farmstead and it’s history with some area students. We have missed being at the farmstead and really enjoyed the day.

Oh saddness! The forecast of spring storms has cancelled the Cherry Blossom, Kite and Piñata Festival for tomorrow.

Spring is a beautiful time at the Gray Campbell Farmstead. Our school house is open on Sundays through April and then our buildings will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 in May through October. Come out and visit us. For more information go to graycampbellfarmstead.org

Saturday, April 10 from 11:00-4:00 Nathanael Greene Park will be hosting the Cherry Blossom, Kite and Pinata day. The Gray/Campbell Farmstead will have some of our buildings open so come by and visit. We will also be selling t-shirts. sweatshirts and memberships to the Friends of the Gray/Campbell Farmstead are $15 and sweatshirts are $25. Membership start at $15.

It’s going to be a beautiful day on Tuesday, come on out to the Farmstead! We will start our spring cleaning around 9 am. We could use all the help we can get.

We are getting excited about Spring! Today we potted 20 or so Paw Paw trees and several Heirloom Lilies in preparation for the Park Partners Plant sale on April 24th. More planting will occur on Thursday, March 25th if the weather holds. Come join in on the fun. Spring Cleaning of the Farmstead will be on Tuesday, March 30th starting at 9:00 am. All volunteers are welcome to come any time after 9 and stay as long as you can. For more information about events go to our website- http://graycampbellfarmstead.org/index.html Happy Spring!

Mission accomplished! The online membership or donation payment is ready to receive your payments. http://graycampbellfarmstead.org/support.html Thank you for supporting the Gray Campbell Farmstead.

Thanks to those of you trying to use the online payment for membership. This is a new process for us. There are many hoops to jump through in setting this up and it looks like there is one more. We hope to have this working by next week. Thank you for your patience.

Because of the cold weather and the Pandemic, we thought folks might like to visit the oldest house in Springfield, the farmstead’s out buildings, and the one-room schoolhouse from the safety and comfort of their own home. Therefore, we will be featuring one building each month from the farmstead. December’s building is the.........barn. Go to graycampbellfarmstead.org and check it out!

Because of the Pandemic and the cold weather, we thought that folks might like to visit and learn more about the oldest house in Springfield, the farmstead’s outbuildings, and Liberty (our one-room schoolhouse) in the safety and comfort of their own homes. Therefore, please check out our updated and expanded website: Graycampbellfarmstead.org and see what building we are featuring this month. Hint.....it’s the barn!

This week, Expedia sent us some really hard working volunteers. Here are just a few I ran into Wednesday, September 16, as I was doing some cleaning at Liberty School.

Are you curious about the inside of our buildings? Over the next few months we will be featuring each of the buildings. Go to our website at graycampbellfarmstead.org and click on the Explore Our Buildings tab to learn more about the Crib Barn and artifacts.

We regret to announce that we have cancelled the Lifestyles Event scheduled for September. It is important to do our part in keeping our visitors, vendors and volunteers safe and healthy. We look forward to hosting this event in September 2021. At this time the Liberty School House is open for limited hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The front doors will be open so guests may see inside, but entering the building will not be possible until further notice. There will be a docent available to provide information and answer questions.

The school house windows and those in the house are lit with candles. Sure do miss our holiday celebrations there, but an evening drive by is very nice for now. Stay safe, wear a mask, and plan on making up for the absence in 2021!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could donate to The Gray/Campbell Farmstead by simply shopping on Amazon with a portion of your purchase being a donation? Well it is possible! By using AmazonSmile you can make your same Amazon purchases and Amazon will donate 0.5% to the Farmstead. Go to smile.amazon.com and start shopping. For more information check our website at graycampbellfarmstead.org. Thanks for considering this option for supporting this historical site.

Are you interested in learning more about the Gray/Campbell Farmstead? Check out all of the upcoming events by visiting our website. http://graycampbellfarmstead.org/index.html Learn how to become a member, volunteer and/or attend these great family friendly events.

Another view of chemise that we will be sharing the pattern for at the workshop Sat.

So many of these little 'shimmies' are still around today -taken from a little one my grandmother wore summer and winter. Some had 3/4 sleeves and were made fro...m cotton flannel. Her father was a Civil War surgeon. (Dr. Nicholas Matthews). Grandmother was the youngest of many children -born after the war. But she said her chemise (shimmy) was the same pattern her mother made for herself and grannies sisters when they were girls. And my grandmother continued to sew them for herself all of her life. The fabric varied according to the season. I have seen her hand sew them -sometimes from feed sack, sometimes from finer cotton & embroidered if it was for dress. But always with a little pocket. She used them for nighties too. She kept money in the pocket because she didn't trust banks. See more

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN ENROLLING IN THE FEB. CLASS - From the Skin Out- an informative lesson in women's correct 19th century undergarments with DESIGNER, NANCY-FARRIS-THEE', PLEASE EMAIL HER AT : [email protected] Calls won't be responded to if you're not on her phone contact list since the name of the caller does not appear. We are excited about this class, please come for time of learning about the fashion demands of the day.

This fabulous 1870's Bustle- style dress created by Nancy Farris- Thee was modeled by Olivia at the Step Back in Time Vintage Fashion Show on July 24 at the Gil...more Carriage House in Springfield. This is a reproduction dress, the original was taken from a dress owned by the Gray- Campbell Farmstead that is now too fragile to exhibit. Nancy took a pattern off the original dress and created a dress that is as close to the original as possible. The buttons are Mother of Pearl and also hand painted by Nancy. The dress has a duel history; in the mid- 19th century it had been a Civil War Era dress and later it was taken apart to make a wedding dress for Sarah Yoakum. See more

December 7, 2019

Greetings all- the workshop for the Gray Campbell Farmstead scheduled for Saturday Nov. 2 has been rescheduled for after the first of the year. - The exact date to be announced at a later date. It will be published in the park's magazine: The Park Bench. I will look forward to seeing everyone then. Have a wonderful winter -and sew happy! Nancy Farris-Thee' - Historic Clothing Specialist