Chellberg Farm: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The Chellberg Farm is part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, located about 40 miles east of Chicago, Illinois near the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The landscape is one of several farms in a Swedish Farming District, consisting of properties that have been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The period of significance for the Chellberg Farm cultural landscape is identified as 1869 to 1937. This period begins when Anders Kjellberg entered into a contract with John Oberg to purchase the Chellberg Farm property from Joel Wicker; and it ends with the death of Anders’s son, C. L. Chellberg, who had established a stable dairy operation on the property. Following this period, agricultural focus of the landscape greatly diminished. The Chellberg Farm is historically important as one of the few remaining intact representations of a unique Swedish immigrant community in northwestern Indiana. Members of the community established churches, a school, and social gathering places that emphasized their ethnic heritage. The community thrived for several decades, sustaining Swedish customs and language as an integrated element of day-to-day life. The Chellberg Farm is among the best preserved physical reminders of the ethnic heritage of the area's Swedish immigrant farming community. As a part of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the farm is accessible to the public and protected from development. Until recently, the 79.6-acre property was managed by the National Park Service (NPS) as a working farm. The site is currently used extensively for interpretive and educational programs. Historic resources associated with the farm include a ca. 1885 two-story brick farmhouse, ca. 1880 gable barn, several other agricultural buildings, structures, and landscape features. In addition, the farm includes numerous non-historic elements, many of which were constructed by the NPS in order to facilitate the interpretive programs and special events of the farm. A site survey was conducted in September 1998 to record the existing conditions of the buildings and landscape features at the farm. The Chellberg Farm cultural landscape has been divided into eight zones for organizational purposes: the buildings, the yard, the front yard, the orchard, the garden, the lane, the fields, and the ravine. Managing the landscape as a productive agricultural property has resulted in both positive and negative impacts to its integrity. Its continuing association with livestock and crop production allows the landscape to represent its previous state and use. However, the additions of non-historic features in conjunction with the living-farm operations detract from the integrity of the historic scene. In addition, impacts of visitor use have affected the overall level of integrity of the yard and barnyard. The spatial organization of the farm has been altered, resulting in the absence of the yard and orchard and in dramatic changes to the garden and front yard. Furthermore, changes in vegetation at the site have had a particular impact on the yard, orchard, lane, and ravine. Evaluation of the integrity of the farm's historic landscape has focused on two scales. The overall landscape, including the entire 79.6-acre property that is made up of broad land use patterns, spatial organization, vegetation, circulation, and structures, maintains a high level of integrity for location, feeling, and association. At this scale, the property continues to convey its associations to agricultural development and the ethnic heritage of the region's communities. On a more particulate level, an evaluation of each individual zone within the landscape reveals varying levels of integrity, with some areas experiencing significant loss or alteration.

Chellberg Farm: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

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