Naperville in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Snibley Stenger Oleson Farm

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, July 5, 2026

1. Snibley Stenger Oleson Farm Marker

Inscription.

Snibley Stenger Oleson Farm. . , The Snibley, Stenger and Olesen families farmed this land. , , German immigrant Jacob Snibley brought his family to Naperville in 1835. They established a farm and built a house of locally quarried limestone on this property in the 1850s. After Jacob died in 1863, his daughter Elizabeth Snibley Stenger bought out her siblings' shares of their father's property. Elizabeth purchased more acreage to expand the property, which she rented to tenant farmers. She sold the 190 acre farm and house in 1907. , , In 1916 Danish immigrant Peter Olesen bought the limestone house and farm. With his wife Doris, Peter managed Olesen Dairy, an accredited herd of two dozen Holstein cows. They milked their cows by hand, bottling 200 quarts and 60 pints daily to sell to Naperville families. In the 1940s, the Olesens retired their dairy herd and began raising beef cattle and hybrid seed corn. The U.S. government also leased some of the Olesens land to build a ground station for short-range radio aircraft navigation. The Olesens sold their farm in 1959 to commercial property developers, who used the limestone farm house as office space. When the land was redeveloped in 2015, Naper Settlement salvaged the house's limestone for use at the museum. , , The Stenger Brewery , Elizabeth Snibley Stenger was the widow of Bavarian immigrant Nicholas Stenger, who ran the largest brewery in Naperville with his father, Peter, and his brother, John. In the 1850s, the Stengers built a series of limestone brewery buildings on the corner of Webster Street and Franklin Avenue in downtown Naperville. At the time of Nicholas' death in the 1860s, the Stenger brewery was producing more than 500 barrels of beer for sale to saloons and restaurants. By the 1870s, the successful brewery was pumping out nearly 2,000 barrels. John Stenger sold the brewery to Henn and Gabler Brewing Company of Chicago in 1893. , , [Timeline at the bottom:] , . 1850: United States has 1,449,000 farms , . 1862: Louis Pasteur invents pasteurization of milk , . 1893: Naperville's Stenger Brewery sold to Chicago investors , . 1916: Peter Olesen establishes Naperville dairy farm , . 1959: Naperville's population is 11,972

The Snibley, Stenger and Olesen families farmed this land.

German immigrant Jacob Snibley brought his family to Naperville in 1835. They established a farm and built a house of locally quarried limestone on this property in the 1850s. After Jacob died in 1863, his daughter Elizabeth Snibley Stenger bought out her siblings' shares of their father's property. Elizabeth purchased more acreage to expand the property, which she rented to tenant farmers. She sold the 190 acre farm and house in 1907.

In 1916 Danish immigrant Peter Olesen bought the limestone house and farm. With his wife Doris, Peter managed Olesen Dairy, an accredited herd of two dozen Holstein cows. They milked their cows by hand, bottling 200 quarts and 60 pints daily to sell to Naperville families. In the 1940s, the Olesens retired their dairy herd and began raising beef cattle and hybrid seed corn. The U.S. government also leased some of the Olesens land to build a ground station for short-range radio aircraft navigation. The Olesens sold their farm in 1959 to commercial property developers, who used the limestone farm house as office space. When the

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

land was redeveloped in 2015, Naper Settlement salvaged the house's limestone for use at the museum.

The Stenger Brewery
Elizabeth Snibley Stenger was the widow of Bavarian immigrant Nicholas Stenger, who ran the largest brewery in Naperville with his father, Peter, and his brother, John. In the 1850s, the Stengers built a series of limestone brewery buildings on the corner of Webster Street and Franklin Avenue in downtown Naperville. At the time of Nicholas' death in the 1860s, the Stenger brewery was producing more than 500 barrels of beer for sale to saloons and restaurants. By the 1870s, the successful brewery was pumping out nearly 2,000 barrels. John Stenger sold the brewery to Henn & Gabler Brewing Company of Chicago in 1893.

[Timeline at the bottom:]
• 1850: United States has 1,449,000 farms
• 1862: Louis Pasteur invents pasteurization of milk
• 1893: Naperville's Stenger Brewery sold to Chicago investors
• 1916: Peter Olesen establishes Naperville dairy farm
• 1959: Naperville's population is 11,972

Erected by Naperville Park District, Naper Settlement, Stenger family.

Topics. This historical marker

Oleson Farm Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, July 5, 2026

2. Oleson Farm Park

is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Immigration • Industry & Commerce • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1835.

Location. 41° 45.914′ N, 88° 7.196′ W. Marker is in Naperville, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is on Green Trails Drive east of Oleson Drive, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Naperville IL 60540, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bailey Hobson’s House (approx. one mile away); Pioneer Park: Wetland Restoration (approx. 1.1 miles away); Veterans Park (approx. 1.1 miles away); Shanower Family Field (approx. 1.1 miles away); DuPage County Pioneer Park (approx. 1.1 miles away);

Close-up of the farmhouse photos on the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, July 5, 2026

3. Close-up of the farmhouse photos on the marker

Veterans Park: Remembrance, Nature and Community Service (approx. 1.1 miles away); Revolutionary War Patriots (approx. 1.1 miles away); Pioneer Park: Oak Woodland Restoration (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Naperville.

Also see . . . The Stenger Brewery in the Late 1800s: A Rich, Golden History. From the Stenger family website, a reprint of a 1996 article from the Chicago Tribune, which details the brewery's link to the founder of Coors beer.

Excerpt: "Owner John Stenger saw promise in [Adolph] Coors, an ambitious 22-year-old German immigrant who had spent three years indentured to a brewery owner after his parents died and then left for America with the dream of owning his own brewery. Stenger quickly promoted the young Coors to the position of 'General Brewery Superintendent,' putting him in charge of the entire Franklin Avenue operation.

"'My grandfather probably knew about as much about brewing as anyone in the country at the time,' said Bill Coors, chairman of the Coors Brewing Company, the nation's third largest brewery. 'And Mr. Stenger took quite a shine to him. But after
Paid Advertisement

2 1/2 years in Naperville, he quit abruptly. And there's two stories told about why he did.

"'One story goes that Mr. Stenger had him in mind as a husband for one of his three daughters. This idea did not appeal to my grandfather, so he headed west. The other story was that he fell in love with one of the Stenger girls, and when he was jilted, he left town. And which story is true depends on who in my family you happen to ask.'"

(Submitted on July 8, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 8, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 8, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.