DeKALB – The Ellwood House will be offering guided tours and access to the Visitor Center Exhibit Gallery during Family Weekend. Family Weekend showcases several locations in the DeKalb Area by welcoming students, their families and visitors. 

Audrey King, Curator of Education and Interpretation at the Ellwood House, said this is an opportunity for students to visit the historic home for the first time.

“Many students discover the Ellwood House during Family Weekend, and we hope to see many new faces,” King said. “We have seen DeKalb residents that are upperclassmen discover Ellwood House for the first time with their family.”

There will be two things for visitors to participate in as they stop by. The events include guided tours from an employee and access to walk around the Visitor Center Exhibit Gallery freely. 

The tours are hosted by a professional tour guide and will be available 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Students will be able to get $1 off general admission, King said. The guide will take guests through all three floors, including the basement, according to Ellwood House’s website. 

The Visitor Center Exhibit Gallery will also be open 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. This gallery will be open to the public. The gallery houses several displays and pieces for the public to look at and gives people a taste of the Ellwood family history. 

The house is famous mostly because of Isacc Ellwood’s development of the barbed wire industry in America. 

Ellwood and Joseph Glidden both invented a form of barbed wire and formed a company called I.L. Ellwood Manufacturing Company. Both men were DeKalb residents and put the city on the map. 

More information about the Ellwood house can be found on its website. Their normal business hours are 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.