The story of Sandy Ridge Farms in Mason County, Illinois begins in New England. The first owners of the farm were born in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Daniel Webster Hovey was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts in 1829. He was one of 17 children. In the fall of 1839 the family moved to Illinois. The journey was made in 2 one-horse wagons and took six weeks and one day from Oxford in central Massachusetts, to Troy, Illinois near Alton. Webster, as the family called him, had his tenth birthday on the day they crossed the state line from Indiana to Illinois. He is said to have walked most of the distance from Massachusetts to Illinois. Webster grew up in Bunker Hill, Illinois. He married Rebecca Ann Barnes in 1855. George Barnes, brother of Rebecca, had married Clarissa Hovey, sister of Webster. In 1857 the two couples moved to the newer land of Mason County, Illinois.
It is hard to imagine what the landscape was like at that time. The Prairie State was literally prairie. There were no roads. People drove over the thick prairie grass and across swamps. The settlers used oxen as they were stronger and could turn the sod better than horses could. However, pulling a load through some of the swamps taxed even the strength of oxen. The pioneers settled on the sandy hills instead of the richer black soils to the south because they had to settle where they could make a living. The southern land was all prairies which was often covered in water and had to be drained before it could be farmed. From these sandy hills of Mason County, Illinois was born a farmstead to be named Sandy Ridge Farms.
Jim Harms was born in1932 to Henry and Cleda Harms in Harvey, Illinois. After his mother died he moved to Cullom, IL to farm with his Uncle Wesley. In 1923, John Harms married Elizabeth Hovey and farmed the land owned by Elizabeth and Florence Hovey. In 1941, John began raising Polled Hereford cattle. John and Elizabeth had no children. In 1950, John picked up Jim on a trip to Indiana to deliver cattle. During that trip John asked Jim if he would come live with him on the farm in Mason County, Illinois. Jim agreed and upon graduation came to live with John and Elizabeth. They began a successful tradition of showing Polled Hereford cattle at County and State Fairs. In 1958, Jim married Frances Caulkins of Manito, Illinois. John and Elizabeth built a home nearby while Jim and Frances moved into the home place where they raised their family. Elizabeth succumbed to cancer in 1963. John and Jim farmed together until 1974 when John retired. John passed away in 1997.
Today, Sandy Ridge Farms continues to be a gathering place for family and friends and remains a shining example of tradition, hard work, perseverance and family.
