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90_HR0178
LRB9005809CBcb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Black slavery existed in Illinois from the 1720s
3 through the decade prior to the Civil War, allowed by weak
4 restrictions and ineffective enforcement; and
5 WHEREAS, The salt works along the Saline River at Half
6 Moon Lick and the Great Salt Springs became the first major
7 manufacturing industry in Illinois, utilizing an estimated
8 1,000 to 3,000 slaves during the days of the Illinois
9 Territory; and
10 WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution of 1818 allowed
11 slavery to continue at the salt works until 1825 and allowed
12 indentured servitude to exist in the face of federal law; and
13 WHEREAS, The legal foundation of slavery was not removed
14 until the Illinois Constitution of 1848, although slavery
15 existed in remote areas of the State into the 1850s; and
16 WHEREAS, The Greek Revival mansion known as the Old Slave
17 House near Equality is one of the few plantation homes
18 remaining in good condition in the State of Illinois; and
19 WHEREAS, John Crenshaw, the last State-sanctioned
20 operator of the salt works and a known kidnapper of free
21 Blacks, built the house as part of his Hickory Hill
22 Plantation from 1834 to 1838; and
23 WHEREAS, The Sisk Family has owned the house for eight
24 decades and has allowed public viewing of the house from 1926
25 until 1996, and the National Park Service placed the house on
26 the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as a site
27 important to Illinois history specifically as it relates to
28 the role of slavery in Illinois; and
29 WHEREAS, Third-generation owners George and Janice Sisk
30 closed the historic site known as the Old Slave House to the
-2- LRB9005809CBcb
1 public on October 31, 1996 due to Mr. Sisk's decision to
2 retire, thereby putting the future of the house in jeopardy
3 as the Sisks have expressed a willingness to sell the home;
4 therefore, be it
5 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we,
7 on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois, hereby show
8 our appreciation and gratitude to George and Janice Sisk,
9 owners of the Old Slave House, for their efforts to maintain
10 and keep the house open to the public; and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That we further encourage the Illinois Historic
12 Preservation Agency, the Illinois Department of Natural
13 Resources, and Governor Jim Edgar to continue efforts to
14 negotiate the purchase and long-range preservation of the
15 house to become a permanent center for interpreting the role
16 of slavery and the kidnapping of free Black residents in
17 Illinois history; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That we encourage all involved to work to find
19 creative solutions to reopen the home to the public and
20 encourage the State to take all means necessary to ensure the
21 site's preservation, including working with local and federal
22 agencies such as the National Park Service and non-profit
23 organizations interested in saving the site; and be it
24 further
25 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
26 delivered to Governor Jim Edgar and the Directors of the
27 Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Department of
28 Natural Resources.