~ August 1, 2026
Mazon Sesquicentennial Celebration
It isn’t every day your little hometown turns 150 years old! Jamie and I were both raised in Mazon and each of our family roots run very deep in the community. Our community is going all out to mark the occasion and plans for the Mazon Sesquicentennial Celebration have been over a year (or actually 150) in the works!
Back in 1976, Mazon celebrated the Bicentennial in grand style. I was 5 years old and vaguely remember the festivities. Mostly I remember my sister & I being in the parade dressed in Little House on the Prairie style outfits. It will be fun to make new memories at the celebration later this summer downtown!
From the railroad to our area farms, our community is honoring our local history with a week-long event. Festivities will be happening around town throughout the week of Aug 2-9, 2026. Some of the highlights for the week include:
- Historical Lectures on Verona Mining, Cragg Cabin, K&S Railroad, Grundy County Racing, The Sharpshooter
- Ice Cream Social & Prairie Singers Concert
- Historical Driving & Cemetery Tours
- History Museum featuring Centennial Farms
- American 250 Bike Ride
- Trivia & Cruise Nights
- All the fun contests & activities: Pie Eating, Bags, Tractor Pull, Obstacle Course, Scavenger Hunts, Petting Zoo, Food Trucks, Bounce House, Face Painting, Kickball, Baby Contest, and more!
- Live Music & Beer Garden Fri & Sat Nights
- Sesquicentennial Tree Planting (Yes, an SGN tree!) & Time Capsule
- Sesquicentennial Parade to end the festivities!
Honorary Sesquicentennial Family-Owned Farm Family Designation
One of the most interesting projects has been the research into local farms that have over 150+ years of family-farm ownership and operation. Our Harford Family Farm is honored to be one of those farms with 177 years of family-ownership in Mazon & Vienna Townships. Dr. Lynn Neville has been heading up the research, and she put together an excellent accounting of our family farm lineage. The Sesquicentennial Museum will be displaying the history of all area farms receiving this Honorary Sesquicentennial Family-Owned Farm Family Designation. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together later this month!
In addition to the Harford-Gorham Farm History, our family also shows up in the Malmquist Farm History. The Malmquist Farm is 181 years old and the Harford’s show up a few times in that farm family history as well.
Below are write-ups on the Harford-Gorham Farms and the Malmquist Farm compiled and written by Dr. Neville. Nice work, Lynn – thank you!
Keeping a family farm going for multiple generations is not easy. This project has piqued my interest to go back even farther than 177 years when Gardner Gorham came here in 1849 and bought his first farm property in the area. Who did he purchase it from? What indigenous communities were on our farm prior to pioneer settlements? I find it fascinating to travel back through time and understand the trials & tribulations and successes & failures that affect each generation while they are entrusted to care for this land.
Along with our family farm, there are at least a dozen other farms being recognized for their long standing history in the area. Make sure to stop by the Sesquicentennial Museum downtown Mazon to see the displays and learn more about the farming heritage of our community!
Sesquicentennial Tree Planting
One crop new to our family farm in this last generation is TREES! Jamie & I will be celebrating our part in farm history by sharing what we know and love with our community – trees! Join us and our family at the Vendor Fair on Saturday, Aug 8 to learn about Oaks and meet the American Dream Oak that will be planted in the park to mark the occasion. Come back on Sunday morning for a celebratory Sesquicentennial Tree Planting and Time Capsule Burial. The festivities for the week will conclude with a parade. Small town life at its best!
Sesquicentennial Parade
Of course the festivities will end with a parade on Sunday afternoon! We have a very special entry for the SGN float. Our nephew Carter Thomas will be driving an antique tractor & hayrack he built. The tractor is a 1951 Ford 8n which was originally bought by Emanuel Johnson for use at his gas station in town and some farm use. It was then purchased by Jim Thomas (Carter’s Grandpa & Jamie’s Dad) around 1984, and mowed 10 acres every week for 15 years at their property south of town on Dwight road. From there, it sat a barn until 2021 when Carter Thomas and his father Shannon Thomas (Jamie’s brother) pulled it out and got it to run. After getting it started and mowing with it again for 2 years, the decision was made that the engine was worn out and due for a rebuild. Carter then did a full engine rebuild, and the tractor has since run perfectly for an additional 50 hours to plow snow, mow grass, do tillage, and take hay rack rides. The hayrack was pulled out from edge of the woods at Harford Farms (Becky’s family timber), and was subsequently restored. Based on a running gear bought from Montgomery Ward, it has been shorted and built into a matching size hay rack for the 8n tractor. Make sure to check out the pics below of Carter and his project!
Carter completed the rebuilds for his FFA project while in high school. He now attends University of Illinois (I-L-L!) and is majoring in Agricultural Engineering. He works on our SGN crew here during summers and breaks, and he is a great addition to our team here at the nursery during the summer! Carter has led the way for lots of building projects around here, and he loves to help fix equipment and keep things running around here. THANK YOU to Carter for sharing your talents and passions. Make sure to come out for the parade and take a look at his handywork while we roll by. If you want to check out it out this week, we have it parked in front of our SGN apartment in town at the corner of Center & Front St (500 Center St). You may even notice the American Dream Oak tree on the hayrack. This will be your new Sesquicentennial Tree planted Sunday morning at the park!
Hope to see our local friends at the 150 year celebrations this week!
~ Becky Thomas, 6th Generation Farmer
The Harford-Gorham Farms have been Family-Owned since 1849.
- Mazon Township Sections 6 and 7
- Vienna Township Section 1
Gardner Gorham originally bought farm property in Grundy County, Mazon and Vienna Townships, in 1849.
