Rockford’s Briggs Mansion was built in 1863 in the Italianate style featuring six European-style marble fireplaces, 12-foot high ceilings and curved windows that stand 10-feet tall.
It was built by Chester C. Briggs, a banker, real estate broker, noted abolitionist, founder of an anti-slavery newspaper, and before moving to Rockford, Briggs was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad that helped free enslaved people in the United States.
A group of Rockford residents has applied for landmark status on behalf of Briggs Mansion in hopes of preventing UW Health, which has a hospital campus in Rockford across the street from Briggs Mansion, from demolishing the structure to make way for an expansion.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: From the archives: A look inside Rockford’s Briggs Mansion
Reporting by Corina Curry, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
