For Black History Month, take a tour of one of the Jacksonville area’s historical sites linked to the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a clandestine network of routes and safe houses used to help enslaved African Americans escape to the free states and Canada. Visitors on Feb. 25 to the Woodlawn Farm, three miles east of Jacksonville, can learn about founder Michael Huffaker, his family and the role the farm played in the Underground Railroad movement. Volunteers in period attire will lead tours of the two-story structure. Suggested donations for the event are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Proceeds support the property. The farm, purchased Dec. 29, 2003, to serve as a living history museum, is operated by the Underground Railroad Committee of the Morgan County Historical Society. Volunteers on the committee oversee maintenance of the home and conduct tours and special events. Woodlawn also will be on an April 23 bus tour of Underground Railroad sites. The tour will start at Illinois College and end at Woodlawn. Reservations can be made by calling 217-479-4144 no earlier than six weeks before the event.
A look inside Woodlawn Farm
Saturday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Woodlawn Farm
1463 Gierke Lane
Jacksonville
www.woodlawnfarm.com
This article appears in Wedding.
