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Overview The library archives at the Miner Institute have five guestbooks from Heart’s Delight Farm in their collection, spanning the 20th century. The guestbooks are a helpful tool in analyzing and assessing how many guests visited, how far people were traveling from to see the farm, and how frequently they returned. From the records of two guestbooks, one from 1916-1919 and the other 1918-1926, there were 991 recorded guest visits spanning that decade. In each guestbook, there was a place for guests to put their name, their address, and a section for notes or comments. A map was created based on the information in those two guestbooks to serve as a visual aid (see Figures 1 and 2 below).
 Prominent Visitors Frank W. Gunsaulus Frank Wakely Gunsaulus (January 1, 1856 – March 17, 1921) was a fairly well-known pastor, educator, and author in Chicago. He was the pastor of the Plymouth Church in Chicago from 1887–1899, and of the Central Church from 1899–1919. He also served as the president of the Armour Institute of Technology (now the Illinois Institute of Technology) for 28 years. He was born and raised in Chesterville, Ohio, and attended Ohio Wesleyan University. He graduated in 1875 at the age of 19 and married Georgeanna Parsons that same year. The couple had five children together. Gunsaulus became an ordained minister at the Methodist Ministry following college, and worked at churches in both Ohio and Massachusetts before moving to Chicago. In addition to his civic, educational, and humanitarian efforts, Gunsaulus was an avid collector of art and books. He was a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago for 13 years. Gunsaulus donated pieces he had collected to different museums and encouraged others to do the same. This included Emma B. Hodge and William H. Miner. Mr. Miner donated $50,000 to The Art Institute in 1915 for the construction of new galleries. Gunsaulus was the most frequent visitor to the farm from 1916-1926 with 13 trips spanning a three-year period. His longest stay was for five days. On several of his trips, he was accompanied by his daughter Helen C. Gunsaulus, who later became a prominent art historian in the Chicago area.
Emma B. Hodge Emma Hodge was a close friend of the Miners and had a large impact, particularly on Alice and her museum. Hodge acted as a mentor to Alice as she began collecting objects and was influential in shaping how the museum is today. She was known nationally as an expert in antiques and taught Alice a lot about the art of ceramic collecting. She also donated many objects to the Alice T. Miner Museum collection. Hodge was also quite involved in the Art Institute of Chicago, largely because of her friendship with Frank Gunsaulus. Emma B. Hodge was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1862 and moved to Chicago in 1870. She was the daughter of Swedish immigrants and was a part of a Swedish and Norwegian choir growing up. She married Walter Hodge, an English immigrant, in 1879, and they had three children together. Walter passed away around 1900, and Emma supported her children through her singing career in the choir of the Central Church in Chicago. Frank W. Gunsaulus was the pastor of this church and the two became close friends (see photo below). Alice Miner became acquainted with both of them, and the three bonded over their interest in the collection of art, ceramics, books, and textiles. They were heavily influenced by, and a part of, the colonial revival movement in the style of which the Alice T. Miner Museum was constructed.  Figure 5: Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus (far left), Emma B. Hodge (second from right), and other choir members at Heart’s Delight Farm September 10, 1911.
Military Veterans and Politicians Other notable people who visited the farm during this time include World War I Veterans, and US and Canadian politicians. This included William P. Jackson of Maryland, who served in the US Senate from 1912-1914. He visited the farm in 1924 with his wife and relatives. Many men identified themselves by their title or rank in the military. For example, Mr. Whitehead distinguishes himself as a Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force.
Additionally, Stuart Allen identifies himself as a Lieutenant in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (see figure 10), which is one of the three Regular Force Infantry regiments of the Canadian Army formed in 1914. It was named after Princess Patricia of Connaught, who was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who served as the Governor General of Canada from 1911-1916. In 1917, a group of 1500 grangers visited the farm, as well as a delegation from the Plattsburgh Chamber of Commerce and from Canada. Various counties are identified, including Cobleskill, Clinton, Franklin, and Essex County. The note says, “These visitors met in Cathedral woods and spent the afternoon in Chazy Central Rural School”. This offers a glimpse into what their time at the farm was like.
The guestbooks provide a valuable resource for gaining further knowledge into what guest experiences were like at Heart’s Delight Farm, as guests often share pieces of their visit in their notes. In addition to learning more about the activities guests partook in, the notes give a glimpse of the impact that the farm had on people’s personal lives and the broader community. Other Quotes
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Lillian Steinhaus2026 Joseph C Burke and Joan T. Burke Scholarship Recipient ArchivesCategories |
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