History and Archives

Warne/Kraft/Kuhn Family History

Samuel Warne was one of eleven children of John and Sarah Warne, pioneer settlers of the Big Woods. Samuel built the house and barn in 1893. Mr. Warne owned 304 acres on the north side of Batavia Road including all of the land known as the Village of Weston in 1967. 

In 1942, the farm was leased to Ben Brucher. The Bruchers lived here and farmed the land until 1950. Brucher had a herd of 40 cows, raised 200 hogs a year and started each spring with 1000 baby chicks. The house had electricity and a coal furnace but no indoor plumbing until 1943. 

Later in the 1940s, the farm was purchased by Mrs. Julia Krafft, the founder of Mrs. Stevens Candy Company in Chicago. From 1950-1967 the house was rented to Robert D. Kuhn, and much of the farmland had been sold to the developer of the Weston subdivision.  When the property was purchased by the state of Illinois in 1968 for the construction of the National Accelerator Laboratory the Kuhn family moved to West Chicago. 

In 1969 the house was used for offices of the National Accelerator Laboratory.  The historic 1889 James McKee home from Site 57 on Eola Road was moved and attached to this home in 1971 to convert the buildings into a housing center for visiting scientists. Known as “Aspen East,” this building is the hub of life in the Fermilab Village.

The Kuhn Barn was restored in April 1970 and converted from a dairy barn to a meeting hall for an early Users Meeting.  It is today, as in the past, the center for many community social events including folk dancing, pot luck dinners, barbecues and parties, and the annual Farmers Picnic.

MEMORIES FROM THE BRUCHER FAMILY WHO LIVED ON THE "KUHN FARM" FROM 1942 to 1950

My dad, Ben Brucher, agreed to lease the farm, now referred to as the "Kuhn Farm" at the Fermi Lab property in Batavia, late in 1941, about the time of the Pearl Harbor attack on the USA.

The lease started March 1, 1942, and I believe the leaser was Mr. Terrel. The farm was currently being occupied by Mr. And Mrs. Olsen. Mrs. Olsen was very angry that they had to move, for reasons I do not know.

Dad tried to see the farm property before leasing, but when he went to the house Mrs. Olsen would chase him with a broom back to his car. She even hit the car with her broom while he drove away. So the farm house and property were only viewed from the north, off of Wilson St. He then went across the road to meet Herb and Jeanette Anderson. Anderson’s let Dad move farm equipment to their front pasture prior to March 1st. After we moved to the farm, he simply pulled the equipment across the road.

My recollection is that some time during the 1940’s, the farm was sold to Mrs. Stevens of Mrs. Stevens Candy Company in Chicago.

The farm was a little over 300 acres, almost all tillable. Only ten to fifteen acres was low swamp land to the near east of the house and barn. Dad had a dairy herd of about 40 cows, raised 200 hogs a year, and started each spring with 1000 baby chicks.

When we moved to the farm the barn was reconfigured to accommodate the dairy herd and a large concrete cow yard was installed. According to the agreement, a silo was also built and still stands there next to the Fermi Lab social barn. I remember it being one of the largest ones around - sixteen feet in diameter and fifty feet high!

In 1942 the house had electricity and a coal furnace. It did not have running water or inside toilet facilities. Water and plumbing were added in about 1943. There was an electric high wire power line to the west between us and the Molitor farm. Our address at that time was West Chicago. Our phone number was 4178R2, and was an eight party shared line. Needless to say, there were few phone conversations, and then only when absolutely necessary.

In Feb. of 1950, Dad retired from farming because of health issues. It was then that Bob Kuhn rented the farm from 1950 until Fermi Lab was built.

- submitted by Mel Brucher, November 2008

The house was owned for awhile by the Kraft family and in 1967 was being rented to Robert D. Kuhn. The Kuhn family moved to West Chicago.

The house was occupied in 1969 for offices of the National Accelerator Laboratory. The historic 1889 James McKee home from Site 57 on Eola Road was moved and attached to this home in 1971 to convert the buildings for visitor housing.

The Kuhn Barn was restored in April 1970 and converted from a dairy barn to a meeting hall for the first Users Meeting. It is today, as in the past, the center for many community social activities.