ROCKFORD, IL — Landmarks Illinois is investigating a longshot plan to physically move a Civil War-era house that may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad to prevent UW Health from demolishing it.
UW Health plans in May to raze the house at 1244 E. State St. known as the Briggs Mansion to make room for an unspecified future expansion project.
The hospital system acquired the property last month. It has already applied to the city of Rockford for demolition permits to demolish it, three nearby structures and a parking lot at 1238, 1246, 1250 and 1318 East State. One of the buildings has a distinctive mural painted along its sides…