Four blocks west of the downtown square in Jacksonville, Illinois, a red brick house with white columns has been watching State Street since 1870. It has been a family home, a funeral home, and a string of small businesses. As of July it is Jacksonville Transfer Company @ The Gillham House: an antique mall upstairs, a furniture showroom and consignment floor on the main level, an architectural salvage room stacked with barnwood and hardware, and a woodworking shop out back where old barns become new tables. We flew a drone through all of it in one take. The flight is below, and the story of the place follows it.
It Started With a Dining Room Table
Mike and Gretchen Haney did not set out to open an antique mall. They own The Transfer Co. Event Space at 611 E State St, in the building where the original Jacksonville Transfer Company once moved freight on and off the trains. While working on that building they kept finding old material in the basement, and Mike used some of it to build Gretchen a dining room table. People saw the table. People asked for tables. What Gretchen still calls a hobby that was supposed to stay a hobby turned into custom orders, then into taking down old barns for the lumber, then into a business that had outgrown its workspace.
In May 2026 they told the Journal-Courier they were expanding into the Gillham House, and by July the doors were open. The name carries both histories on purpose: the Transfer Company that built the business, and the Gillham House that now holds it.
What Is Actually Inside
The drone follows the same path a first-time visitor would, so here is the building in flight order.
- The showroom. The main floor rooms hold the custom builds and the consigned furniture: reclaimed wood dining tables, settees, hutches, a brick fireplace parlor, and a dining display set with vintage china. Everything on this floor is for sale, and most of the wood pieces were built out back.
- The deli fridge. Near the front windows there is a stocked grab-and-go fridge, signed out front as the Corner Deli, which is why the Google listing carries a deli category alongside the antique ones. The shop is now adding sundries to go with it: coffee, loose-leaf teas, and homebrew items.
- The salvage room. Past the hall, shelves of vintage hand planes, hardware, fixtures, and architectural pieces, plus the reclaimed lumber: weathered gray siding, hand-hewn beams, and aged hardwoods rescued from barns and old buildings around Central Illinois, cleaned and milled and ready for a project.
- The antique mall. Up the original staircase, the second floor is divided into vendor booths, with room for about 17 sellers. Furniture, florals and wreaths, glassware, tins, primitives, art, and the kind of curated vintage that changes every week.
- The shop. The six-car garage behind the house is the woodworking shop where the barn lumber becomes furniture. The drone does not go in there, but everything it flies past on the main floor came out of it.
Our goal is to preserve the history of our community.
Six Things the Shop Does
Jacksonville Transfer Company is easier to understand as a set of services than as a single store, because most customers use more than one of them.
- Furniture and antique consignment. You bring the piece, they photograph it, display it, sell it, and pay you. No listings, no messages, no strangers at your door. The consignment form on their site gets a reply within about 48 hours.
- The antique mall. Vendor booths upstairs, curated by the sellers who rent them. Booth space is available; ask Gretchen.
- Salvaged materials and barnwood. Reclaimed lumber, beams, siding, doors, windows, and hardware sold by the piece for furniture, accent walls, mantels, and restoration work.
- Custom-built furniture. Dining and farmhouse tables, display tables, shelving, and one-off designs built from reclaimed lumber and hardwoods, with the character left in.
- Barn removal. The Haneys take down old barns and outbuildings across the area and usually keep the materials as payment instead of charging for the work.
- Restoration and repair. Hardware and furniture restoration for pieces worth saving.
And coming soon on the sundries side: coffee, loose-leaf teas, and homebrew supplies, which will make the Gillham House one of the few places in Jacksonville to pick up a brewing kit and a barn beam on the same trip.
Why We Flew It in One Take
An antique mall is the hardest kind of store to show online. Photos of individual pieces look fine on a website, but they cannot tell you how big the place is, how many rooms there are, or whether it is worth a Saturday drive from Springfield. A normal store video is a collection of clips that an editor stitches together, and every cut is a place where the viewer can stop believing you.
A one-take flight has nowhere to hide. The drone goes up the front steps, through the door, room to room, up the stairs, and back out, and the building is exactly as big, as bright, and as full as it looks. For a shop whose whole pitch is come see what we found this week, that is the right kind of honesty.
How We Shot It
This was flown on a small ducted cinewhoop, a compact FPV quad with the propellers fully shrouded, which is what makes it safe to fly indoors around antiques and glass. We walked the route with the Haneys before the aircraft was ever armed, planned the line through each doorway and up the staircase, and shot indoor flights at high frame rate for smooth motion through the narrow spots. The drone ran the full route in a single continuous take; the video you see is that take, with only the color and audio finished afterward. We also captured aerial photos of the building and a set of 360 photos for the Google Business Profile on the same visit.
