Rural Retreat Farm traces it’s roots back to the 1840’s when family members settled north of the southern Illinois town of Lawrenceville. The registered Angus cow herd was started by Carl Phillippe in 1947 and is presently being expanded by his two sons Jim and Martin, and grandson Logan and his wife Laura.
Rural Retreat Farm has been recognized by the American Angus Association for the continuous production of registered Angus cattle breeding stock for over 75 years.
The horse operation is headed up by Logan and Laura Phillippe, both graduates of Murray State University in Kentucky, with degrees in Animal Equine Science. Rural Retreat Farm presently provides boarding and training services as well as riding lessons since 2005.
In 2017 The Phillippe family was awarded the Governor’s Conservation Farm Family of the Year for the entire state of Illinois.
In 2018 the farm was recognized by the Illinois Department of Agriculture as a sesquicentennial farm for 150 years of continuous viable contribution to agriculture in Illinois.
