Jane Addams is probably one of the most influential people to come from Stephenson County. She revolutionized the field of social work and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. This portrait is a copy done by Mrs. Donald Breed. The original hangs in Hull House in Chicago.

The Addams family home was in Cedarville, Illinois, just a few miles north of Freeport.  The home is still standing, although it is a private residence and is not open to the public.    

Jane Addams is buried in the local Cedarville  cemetery, which was started by her father, John H. Addams.  

The truck in front of the home in this photograph belongs to the W.T. Rawleigh Company.

The Historical Society's collection includes the Addams family bible.

Books on Jane Addams

The Society has a number of personal letters and documents that were written by and to Jane Addams.  A transcription of these documents is available in the book The Jane Addams Papers in the Collection of the Stephenson County Historical Society, published by the Stephenson County Historical Society and edited by Thompson A. Brandt. 

The book Cedarville's Jane Addams - Her Early Influences, is a study of her early life in Cedarville and is also available in the Museum Gift Shop.  

For more information please visit the Museum Gift Shop.

Jane Addams' father was the Hon. John Huy Addams, a prominent figure in his own right. John Addams and Oscar Taylor were good friends who shared common beliefs. Both were staunch abolitionists who supported Abraham Lincoln.  In Lincoln's personal letters to John Addams, he refers to his friend as "The Double-D Addams" to distinguish him from the founding father (and very distant relative) John Adams.

More Jane Addams . . .

For a complete look at Jane Addams, it is suggested that after your visit to the Stephenson County Historical Society Museum's Jane Addams Collection, you visit the Cedarville Historical Society Museum and her grave at the Cedarville Cemetery.  

Or make a "Jane Addams Weekend" by staying at the Cedar Cliff Bed and Breakfast, the former home of Jane's brother Weber Addams.

Cedarville is only a fifteen minute drive from Freeport.  For more information visit the website of the Stephenson County Convention and Visitor's Bureau or send them an e-mail.