HR0902 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0902 LRB103 42682 MST 75918 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Woodlawn Farm on the occasion of its 200th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm was established in 1824 by the Huffaker family, and the family home was built in 1839 and 1840; and

WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm earned its historical significance from the patriarch of the family, Michael Huffaker, whose family originated from Germany, where he was one of nine children; and

WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker's family moved to Pennsylvania and then Virginia before settling in Kentucky; and

WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker and his wife, Jane, moved from Kentucky to Illinois, where they settled on 160 acres of land outside of what is now Jacksonville; and

WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker and Jane had seven children, before she died in childbirth; and

WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker later remarried a woman also named Jane, and they had 10 more children; and

WHEREAS, Michael Huffaker was born to a religious family, and his second wife was raised in a community full of abolitionists; and

WHEREAS, The Huffaker home was used as a hiding spot for escaped slaves fleeing to the north, as many religious leaders and abolitionists were committed to helping freedom seekers; and

WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm was purchased in 2003 by the Underground Railroad Committee of the Morgan County Illinois Historical Society to serve as a living history museum and joined the National Register of Historic Farms in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm turned 200 in April of 2024, and the Underground Railroad Committee celebrated the farm's bicentennial celebration with activities, tours, woodworking, pottery, and butter-making; and

WHEREAS, Woodlawn Farm is available for tours, and donations go to the renovation, restoration, and upkeep of the house; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Woodlawn Farm, founded by the Huffaker family, on its 200th anniversary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Underground Railroad Committee of the Morgan County Illinois Historical Society.