History of The Old Barn Museum
	Howard Christensen, founder and president of The Old Barn Museum, Inc. was born in 1917 in Plano, IL. The oldest of four children, he worked on the farm with his Dad throughout his childhood while attending school, and during his early adulthood until he married and began farming north of Plano. During those years of farming, he became interested in the pieces of flint that he found in the fields when he was working the land. Influenced by his uncle Johnny Iversen, he learned that these artifacts were left there by Indians who had lived on the land in previous centuries. During the late 1940's, Howard started organizing his personal finds into intricate designs on display boards. Those artifacts that once had been stuck in cigar boxes and coffee cans now became interesting to see, and people came from all around the area to see the boards-often bringing their own cigar boxes and coffee cans full of their own personal finds to compare. An avid reader when he wasn't working, he read everything he could get his hands on about Indian history (and at age 88 he still is an avid reader on Indian history). He learned that the different shapes and sizes of arrows, axes, drills, and implements were distinctive to specific cultures. He learned how the Indians used the materials the way they did and loved to share his stories with those folks who wanted to hear about the predecessors of the local area. In the 1960's, local school teachers convinced Howard to open his home on Griswold Springs Road to school groups so the kids could hear his stories as part of their history studies. And in 1969, Howard purchased an old run-down homestead where he converted a historic horse barn into the present museum, thus the name The Old Barn Museum which "officially" opened in 1972. Howard has entertained as many as 125 grade school students in a day; international groups have visited with interpreters; civic and community groups as well as family gatherings have enjoyed his favorite stories about his personal finds plus new stories that he adds about local and regional history continuously. The core of the museum's collection is Howard's personal finds. He still can tell you where each item was found! In December, 2004, The Old Barn Museum (TOBM) received conditional 501(c)3 status, a process which will be completed in 2007. Meanwhile, TOBM continues to actively preserve the Native American Indian and local history that has been collected in this special place, and now can be shared on-line. June, 2006