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In 1834, in present-day Trotwood, Eli Iams bought 40 acres of land…
…and built a house on it 13 years later.
His family and descendants would live here for more than a century…
…and one of them (Paul) would even get famous with a dog food creation.
But after all the Iams were long gone from the home, the Trotwood-Madison Historical Society bought the homestead and remaining 6.4 acres in 1997, making it their home base…
…and even holding an annual festival.
The Iams Pioneer Harvest Fest, in its 13th year, is a free one-day festival that combines various farm and historic elements to let festival goers explore the past.
When I arrived at the festival, I thought the front lawn acted like a window display…
…showcasing vehicles from the 1960’s…
…and then from longer…
…and longer ago the deeper I moved in.
And some machinery was just enormous!
Beyond that…
…I found a blacksmith demonstration…
…plenty of antique equipment along the walkways…
…and a barn built in 1854…
…with a quilt display…
…old farm tools…
…and free buckeyes from their tree.
The heart of the festival was the homestead itself…
…where guests could learn about dried corn and taste the re-hydrated version…
…snoop around the upstairs bedroom…
…hang around the room set up like a schoolhouse…
…(where I actually met the children of some of these alums)…
…and get even more buckeyes (it must be one big tree!).
After all that exploration…
…everyone went to the back…
…where there was apple butter stirring…
…a huge pot of chili cooking…
…and a single booth selling it all.
…I waited for the band to play…
…and noticed Abe’s interest in tobacco.
Fortunately, the festival was prepared in case he got any strange ideas.
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