IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION congratulating the Rice-Tremonti Historic Farm Home on the occasion of its 175th Anniversary celebration, to be held September 15, 2019.
Intro
RESOLUTION NO. 20248, September 9, 2019
INTRODUCED BY Theresa Galvin, Dan Tarwater III, Jalen Anderson, Crystal Williams, Tony Miller, Scott Burnett, Ronald E. Finley, Charlie Franklin, and Jeanie Lauer, County Legislators
Body
WHEREAS, the Rice-Tremonti Historic Farm Home located in Raytown, MO, was built in 1844 by Archibald Rice and his family as a 160-acre farm; and,
WHEREAS, the Rice family sold barrels of corn and grain to hundreds of travelers to feed their mules and oxen on the first leg of the journey west on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails; and,
WHEREAS, after Archibald's death in 1849, his son Elihu Coffee Rice, wife Catherine, and Sophie White, a slave, moved to the property, with "Aunt Sophie" taking up residence in the cabin nearest the main house; and,
WHEREAS, despite tensions and border warfare that forced the family to flee their home, the original wood frame Gothic Revival house still remains at the property, one of only seven houses in Jackson County built prior to the Civil War; and,
WHEREAS, in 1866 the Rice family returned to their farm until 1903 when Elihu Coffee Rice died and the home was sold; and,
WHEREAS, in 1935, Dr. Louis G. Tremonti and his wife Gloria purchased and restored the old house, continuing to reside there until 1987 when the not-for-profit Friends of the Rice-Tremonti Home purchased the property to preserve one of the few remaining pioneer homes in the Kansas City area; and,
WHEREAS, Roberta Bonnewitz, a founding member of the Raytown Historical Society, was instrumental in the preservation of the Rice-Tremonti Home up until her death in 2016 at the age of 105; and,
WHEREAS, through Mrs. Bonnewitz's generosity, the Friends of Rice-Tremonti have been able to construct a path and ...
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