The Building and the Builds
Aerial photos from the shoot, plus the shop’s own photos of the custom builds and consigned pieces you see in the flight. Click any photo to view it full-screen.
Plan a Visit
Jacksonville Transfer Company @ The Gillham House is at 326 W State St, Jacksonville, IL 62650, on the west side of downtown. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM, closed Monday. Call (217) 408-8878, email jacksonvilletransferco@gmail.com, or visit jacksonvilletransfercompany.com. Follow the shop on Facebook for new consignment arrivals and events, and find it on Google Maps.
Want an FPV Tour of Your Business?
One-take interior flights, aerial photography, 360 photos for your Google listing, and video built for social and your website. Jacksonville, Springfield, and all of Central Illinois, flown by a licensed pilot.
FAA Part 107 certified. Indoor and outdoor. (217) 724-8153
Jacksonville Transfer Company and FPV Tours FAQ
What is Jacksonville Transfer Company @ The Gillham House?
Jacksonville Transfer Company @ The Gillham House is a veteran and family owned antique mall, furniture consignment shop, architectural salvage dealer, and custom reclaimed-wood furniture builder at 326 W State St in Jacksonville, Illinois. It opened in July 2026 inside the 1870 Gillham House. Owners Mike and Gretchen Haney also run The Transfer Co. Event Space on East State Street. Call (217) 408-8878 or visit jacksonvilletransfercompany.com.
Where can I buy reclaimed barnwood and architectural salvage near Jacksonville and Springfield, IL?
Jacksonville Transfer Company stocks reclaimed barnwood lumber, hand-hewn beams, weathered siding, aged hardwoods, vintage hardware, doors, windows, and other architectural elements pulled from barns and historic buildings across Central Illinois. The salvage room is inside the Gillham House at 326 W State St in Jacksonville, about 35 minutes west of Springfield. Materials are cleaned and milled and sold by the piece for furniture builds, accent walls, and restoration projects. Call (217) 408-8878 to ask what is in stock.
Does Jacksonville Transfer Company build custom furniture from reclaimed wood?
Yes. The woodworking shop behind the Gillham House builds custom dining tables, farmhouse tables, display tables, shelving, and one-of-a-kind pieces from reclaimed lumber and hardwoods. Most builds start with boards the Haneys salvaged themselves, so the grain, nail holes, and saw marks stay in the finished piece. You can commission a build, pick a finished piece from the showroom, or buy the raw lumber and build your own.
How does furniture consignment work at Jacksonville Transfer Company?
You bring in quality furniture or antiques, the shop photographs, displays, and sells them from the Gillham House showroom, and you get paid when the piece sells. There is no listing, messaging, or meeting strangers on your end. Send a few details and photos through the consignment form at jacksonvilletransfercompany.com or call (217) 408-8878, and the shop responds within about 48 hours.
Can I rent a booth in the antique mall at the Gillham House?
Yes. The antique mall occupies the upper floor of the Gillham House with room for about 17 vendors selling curated vintage, antiques, and handmade goods. Booth space has been filling since the July 2026 opening. Contact Gretchen Haney at (217) 408-8878 or through the contact form at jacksonvilletransfercompany.com to ask about availability and vendor terms.
Will Jacksonville Transfer Company take down my old barn?
Often, yes. The Haneys deconstruct old barns and outbuildings across Central Illinois and typically do not charge for the takedown, keeping the salvaged lumber and materials as payment. Every barn is different, so call (217) 408-8878 with the location, size, and condition and they will tell you whether it is a fit.
Does the shop sell coffee, loose-leaf tea, or homebrew supplies?
Jacksonville Transfer Company is adding sundries to the Gillham House: coffee, loose-leaf teas, and homebrew items alongside the grab-and-go deli fridge that is already stocked. Selection is still being built out, so call (217) 408-8878 or check the shop’s Facebook page for what is on the shelves this week.
What are the hours for Jacksonville Transfer Company @ The Gillham House?
Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed Monday. The shop is at 326 W State St, Jacksonville, IL 62650, on the west side of downtown, with parking along State Street and beside the building.
What is an FPV drone tour and can Elevated Ideas shoot one for my business?
FPV stands for first-person view. The pilot flies wearing goggles fed live from the aircraft, so a small drone can move through doorways and up staircases in one continuous take, which is how this whole tour was filmed with no cuts. Elevated Ideas produces FPV tours, aerial photos, and video for shops, restaurants, venues, dealerships, real estate, and events across Jacksonville, Springfield, and Central Illinois. Call (217) 724-8153 or visit elevatedideas.com/services/drone-photography-video to book one.