This was my childhood home from 1991 to 2007. The home has been abandoned since and has fallen into disrepair. I'm trying to campaign to save the home from being destroyed. There are some new additions since this photo was taken and there is a very large tree in the backyard behind the house. The original owners of the property were the Sumner Family who purchased the property in 1853 and this home was built anywhere from 1860 to 1880. The property was a Tenant Farm who worked for Edward C. Sumner who was the original owner as was his wife, Abigail Sumner.

I am the youngest of seven children that lived on the property from August 1991 to January 2007. There is a cistern that adjoins the house just underneath the kitchen window located on the right on the front of the house. The smaller white barn near the back of the property is no longer there and was not there when my family lived there. The small shed next to the house and the dirt road at the back of the property are no longer there either. An addition had been added where the front door is located which provided another room, but the addition had been built before my family lived there. Some of the windows on the main floor of the home were covered up or taken out and replaced with slightly wider windows. The second story windows, however, are still intact and have not been changed. Any changes to the structure were done by former owners. My family never changed any of the structures while we resided there. While living on the property my family did care for many animals and we sort of ran a nonofficial animal sanctuary. We took care of any animals that either had no home, were ill, or were injured. We provided the best we could and many of them are buried on the property on the left side of the large barn. This area is in a peaceful, undisturbed part of the property so that they may rest in peace. I miss the home terribly and love it so much. I learned how to walk, read, talk, write, garden, cook, clean, care for animals, ride a bike, everything I know today at that house. Unfortunately though, the home has been abandoned since 2007. My parents had joint ownership of the home but my father died in October 2011 and his estate was never looked into due to incompetence of sibling rivalry. The "Spite Competition" caused everything to be overlooked and not properly addressed. The home then was entrusted by my mother, with good intentions, to my eldest sister who turned around and sold/traded the home for quick profit. I have been campaigning to save the home before the current owner, who doesn't care about the property, destroys the house. I dream of being back there and hope one day the dream would come true.

The property is located at 1150 N 2600 E County Road, Milford, IL 60953

(Update) As of late 2016 evidence surfaced showing the house was illegally sold out from underneath my mother who owned the property back in 2013. My mother was tricked into signing a direct sale document that she was unaware of because she was told she would only be taking her name off the deed and my eldest sister's name would be added onto the deed. My mother passed away on May 21, 2017 but before she passed, it was discovered that even after the illegal activity my sister did that my mother was pressured into "giving" the property to my sister against her will. My mother never wanted to sell the property but felt she had no choice. She felt trapped, since she was living with my sister, and was afraid if she didn't "give" the property to her that my sister would have kicked her out of the house that my mother had moved into with her in Oklahoma. Very shortly after the house "sold" my sister kicked my mother out of the house and my mother came to live with me. After moving in with me, the truth came out and evidence was compiled.

Very interesting story, George, and I hope something can be worked out. I just wanted to add that in this photo the sign on the barn reads, "Thunderbird Farms".

Thank you. Unfortunately the criminals got away with the crime. None of the lawyers or agencies in or around the county will help with the case and I don't have thousands upon thousands of dollars to pay a full-price lawyer. The only hope I have is that the current owner is restoring the home, I really am hoping.
Thank you for finding out what the sign said. When my family moved into the property in 1991 the sign was no longer there; must have been painted over. We new the property had history with being different businesses. We just didn't know that one of them was called Thunderbird Farms.

More information was found as well that Edward C. Sumner's daughter, Minerva Sumner-Fowler, inherited the property after his death in 1883. By census records and an old newspaper article supposedly Minerva converted the home slightly to be a country vacation house and resided there for a few years, but she moved to her Chicago home house and passed away in 1890. After her death, the property was moved into by the Diaz family whom were close friends of the Sumner Family. The Diaz family resided there until the mid-1960's. The home also may have been built between 1855 to 1860. Some evidence supports this from an old newspaper article from Watseka mentioning construction materials and laborers were being sent to a location about 13 miles south of Watseka for a Sumner Farm project. The wood materials were shipped in from Pennsylvania as Sumner believed they had superior materials.