Alpaca farm may have ties to infamous gangsters, Underground Railroad

BARRINGTON – Ever since Jim and Karen Tomaszek moved into SafeHouse Farm in 2001, people have been stopping by to regale them with stories about the home.

While all they know about the history of the home is rumor and lore, the Tomaszeks still find it interesting. Among the tales of the home include connections to notorious gangster Baby Face Nelson and the Underground Railroad.

"When we moved in, we were not told anything about the gangsters," said Jim Tomaszek.
SafeHouse Farm, 25550 W Cuba Road, is now home to an Alpaca farm and is one of the largest alpaca breeders in the state, with 50 alpacas on site.

In 2013, they opened The Olde Alpaca Shoppe at SafeHouse Farm, carrying a full clothing line, including socks, hats, scarves, sweaters, gloves, blankets, rugs and home-grown yarn.

Linda McGill, co-owner of the alpaca business, lived on the property prior to the Tomaszeks and said the property's ties to the past make being on site all the more rewarding.

McGill often hosts field trips and tours, and will talk about the history, depending on the age group, she said.

"I find it interesting – the mystery and the history," McGill said. "I love every second [of being on the property]."

In November 1934, there was a running gun battle on U.S. Route 14 between Baby Face Nelson and other gangsters and FBI agents, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Barrington. Baby Face Nelson spotted the FBI agents heading toward him from the opposite direction and when they passed, made a U-Turn and began chasing them.

After awhile, the two vehicles ended up in the area that is now Langendorf Park where they engaged in a shoot-out. Baby Face Nelson killed the two FBI agents and was shot himself.

“By all accounts, Nelson was shot 17 times before he collapsed,” Tomaszek said.

Nelson escaped and was transported by his fellow gangsters to a safe house in Wilmette, where he died.

According to stories Tomaszek has been told, the connection between such events and SafeHouse Farm is while agents and/or police were investigating the incident, they allegedly asked around about where Baby Face Nelson was coming from. He is alleged to have been staying at what is now known as SafeHouse Farm, at 25550 W. Cuba Road.

It is possible that reputed gangsters like John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson had heard about the underground tunnel at SafeHouse Farm and were interested in possibly obtaining it so they could use the tunnel in the event they needed to escape. Tomaszek said he is not sure whether there is any truth to this tale.

“An FBI agent once said to me, 'if you ever find Baby Face Nelson's machine gun, it would be worth a million,'” Tomaszek said.

In 1934, the FBI bricked up the entrance and exit to the tunnel and collapsed it. Tomaszek said in spring and summer, indentations in the land indicate where the tunnel might have been.

According to things Tomaszek has heard, the original home on SafeHouse Farm burned down before the Civil War. When the home was re-built, they dug out a tunnel that led from the basement to the woods behind the house. The tunnel may have been used as part of the Underground Railroad system which transported slaves from the south to northern free states and Canada to help them escape slavery.

“That's why we call it SafeHouse Farm,” Tomaszek said. “It was [possibly] a slave escape route and now it's a safe house for alpacas.”

Although whether or not the tunnel was actually used as part of the Underground Railroad is unconfirmed, Tomaszek said he was told if he ever gets into the tunnel, he should look for fish bones.

Since that is what the escaping slaves were often fed, it could provide some confirmation about the tunnel, he said.

SafeHouse Farm is not Tomaszek's first run-in with possible gangster connections, he said.

“I grew up in the city and behind my grandmother's house was a factory people rented out and one time the mob rented it,” he said.

Tomaszek's grandmother did sometimes chat with the gangsters, and one thing she overheard was that Baby Face Nelson hated his nickname and preferred to be called Jimmy, Tomaszek said.

If you go

The Olde Alpaca Shoppe at SafeHouse Farm, is open 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays; noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays; 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays; and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays