Esta Barrett Manor and Gardens, just west of the Rockford Airport, opens for public tours in May 2024. Tours of the historic manor and grounds, laid out by famous landscape gardener O. C. Simonds, are at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on Fridays and the fourth Saturday of the month. Tickets must be purchased in advance through estabarrett.com.
The Smeja Homestead Foundation, the nonprofit foundation that owns and operates the historic site formally called Indian Hill Manor, spent much of 2023 devising a new name, brand, and programming for the over 100-year-old property.
“Esta Barrett was the name of the woman who originally owned the site with her husband, Charles Barrett, but he died within their first year of living at the manor,” remarked Brian Reis, executive director. “Esta bought the property back from his estate and continued to run the manor and farm until she died in 1947 at the age of 78. We are pleased to announce the new name and celebrate Esta’s love and cultivation of the manor, farm, and gardens.”
In renaming the property, the board of directors also wanted to remove the term Indian from the title of the site and initiate new work on understanding the distinct indigenous groups who were the original stewards of the property that currently make up the nonprofit foundation’s land holdings. Partnerships with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and the Ho-Chunk Nation in surveying and managing the land are ongoing. Work has already been accomplished to protect one area by enrolling it as an Illinois Land and Water Reserve.
For more information about Esta Barrett Manor and Gardens, please visit estabarrett.com or call 815-964-6464. The manor is open on Fridays and the fourth Saturday of the month through advanced ticket purchase only. The manor is located at 6901 Kishwaukee Road, however, the entrance to the site is located on South Bend Road. Please see estabarrett.com for detailed directions.
