Rockome Gardens: Rock Gardens, Farm Life and Illinois Amish Country

Rockome Gardens is a rock-garden farm park in the countryside between Arcola and Arthur, Illinois, in the middle of the state's largest Old Order Amish settlement. This site brings back the pages of the original Rockome website, written between 1998 and 2011, and adds notes for anyone who wants to understand the place.

The story starts in 1937, when Arthur and Elizabeth Martin began building flower gardens, rock formations and a summer cottage on a 208-acre farm five miles west of Arcola. Visitors started to stop, the Martins let them in for free, and the name Rockome was born from “Martin's rock home”. Later owners added buggy rides, a gift shop, a lookout tower, a haunted cave, a horse-powered sawmill and the Old Hickory Railroad, the largest outdoor train layout in Illinois.

On the pages that follow you will find the gardens and the rockwork, the crafters who worked in the hall, the festival calendar, the family-style restaurant, group tours and the school programs. Every page keeps the facts as they were published, so prices, hours and schedules describe the seasons of the 2000s and not today.

Where to begin

• HistoryFrom a private summer garden in 1937 to a family park with rockwork, cottages and a lookout tower.
• AttractionsGardens, a horse-powered sawmill, the Old Hickory Railroad, a school house and a petting zoo.
• CraftersGlass, soap, wood and copper made by hand while you watch.
• EventsRendezvous, bluegrass, horse pulls, quilt shows and a pumpkin festival.
• DiningFamily-style fried chicken, shoo-fly pie and the bulk food store.
• LearningSchool and scout programs from the school house to broom making.

From the journal

• Stone, Wire and Concrete: How the Rockwork at Rockome Gardens Was Built (2001)
• A Slow Day in Illinois Amish Country: Arcola, Arthur and the Roads Between (2005)
• Field Trip Notes: Teaching Nine Subjects on One Farm and Garden Site (2009)
• Quilts, Crafts and Country Weekends: What Makes a Good Festival Visit (2010)

See all journal articles, or read how to get to Rockome and plan a day in Amish country.