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Martha Jane Downey - IHPA legacy

Martha Downey began working at the Bishop Hill Historic Site, a village in west-central Illinois founded in 1846 by Swedish immigrants affiliated with the Pietist movement led by Erik Jansson, in 1981. At that time the site was managed by the Department of Natural Resources, but it went under the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency in 1985 when that agency was created. During Downey's long tenure at Bishop Hill, the site has undergone dramatic improvements.