According to his obituary in the Freeport Journal-Standard in 1919, Frank moved into our house in 1910. The 1910 U.S. Census shows only Annie living there with her sons Edward (age 26), Robert (age 21) and Harry (age 15). We couldn't locate Frank in the 1910 census, but since the Hufford’s were enumerated in April 1910, it’s possible Frank was still in the process of winding down their Freeport lives as the family transitioned into farm life. Edward was listed as the head of household.
In the Prairie Farmer’s Directory of Stephenson County (1917), the Huffords referred to the property as Bluff Edge Farm. At their new country residence, the family raised Brown Swiss cattle, as evidenced by records of Frank’s purchase of a pair of registered bulls in the 1917 edition of The Swiss Record. This book, published by the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders’ Association, reported that Hufford bought a year-old bull named Leader of Blackrock from Ira Inman of Beloit, Wisconsin. His other purchase that year was a 3-year-old bull named Klondyke, from J.W. Smith of Dakota, Illinois. We believe our barn may have been built by the Huffords after they moved here. The previous owners suggested that the barn may have been built from a kit, similar to the Sears homes of the early 20th century. We haven't seen any telltale signs of that, such as printed numbers at the ends of joists and beams. However, many of the markings which might have been most visible in the heavy lumber are probably covered over many years of whitewashing in the barn's lower-level milking area.
Another feature we're looking for in the barn is the legend of Willie Hufford, the only sibling who didn't make the trip to Illinois. Willie died in 1883 around the age of 3, and was buried in Pennsylvania. A cenotaph memorializes Willie in the Rock City Cemetery. According to the family's present-day historian, Richard Hufford, Willie died after eating chicken and dumplings that were hot enough to burn a hole in his stomach. The Huffords carved Willie's name into the barn, although the exact location has yet to be found. We wonder if another barn was here first.
When the Huffords moved into our house, the Davis Mill dam was still in existence, according to a 1916 report on flood control on the Pecatonica River (“State of Illinois Rivers and Lakes Commission Bulletin No. 18” dated December 1, 1916). The Dam was classified as "Not in Use." Three other dams on Rock Run Creek were also listed as not in use, including the dam upstream at Epleyanna Mills (labeled as “Mill Pond Dam”) and the two dams downstream at Knoup Road (labeled as “Polsbury Mill Dam”) and Farwell Bridge Road (labeled as “Reader’s Dam”). The flood control study was prepared in response to what had been the worst Pecatonica River flood on record in March of 1916.
In 1919, at the age of 66, Frank Hufford met an untimely death when his horses became spooked by a train and he was thrown from his wagon. He never regained consciousness and died the morning after. He and his wife Annie had been married since 1874. They had 10 children and are both buried in the Rock City cemetery.
After Frank’s passing, Annie lived on the farm into the early 1940s. Her son Robert had lived with her for most of the years the Hufford's owned the property, but by this time he was having serious problems with what may have been post-traumatic stress from his service in World War I. On June 15th of 1942, the Freeport Journal-Standard reported that Robert had locked himself in the attic and wouldn't come out. He was concerned about a nephew being called into military service and was having hallucinations about shooting Germans.
In a letter we received from Roberta Mullican Schuster, whose parents, Glen and Grace Mullican, would later own the property, she recalled that day:
One night he just snapped and took his mother upstairs and thought the Japs were after them and didn't let his sister near him and his mother. At the time, we were staying at our cabin on Grandpa's 52 acres across the road from your house. His sister came over and our dad gave her a ride to get to a phone so she could get help.
After help arrived, Robert shot at police officers with a .22 caliber rifle after tear gas was fired into the attic. They responded with more tear gas, which brought him down from the attic. His family later asked the Stephenson County court to have Robert placed in the Hines Veterans Home in Chicago.
On November 27, 1942, the 74-acre farm was sold at auction to Ransom "Tim" Meier. On that day Annie Hufford would have been a couple weeks shy of her 85th birthday. After more than 30 years on the farm, Annie moved to Rock City and died there in 1951
