Sunday Afternoons in June at Bishop Hill Colony Hotel feature period demonstrations and activities

BISHOP HILL - Travel back in time at the Bishop Hill Colony Hotel during June as a variety of historic activities will be demonstrated Sunday afternoons from 2  to 4 p.m.  The Colony Hotel, also known as the Bjorklund Hotel, is located at the southwest corner of the Bishop Hill Park.  These activities are sponsored by Bishop Hill State Historic Site and are free and open to the public.  For additional information contact (309) 927-3345 or bishophill@winco.net.   

 

The activities include:

·                    June 3 - "Upstairs at the Hotel:  Behind the Scenes Tours" at 2 and 3 p.m., with each tour limited to 15 people.  Aebleskivers will be made on the Hotel's 1860s cook stove, and there will be spoon carving demonstrations.

·                    June 10 - Demonstrations of wood grain painting.  Strawberry pudding will be prepared in the Hotel's kitchen.

·                    June 17 - "Meet Sven Bjorklund, Hotel Proprietor" at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.  Rye bread will be made using the wood-fired bake oven.

·                    June 24 - "Work and Play:  Children's Activities."  Hand sewing will be demonstrated, and rusks will be made in the 1860's Hotel kitchen.

 

            Built in the mid 1850s, the Colony Hotel, which was owned communally by the residents of Bishop Hill, hosted as many as 20 visitors a day.  Sven Bjorklund, the Hotel's second proprietor, lent his name to the large lodging house, which included guest rooms, common areas and a third-floor ballroom.  The architecture of the Hotel complemented other Colony buildings, and the interior was nicely furnished.  It was owned privately after the Colony's dissolution in 1861, and in the 1920s was converted to an apartment building.  The State of Illinois purchased the building in 1968, and has since operated it as a historic tourist attraction.

 

            The Hotel is open to the public daily along with the Colony Church and the Bishop Hill Museum, all three of which are administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.