Ferncliff Trolley Tours offer a unique look at Springfield history

When you think about learning history, you might think about sitting in a classroom, reading a book, or visiting a museum, but Springfield resident Marilyn Knize suggests a new place to learn– the local cemetery. 

At Ferncliff, a 218-acre cemetery and arboretum, Knize oversees the organization of programs and events. She says taking tours or attending programs is a great way to learn more about the people who have made history in Springfield. 

“History as a subject is often perceived as what you had to do in high school– read the text, answer the questions, take a test, memorize the dates, memorize the names,” she explains. “I think that, especially as people age, they start to recognize that history is about the people who made that history. It's about the people whose courage or ideals helped shape what happened to us.”

From May through October, Ferncliff hosts trolley tours, where participants can learn more about the people who have shaped Springfield. Tours are typically the second Thursday of the month, at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Each month, the tours offer a different focus, like Celebrating the Women of Ferncliff, Juneteenth Tour: Celebrating prominent African Americans, Industrialist: The Builders of Springfield, First Responders, and World War II Veterans. Tours in May and October also focus on Ferncliff’s arboretum.

Tours at Ferncliff focus on people who have shaped Springfield and nature.“It is very Springfield,” she says. “This is our cemetery, and it is very reflective of the diversity of our community and the part that it's played. We were the end of the national road for 10 years and a major, major industrial city in terms of farm equipment and manufacturing. Lots and lots of patents for things that changed agricultural history, particularly, came from Springfield.”

Knize says they do their best to continually update the content of the trolley tours, adding new people of interest each year. 

“Some of the people we include are not just old people,” she explains. “They're more current people. Sometimes somebody taking a tour goes, ‘Oh, I knew her,’ or ‘Oh, he was my doctor,’ and that's really cool for people to hear more about their stories, not just in the context, perhaps, of the way they knew them in person.”

While touring a cemetery might seem like an unusual way to explore local history, Ferncliff has been offering tours for over 20 years and has hosted these monthly tours for three summers.

Knize says spots fill fast. So fast, in fact, they’re testing out a new registration system this year, which reserves half the seats on each trolley for individuals who have not participated in a tour previously. Individuals can use this priority registration for one tour of their choice.

Tours at Ferncliff focus on people who have shaped Springfield.“The minute that we announce [the tours] in the paper and on social media, which are the same day, typically it fills up that day because we only have a limited number of seats on the trolley,” she explains. “We’ve noticed that it's the same people over and over. It's a great way to get out and enjoy the day, but we're trying to get some people who maybe have not had an opportunity to go on one of the tours, and so we decided we would offer this and see how it went this year.”

If those limited spots do fill up, or your schedule doesn’t align with the trolley, Ferncliff also offers self-guided driving tours and private tours for visiting groups. Knize warns that the self-guided tours aren’t updated as frequently as the in-person tours, but are still a good way to explore the history-makers of Springfield. Maps for self-guided tours are available online or at the front office.

Additionally, as an arboretum, Ferncliff also offers a guide to the over 60 types of trees on its property for guests who want to explore nature. 

To register for a Ferncliff Trolley Tour, call 937-322-3491.