Pre-Civil War Farm in SW Suburb May Be Saved

January 1, 2010 -

An Oak Forest farm that includes a building constructed before the Civil War may be spared from the wrecking ball after all.

The owners and their architect have convinced Oak Forest's building department to hold off enforcing the city's demolition order for the time being while they prepare plans for rehabbing.

That has the Johnson family, who have owned the farm since the 1940s, breathing a collective sigh of relief.

"Nothing's coming down that we know of," Les Johnson said. "Once we were serious about doing something with the place, they (city officials) seemed to back off."

But the teardown order issued by the city last spring certainly got the Johnsons' attention.

The home and farm in the 16800 block of Kilpatrick Avenue has been in the Johnson family since 1943. The main barn dates to the 1830s.

The buildings had not been subject to code inspectors' scrutiny because the property was in unincorporated Cook County until 2007. Then the city of Oak Forest forcibly annexed it and several other residents' properties that year.

City officials became aware of the farm's condition while investigating a burglary on the property in February. In March, after inspectors came out to look for potential problems, the Johnsons received a letter from the city telling them to bring the property up to code or tear the buildings down.

For decades the family operated the farm and a small private school on the property, which was run by Les and Alan Johnson's mother, Natalie. Orchard Farm School closed in 2005, which also was the last time a family member lived in the house.

At that time, it looked as though the property was going to be bought to make way for commercial redevelopment, so the Johnsons stopped maintaining it.

The house fell into disrepair and the family admitted the home was in bad shape, but it was convinced the other buildings were fine.

The Johnsons were ready to have the house demolished when a neighbor who happened to be a carpenter convinced them it could be rehabbed for less than the cost of demolition.

After a preliminary inspection, an architect told them the same thing, Les and his brother Alan said. So they went to city inspectors and asked for more time to explore the possibility of fixing the home.

"Most of the problems with the house were cosmetic. It was just so solidly built from the beginning," Les said.

Alan said this week he had spent much of the past month cleaning out the house so the architect can inspect it more thoroughly to begin determining how much repairs would cost.

City inspector Jim Berger said the issuance of a building permit to begin rehab work depends on the architect's inspection. And the city wants to conduct an inspection of its own, he said.

"We'll get through the holidays. Then we'll see what the architect says, too," Berger said.

Les Johnson said his family needs the barn and a couple of the other buildings to continue their small farming operation. If those operations were to stop, the family would lose its farmstead tax exemption. If it loses that exemption, the family would be responsible for paying tens of thousands of dollars more in property taxes, family members said.