Piatt County Museum

06/22/2026

23 years ago, during the barn tour, the newest building on the Harshbarger Estate was called the Harshbarger Homestead Retreat Center.
This home was built in 1914 by Albert and Carrie (Harshbarger) Livengood. Thomas Livengood, son of Albert and Carrie, dreamed of becoming an architect. Tom sent specifications and drawing to Indiana for the trim and cabinets that were to be built from the walnut trees grown on the farm. The home was built for $6,000, a beautiful country home for that time period. Tom had to give up his dream of becoming an architect because of his family needing him to help with the family farm.
In 1988 Dale & Shirley Harshbarger purchased the home. Son Jeff and wife Grace lived in the house while they renovated the brick home east of the log cabin. This home was advertised as a peaceful sanctuary nestled in the country used for yoga classes and a retreat.
I don’t know who lives there now or what it is used for but hopefully one of our readers will update us.

06/21/2026

06/19/2026

This barn is located across the road from the Harshbarger cabin. The barn was built in 1863 by Daniel Harshbarger. It was built for livestock and hay storage.
The saltbox barn was built with wooden pegs, square nails and hand hewn log beams. On the east side of the barn you will see the initials DHB which stands for Daniel Harshbarger Built done in circles through the wood.
Because of the dogs I didn’t get to look into the barn but on the 2003 barn tour, you could see a hayloft, stalls, feed storage, manager and hay trolley.
The pictures were taken in June, 2026.

06/18/2026

The Harshbarger home is the oldest brick structure in Piatt County. The bricks were made 1/4 mile from the home. This is a saddle bag type of home with two fireplaces on each end of the structure.
It was built in 1848 by Daniel Harshbarger and completed by his great, great, great grandnephew Jeff Harshbarger. In 2000 the gaps in the walls were rebricked, the brick was tucked pointed and concrete was poured for a foundation. Jeff replaced the roof and built additions to the north and west.
The first picture was taken by Jeff Harshbarger in 2004 with the second one taken last week, June 2026.

06/17/2026

These pictures were used by the Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign, Volume 10 Number 3. Jeff Harshbarger submitted the pictures for the article. The first picture is the Harshbarger homestead taken around 1970. The second picture is the same home that was destroyed by fire (mysteriously) two weeks after Jeff bought it in 1999.

06/16/2026

PACA of Champaign, Illinois wrote a good article on the Harshbarger homestead. Jeff and Grace Harshbarger restored the original brick home to all of its glory and then some. More information and pictures will follow.

06/16/2026

TUESDAY! VOLUNTEER DAY!
Piatt County Museum
1:00 p.m.
#1 Heritage Lane (pole barn)
217-649-1766

06/15/2026

The first picture is that of the Livengood Water Tower built with white oak that was restored by Jeff Harshbarger. The picture was taken in 2003 for the Piatt County Museum’s barn tour. The second picture is the same tower taken in June, 2026.
These early water towers were built from decay-resistant woods and wooden staves bound tightly with adjustable steel hoops to prevent leaking. The platforms were constructed from sturdy timber frameworks. Some homesteads enclosed the bottom of the towers with walls to create storage sheds.
The water towers provided pressurized water for homes that were some times fed by deep wells. On some farms, windmills were used to pump well water up into the tanks that were used for drinking, livestock, irrigation or to fight fires.