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Constructed in
1870, this is the oldest structure on the campus of the University of
Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. It was designed as a “model farmhouse” for
the school’s experimental farm, reportedly based on a pattern book design
by landscape architect A.J. Downing. The house, which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places, sits on a slight knoll, surrounded
by mature trees. Its proximity to the NHL-listed Morrow Plots reinforces
the site’s important agricultural history. The farmhouse was named for
former Dean of Agriculture Herbert W. Mumford, a longtime resident. The
university has proposed moving the building two miles to the southeast,
where it would house a welcome center. Critics charge that this would
remove an important feature of the campus, while jeopardizing the
farmhouse’s historic listing.
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