Rockome Gardens Preservation, Inc. is committed to restoring Rockome Gardens and preserving its history for generations to come to enjoy.  Initially, a history of the gardens themselves as well as the original farmhouse, used as a summer home by Arthur Martin, was compiled. The house and gardens are currently undergoing extensive renovations, as can be seen in some of these photos.  Following is also a portion of this history, with an extensive exhibit including many old photos of the grounds and buildings planned for later as the house is restored.
                 

Report on the Farm House and The Arthur Martin Period, 1933-1952 At Rockome Gardens
Background
The history of Rockome Gardens began in 1933 when Arthur Martin purchased the 208 acre farm from Abraham J. Yoder. A.J. Yoder had bought the farm in 1929 and his grandson, Jerry Kuhns, remembers being in the house in 1932 at age six. Various owners of the property date back to the mid 19th century and from early plat maps included H.D. Jenkins in 1875, C. Wilkinson in 1893 and J.O. Zeisz(?) in 1914.
The Old Farm House/Amish House
The farm was the Martins' summer home and it was initially assumed that they stayed in the house on the property. This was probably the case for a while, but they soon had a "log cabin cottage" constructed as their summer residence. The farm house was then used for housing their workers. When the Mennonites acquired the property in 1952, the farm house became the residence of the Mennonite preacher.  When Elvan Yoder purchased the farm in 1958, he and his family lived in the farm house until 1963 at which time he opened it as the "Amish House". It continued as the Amish House until 2008 when all the furnishings were sold. Since then it has remained empty and sustained water damage due to a roof in need of repairs which were made in early 2011.
A New Focus for the House
By 2011, it was felt that continuing to use the farm house as an Amish house was no longer necessary because of recent developments at Rockome. In 2010, the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center was moved to Rockome, and two historic Amish houses will be moved to Rockome in the near future. The two historic houses will showcase Amish homes in the 1870-80s and the 1920-30s. The Illinois Amish Interpretive Center, which is now called the Illinois Amish Museum, includes an Amish House from the late 20th century and the Amish home tours that Rockome conducts, showcase current Amish homes. So, a new focus was needed for the farm house. Since the house has served as a focal point in the history of Rockome, it was felt that a logical use would be to tell the story of Rockome Gardens. So, the house is being restored and furnished to reflect the Martin period of the 1930s-40s and exhibit panels will be developed to tell the history of Rockome. 
Analysis of the Farm House
According to Allen Yoder, son of Elvan Yoder, the farm house was built about 1910. It is a typical two story, square farm house with a one story front porch commonly found around the country side in the early 20th century. Jerry Kuhns, who lived in the house as a child from 1929-1933, indicated that there was no electricity and no bathrooms in the house at that time. He does remember standing on a floor heat register, indicating the presence of a coal furnace in the basement. This is verified by the lack of a stove chimney in the front part of the house.
Pictures of the house taken in 1943 show it in its original configuration with a pointed hip roof and single pane windows. Allen Yoder indicated that there is a ca. 1910 photo of the house which we will try to locate. At some point after 1943, the house was remodeled and colonial columns added to the front. Allen Yoder said that the columns were there when his father bought the farm, and he felt that the remodeling was most likely done by Arthur Martin.
The remodeling included:
* Removal of the one story porch and the addition of two-story columns and other colonial decorative features to the front of the house.
* Removal of the roof peak and creation of a flat-top roof.
* The addition of electricity to the house.
* The addition of an upstairs bathroom and a half bath on the first floor.
* The addition of a closet in the dining room to hide the bathroom plumbing.
* The addition of built in cupboards in the kitchen .
* Replacement of the coal furnace with a gas furnace and the addition of gas for cooking.
While there was plumbing in the house for the bathrooms, Allen Yoder, who lived in the house from 1958-1963, indicated that their drinking water came from a hand pump behind the house and water for washing clothes came from the cistern. The walls are a rough surface plaster and are currently painted. Inside the added dining room closet, however, is found remnants of early wall paper, applied over earlier green paint. The woodwork seems to be original, but may have been refinished during the remodeling. The downstairs half bath is located under the stairs in what may have been a pantry. The door leading from the kitchen to the pantry/bathroom has been walled over. There is currently a gas furnace in the basement. This and gas for the kitchen stove was probably added at the time of the renovation.

Historic 1860's Amish Workshop Moved to Rockome Gardens