Hotchkin family heirs see a lot of interest in their land

After a century-and-a-half and five generations, the Hotchkin family plans to sell its farm — the largest stretch of undeveloped land left in Tinley Park.

"As long as she was alive, it would've broke her heart," said Mary Camper, a descendant of the Hotchkin homesteaders.

The Hotchkin property is the largest piece of undeveloped farmland in Tinley Park. The family watched for decades as development pushed toward their land.

While it remains a working farm, rented by farmer Mike Rauch, the 111-acre farm is zoned for commercial use. The property also boasts an incentive that will reduce taxes by 57 percent, Ivan Baker, Tinley Park's economic development director, said.

Camper, a Realtor and descendant of the Hotchkin homesteaders, went to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas in May to tout the property.

"I'm amazed at the interest we had in our land," said Camper, the youngest of John and Sarah Hotchkin's six children. "Eighteen solid leads came out of that convention."

Ed Paesel, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, said Tinley Park's good decisions have made Harlem Avenue south of Interstate 80 "a center of commercial retail growth."

"That area's exploded with development," Paesel said. "It's no surprise to anybody that that happened. And it's natural to assume the land around there will attract similar types of development."

Hearkening back to old Tinley

In 1854, Camper's pioneering great-grandparents settled on the fertile land near what's now Harlem Avenue between Interstate 80 and Vollmer Road.

With fortitude, they cleared about 300 acres. They grew enough to be self-sufficient. Their patch of earth wasn't always hospitable — a tornado grazed the top of their barn in 1964 — but it was much loved.

"It's a good solid parcel," Camper said.

The Hotchkin legacy was passed down generations, ending in 1981 with John's death. None of the six children chose a farmer's life.

"There are 19 grandchildren," Camper said. "Now is the time to get this settled."

Brad Bettenhausen, a village history buff who also was raised on a farm in Tinley Park, appreciates the significance of the family's decision.

"One family held the same piece of property for over 100 years," Bettenhausen said. "That's almost unheard of these days. An event like this certainly causes us to take pause."

Lloyd Brandau, 80, another farmer whose family settled in Tinley Park nearly 150 years ago, once farmed on the back 40 acres of the Hotchkin land.

"All the farms were general purpose farms," he said. "We didn't buy too much. We ate our own meat and vegetables. It was different. Younger people won't have that pleasure of simple living."

Brandau said he can remember when only 475 people lived in Tinley Park.

"It was quieter," he said. "We knew our neighbors and helped each other out. I have no complaints about how it was. (It was) all enjoyable."

Forces of change

Change came to the village after World War II. The pre-war population of 1,136 more than quadrupled by 1960 and doubled in each of the next two decades.

"That's when the transition started from a farming area to a suburb," Bettenhausen said.

Brandau remembers the resistance among farmers when developers came calling. He held out as long as he could before selling 75 of his 80 acres in the early 1980s. This month, he sold his last five acres. The house where four generations of Brandaus were raised will be torn down. A builder plans to put up houses.

Brandau and his wife are moving to Manhattan, where two of their three sons are continuing the farming tradition.

"It's the end of an era," he said.

Fewer than 2 percent of Illinoisans are farmers today, compared with more than 90 percent at the turn of the last century, according to state agriculture department spokesman Jeff Squibb.

"Many in the industry lament the loss of family farms," he said. "On the other side, people need to understand that it's a sign of progress. The fact is, we grow more crops on less land than ever before thanks to technology."

Courtney Greve may be reached at
cgreve@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5983.