FREEPORT - The Freeport/Stephenson County Visitors Center has opened an Expo for the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Sesquicentennial Celebration, which commemorates the famous 1858 debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in Freeport. The Sesquicentennial Celebration will be held Labor Day weekend, Aug. 27 through Sept. 1.
Included in the Expo are two carriages representative of the Lincoln and Douglas era. One is the 1869 John Addams' Henney carriage. John Henney, a Cedarville wagon maker, added carriages to his line, and John Addams, father of Jane Addams of Hull House fame, was the first to purchase one. The carriage is from the collection of the Stephenson County Historical Society. The second carriage is a barouche style. It was developed in England from the German "burutsche" of the eighteenth century. This was a coachman driven carriage, built in the 1870's. The owners of the carriage, Larry and Carolyn Sluiter, restored the carriage which looks brand new.
The Visitors Center, located at 4596 US Route 20, east of Freeport, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Visitors Center at (815) 233-1357.
Included in the Expo are two carriages representative of the Lincoln and Douglas era. One is the 1869 John Addams' Henney carriage. John Henney, a Cedarville wagon maker, added carriages to his line, and John Addams, father of Jane Addams of Hull House fame, was the first to purchase one. The carriage is from the collection of the Stephenson County Historical Society. The second carriage is a barouche style. It was developed in England from the German "burutsche" of the eighteenth century. This was a coachman driven carriage, built in the 1870's. The owners of the carriage, Larry and Carolyn Sluiter, restored the carriage which looks brand new.
The Visitors Center, located at 4596 US Route 20, east of Freeport, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Visitors Center at (815) 233-1357.
