You can find Bishop Hill Colony in Henry County in west-central Illinois. In Bishop Hill there is a church that was built in the early 1850's! The basement and first floor each contained 10 rooms that were used as living quarters -one family per room . Also Bishop Hill has a hotel that was built in the 1850's. The state of Illinois has restored many of the historic buildings and now they are open to the public.
Olof Krans is well known in Bishop Hill. Why? Well, it's because he painted many pictures and portraits in his time. In 1896 he presented the collection of work scenes to the village during the village's fiftieth anniversary observance. This outstanding collection of Olof Krans paintings can be found at the Bishop Hill Museum.
In the 1800's there were many broom makers, wool spinners, and brick makers. Today, in the Colony you can still find craftsmen and women that do the same things as the early settlers did. Though some of the materials are different , they mainly practice the same trades all year round. We are going to visit 3 craftspeople of Bishop Hill and see how they make things today.
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