Something Old
When shiny and new just won’t do, seek the thrill of the hunt with a trek to some of the Midwest’s best antique hotspots.
“I collect antiques. Why? Because they’re beautiful.” —Broderick Crawford
If money was no object and you could decorate your home in any style you liked, would you really hang on to that camouflage beanbag chair and plastic football-themed coffee table? Sure, Elvis is the King, but a black velvet painting of his face loses its charm fairly quickly. That is not the case with well made antiques. Defined as any object over 100 years old, quality antiques enhance modern rooms with the patina of age.
Well-worn woods and fine design signify permanence and create a link to simpler times. Millions enjoy searching for old things with a history all their own, and the Midwest is a particularly good place for finding treasures.
That’s because the settlement of the Midwest coincided with the nation’s industrialization and expansion back in the first half of the 1800s. Suddenly all those settlers could afford glass, ceramics and fine furniture, thanks to early factories and the region’s Great Lakes and canals, which made distribution cheap. In addition to these household items, known as “industrial antiques,” you can also find fine Period pieces settlers brought with them or had passed down. Then there are the charm-filled “country” pieces like pie safes, cupboards and benches that were handmade by isolated homesteaders to meet a functional need.
Today, the shelves of Midwest antique shops, megamalls and auction houses groan with everything from farm equipment to fountain pens. Even if you can’t tell Duncan Phyfe from Duncan Hines, you’re sure to enjoy browsing the wares of the past at these antique hotspots, all within a day’s drive of Columbus.
Waynesville, Ohio
Located in southwest Ohio at the intersection of State Route 73 and US 40, Waynesville, the self-proclained “Antiques Capital of the Midwest,” was founded in 1797, making it older than the state itself. Its association with antiques is much newer, though. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that resident Violet Jones began selling the glassware and china she’d collected over the years. As others noticed her success, Waynesville began its transformation into an antique mecca. Today Waynesville rewards the curious with both stories and treasures, and was named by Walking Magazine as one of the most walkable towns in the country.
The village is pretty, as the buildings along Old Main Street mostly date from the 1800s. Brick sidewalks, copper sodium-vapor streetlamps and flower boxes add to the historic ambiance, making an appropriate setting for an antique hunt. You’ll find plenty of furniture along with quilts, dishes, jewelry and silver.
Lebanon, Ohio
At a glance, Lebanon seems to be doing pretty well for a village that’s been cursed. According to local historian and shopkeeper Michael Coyan, villagers weren’t too friendly to the Shakers who lived in Lebanon from 1805 to 1908. “So the story goes the Shakers came into town one night and they were carrying lanterns and they were riding white horses, and they laid a curse on Lebanon that Lebanon would not grow beyond its original plat for 100 years,” he says.
The Shaker curse came true, as the village did not obtain its first subdivision for almost 100 years to the month of the spooky event, says Coyan. But the lack of growth has been a positive for recent tourism, as thousands now come from all over the country to browse the 19th century storefronts and admire the fine old homes that line wide shady avenues.
Lebanon is less than 20 minutes south of Waynesville. Shaker treasures can still be found in the village, along with items from the East Coast and Europe. Lebanon is also a great place to learn more about the Shakers, as the Warren County Historical Society has one of the world’s largest collections of Shaker objects and documents.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
When you think of the American furniture industry, what town comes to mind? Most think of High Point, North Carolina, which is home to scores of modern manufacturers. But for nearly 150 years, Michigan’s second largest city was the center of furniture design and manufacturing, thanks to the state’s large standing forests and an abundance of highly skilled immigrant labor.
Furniture was so important to the development of the town that the Grand Rapids Public Museum features a sizeable exhibit that lets you see a range of quality goods and even read advertisements designed to whet the public’s appetite for more expensive pieces that better reflected a high social status. The museum is worth a stop for any antique lover, simply to learn more about the nation’s golden age of furniture consumption.
As far as shopping, “The East Fulton Business District and the town of Lowell are the best places for antiques,” says Barbara Kravitz, communications director for the Grand Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Bureau has free maps and directories to help you develop your shopping plan of attack. Lowell is located about 25 minutes to the east of downtown, and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
St. Charles, Illinois
Billing itself as the “Best in the Midwest or Anywhere,” the Kane County Flea Market has been held on the first Sunday and preceding Saturday of every month of every year since 1967. The family-run enterprise started with about 30 dealers and has grown to attract up to 1,200 dealers and 25,000 bargain seekers during peak summer months. “Even in the winter we don’t have less than 600 dealers,” says Lori Hopkins, manager and granddaughter of founder Helen Robinson. The Kane County Flea Market was named one of nation’s top ten flea markets by Good Housekeeping magazine in 2000. “People come once and they’re hooked,” says Hopkins.
The market is held at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois about an hour west of Chicago. The grounds include indoor and outdoor sale space, with museum-quality goods in the main buildings and eclectic finds outside. Historic trinkets, salvaged architectural pieces, restored vintage furniture, coins and collectibles from the 1934 Chicago Worlds Fair are among the millions of items on display. The wares are constantly changing and bargaining is acceptable and often expected.
According to Hopkins, some of the more expensive items that have changed hands in recent years have been a $26,000 collectible Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a five-foot wide heart-shaped “I Love Lucy” ottoman, which sold for thousands.
Barbara Wayman is the author of Living An Extraordinary Life: 9 Transformational Strategies to Live Your Best Life Now.