A Saturday in South Orland Park: Civil War Days, a Grassland Walk, and Joey's New Home Across Wolf Road

"Nothing's changing," Anthony Nardo told Patch on October 2, the day Joey's Red Hots opened its new Orland Park building. "Same menu, same original people, just more comfortable for everyone to enjoy."

Joey's moved across the street. On the south end of Orland Park, that's about as dramatic as change usually gets. A farm on 108th Avenue has had the same family working it since before the Civil War. A prairie off 104th Avenue was restored and then left open. The best fall Saturday down here comes from places that stayed where they were, and on October 10 all three are open on the same day.

Across Wolf Road, Ten Years Later

The original Joey's near 174th and Wolf Road was the first restaurant in a chain that now has seven more locations, including New Lenox and Orland Hills, with a Cicero spot in the works. The restaurant is owned by Anthony Nardo and Nick Iozzo, and Nardo told Patch the lease on the original property ran out this year. Instead of leaving the corridor, Nardo looked across the street.

"All under one roof," he said. "No more going into two different buildings."

The numbers show how much more room the new place has.

That works out to almost three times the floor space, with the same menu. The horse statue that stood out front at the old spot made the move too. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and the counter number is 708-478-6200.

The Farm That Sold 100 Acres and Kept 60

Joey's has been on Wolf Road for a decade. The Stellwagen family has been in the area since 1844. That year, Philip Stellwagen was moving his family west from Pennsylvania when a wagon axle broke in Illinois. They stopped in Homer Township to find a blacksmith, liked what they saw, and stayed.

The Village of Orland Park's history of the farm traces how the land on 108th Avenue got smaller over the years while the family held on to it.

1. Shortly after his son Mathias married in 1859, Philip bought two 80-acre tracts in Orland Township, and a farmhouse was already on the land. The exact purchase date is lost because the property record burned in the 1871 Chicago Fire.
2. When Mathias died in 1888, his estate listed 320 acres in four parcels, along with 12 cows, 15 hogs, 40 chickens and a bob sleigh.
3. Two of the next generation's sons attended a one-room schoolhouse on the southeast corner of 179th Street and 108th Avenue.
4. The farm stopped dairying in 1969, when the cows and equipment were auctioned off.
5. Suburban development arrived in the 1980s, and the family sold 100 acres to developers in the 1980s and 1990s.
6. In 2002, the remaining 60 acres were sold to the Village through its Open Lands Program for preservation.

The sale didn't end the family's role. The Village says Stellwagen children have been restoring the farm buildings since, and two of them, Betty and Jim, are founding members of the Stellwagen Family Farm Foundation. Eight generations of Stellwagens have lived or worked on the farm, and they still do.

The buildings still standing show what the farm has been through. The farmhouse facing 108th Avenue dates to about 1860. There's a cow shed from the 1800s and a carriage house from the 1860s. A wooden corn crib dates from the 1880s to 1900, and the silo and toolshed from the 1920s. The pig barn and brooder house were built in the 1940s, and the milk house and coal house in the 1950s. A reproduction windmill went up in 2007 to show how cold water was pumped into the milk house.

October 10 at 17701 108th Avenue

Those buildings are the backdrop for the Village's sixth annual Civil War Days on Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Village's event listing promises presentations, cannon demonstrations and infantry drills, plus historical games and crafts for kids.

The farm's own page adds more detail. The schedule includes presentations by the Lincolns and Union generals and a performance by the Southwest Community Concert Band. The event is free for all ages. Food, beer and other refreshments will be for sale.

Civil War Days is the easiest day of the year to visit the farm. The Village doesn't post regular walk-in hours for Stellwagen, and its Heritage Sites page lists tours as by appointment. Unless you've booked ahead, plan on October 10 as your chance to walk the grounds.

The Prairie Off 104th Avenue

Just east of the farm is the other piece of south Orland that stayed open. The Forest Preserves of Cook County describes Orland Grassland as more than 750 acres of restored prairie, wetlands, ponds, oak savanna and woodland, where more than 100 bird species are counted each year.

There are two ways in. The main entrance is on West 167th Street, west of LaGrange Road. Orland Grassland-South is on 104th Avenue, south of 179th Street, and it's the closer one from Stellwagen. Both have parking, portable bathrooms and trail access. Leashed dogs are allowed, and the preserve is open year-round from sunrise to sunset.

The trail system covers about 13 miles of paved and unpaved paths. This fall, part of it is being worked on. According to the Forest Preserves' Orland Grassland page, crews are making pavement repairs on the Red Paved Loop from August 21 through December 31, 2026, and construction equipment may be there on and off. If you're bringing a bike or a stroller, check the alerts on that page before you go. The unpaved trails give you other options if the loop is busy with crews.

Putting the Saturday Together

Each of these places keeps different hours, so it's worth planning the order before you head out.

If you're bringing a dog, walk the Grassland first and head to the farm afterward. Civil War Days doesn't start until 10 a.m., and a morning on the trails leaves the afternoon free for the cannon demonstrations and the concert band. Joey's is a good final stop. The extra seating in the new building should help on a day when an event is drawing people to the south end. Stop at the Jewel at 179th and Wolf if you need snacks or supplies for the trail.

North of 151st Street, Dean's Greens may give you one more reason to drive. The Village lists a seasonal farm stand run by Dean's Greens at Boley Farm, 8041 151st Street. In a community event post, the farm stand described its "Market at the Barn," a market with local crafters, makers and food vendors, as running every second Saturday from June through October. October 10 is the second Saturday this month. The post doesn't list that exact date, though, and it gives the address as 8101 151st Street, so check with Dean's Greens before you add the stop.

After October 10, the Village's calendar moves north toward Village Hall. Active Aging Week runs October 19 to 23 at the Sportsplex, 11351 W. 159th St., with free group exercise, pickleball and health screenings for adults 55 and older. On Thanksgiving morning, November 26, the Turkey Trot runs 2.5 miles from 8 to 10 a.m. on a chip-timed course through streets, paths and woods near Village Hall. Two days later, on November 28, the Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting & Festival runs from 5 to 8 p.m. The parade heads north on Ravinia Avenue to Village Green at 14700 S. Ravinia Ave., with more activities inside the Civic Center.

If you live near the farm or the Grassland entrances, you know these places keep south Orland feeling open. The Niki Rocco Group follows how that kind of open land around a home factors into its value. If you're curious what your home on the south end is worth this fall, request a free home valuation and we'll put together the numbers for your street.