The Family farm grounds in Mazon Township Sections 6 and 7 and Vienna Township Section 1 passed to his daughter, Jessie Gorham, and his son, Henry Gardner Gorham. Henry passed the farm to his daughter, Mabel Gorham, who married Aaron Clyde Harford in 1907.
Aaron and Mabel passed the two family farms to their children Bernard Harford and Katherine Harford Righter.
Bernard married Esther Zabel in 1943. When Bernard died, the family farm was placed into the Bernard Harford Trust. Bernard and Esther had four children: Susan Harford , Virginia Harford Halterman, Nina Harford Finch, and Douglas Harford. The Mazon Township and Vienna
Township farms continued to be owned by the Bernard Harford Trust for a number of years. The farms then passed to the Douglas Harford Trust with some remaining in the Bernard Harford Trust for a period of time.
The farm is currently owned by the Douglas Harford Trust, Debra Willman Harford Trust, Virginia Harford Halterman, Christoper Harford, Rebecca Harford Thomas, Kristin Harford Crider, and Amanda Harford Simmons.
Christopher Harford is the sixth generation of the family farming the Harford-Gorham farms in Mazon and Vienna Townships.
The Harford-Gorham Family Farms 1849 – 2026
- 177 years of family-ownership
- Mazon Township, Sections 6 and 7
- Vienna Township, Section 1
Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
- Jessie Idylia Gorham and Henry Gardner Gorham
- Children of Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
Mabel Gorham Harford – wife of Aaron Clyde Harford
- Daughter of Henry Gardner Gorham
- Granddaughter of Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
Bernard Harford – husband of Esther Zabel and Katherine Harford Righter
- Children of Aaron Clyde and Mabel Gorham Hardford
- Great-grandchildren of Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
Bernard Harford Trust
- Susan Harford
- Virginia Harford Halterman
- Nina Harford Finch
- Douglas Harford
- Children of Bernard and Esther Zabel Harford
- Great-great-grandchildren of Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
Douglas Harford Trust and Bernard Harford Trust
- Douglas Harford Trust and Debra Willman Harford Trust
- Christopher Harford – Rebecca Harford Thomas
- Kristin Harford Crider – Amanda Harford Simmons
- Children of Douglas and Debra Willman Harford
- Great-great-great-grandchildren of Gardner and Elizabeth Newport Gorham
The Malmquist Family Farm has been family-owned since 1845
- The 1845 farm is located in Vienna Township, Section 14
The Malmquist family farm in Section 14 of Vienna Township has been family-owned for 181 years. The owner of the original farm property, John Dewey Jr., was born and raised in England and married Mary Wellborn in 1825. In 1937, John Dewey Jr. sent his wife and children to visit American relatives in the area of LaSalle County and “spy” out the land and opportunities for him and their family. Mary sent back a positive report, and
John Dewey came to America the following year, originally settling in Wauponsee Station and then moving to Vienna Township and renting the farm of Jonah Newport at Hog Point. By 1845, Dewey had purchased his own property in Vienna Township.
The Dewey farm passed to his daughter Frances and her husband Aaron Tyler Harford. Aaron and Frances purchased land adjoining the original Dewey farm, with the family owning a total of 480 acres in Vienna Township. Of interest, is that Aaron Tyler’s mother, Peggie Maria Tyler, was a first cousin of President JohnTyler.
The Dewey- Harford farm passed to their daughter Ellen Harford, who married Frank Malmquist. With the death of his parents in 1948, the farm passed to their son, Aaron Frank and his wife, Geraldine Fleming Whitmore Malmquist. Aaron Frank farmed the property until his death in 2011 at the age of 101 years.
The farm then passed to his sons, Glen, Stephen, and James Malmquist. Jim is the current owner and he and his daughter, Kate, live on the original Dewey-Harford-Malmquist family farm.
The Malmquist Family Farm
- 1845 – 2026
- 181 years of family-ownership
- Vienna Township, Section 14
John Jr. and Mary Wellborn Dewey
Aaron Tyler and Francis Dewey Harford
- Daughter of John and Mary Wellborn Dewey
Frank and Ellen Harford Malmquist
- Daughter of Aaron Tyler and Frances Dewey Harford
- Granddaughter of John and Mary Wellborn Dewey
Aaron Frank and Geraldine Malmquist
- Son of Frank and Ellen Harford Malmquist
- Great-grandson of John and Mary Wellborn Dewey
Stephen, Glen Aaron, and James Malmquist
- Sons of Aaron Frank and Geraldine Malmquist
- Great-great-grandsons of John and Mary Wellborn Dewey
James Malmquist
MALMQUIST FARM FAMILY
John Dewey Jr. (1802- 1882 ) married Mary Wellborn (1802-1849)
They were both born and raised in England. John and Mary came to Grundy County in 1837-1838 and settled in Vienna Township around 1845.
Their children were:
- Frances (18251901), born in England.
- Thomas (1827-1850), born in England.
- Frances Dewey married Aaron Tyler Harford
Aaron Tyler (1822-1899) was the son of Harry and Peggie Maria Tyler Harford.
Aaron’s mother was the first cousin of President John Tyler.
The children of Aaron Tyler and Frances Dewey Harford were:
- Cornelia (1848)
- Mary (1850-1851)
- Fannie May (1852)
- Frederick (1854)
- Addison (1857-1875)
- Olive (1861-1870)
- Ellen (1864-1948)
Ellen Harford’s second marriage was to Frank Malmquist in 1908.
Their son was:
- Aaron Frank Malmquist (1909-2011)
Aaron Frank Malmquist married Geraldine Fleming Whitmore in 1934.
Their sons:
- Glen Malmquist (1938-2000)
- Stephen Malmquist
- James Malmquist
James Malmquist and his daughter, Kate, live on the original farm of the
Dewey-Harford-Malmquist family in Vienna Township, Section 14.