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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Woodlawn Farm on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of its 200th anniversary; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm was established in 1824 by the | ||||||
| 6 | Huffaker family, and the family home was built in 1839 and | ||||||
| 7 | 1840; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm earned its historical significance | ||||||
| 9 | from the patriarch of the family, Michael Huffaker, whose | ||||||
| 10 | family originated from Germany, where he was one of nine | ||||||
| 11 | children; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker's family moved to Pennsylvania | ||||||
| 13 | and then Virginia before settling in Kentucky; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker and his wife, Jane, moved from | ||||||
| 15 | Kentucky to Illinois, where they settled on 160 acres of land | ||||||
| 16 | outside of what is now Jacksonville; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker and Jane had seven children, | ||||||
| 18 | before she died in childbirth; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker later remarried a woman also | ||||||
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| 1 | named Jane, and they had 10 more children; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker was born to a religious family, | ||||||
| 3 | and his second wife was raised in a community full of | ||||||
| 4 | abolitionists; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The Huffaker home was used as a hiding spot for | ||||||
| 6 | escaped slaves fleeing to the north, as many religious leaders | ||||||
| 7 | and abolitionists were committed to helping freedom seekers; | ||||||
| 8 | and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm was purchased in 2003 by the | ||||||
| 10 | Underground Railroad Committee of the Morgan County Illinois | ||||||
| 11 | Historical Society to serve as a living history museum and | ||||||
| 12 | joined the National Register of Historic Farms in 2007; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm turned 200 in April of 2024, and | ||||||
| 14 | the Underground Railroad Committee celebrated the farm's | ||||||
| 15 | bicentennial celebration with activities, tours, woodworking, | ||||||
| 16 | pottery, and butter-making; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm is available for tours, and | ||||||
| 18 | donations go to the renovation, restoration, and upkeep of the | ||||||
| 19 | house; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
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| 1 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 2 | we congratulate Woodlawn Farm, founded by the Huffaker family, | ||||||
| 3 | on its 200th anniversary; and be it further | ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 5 | presented to the Underground Railroad Committee of the Morgan | ||||||
| 6 | County Illinois Historical Society. | ||||||