| Founded in 1852 and purchased in 1857 by Michael and Martha Hanley, the Michael Hanley Farmstead was owned and managed by women for nearly a century. Alice Hanley, born on the “home place” in 1859 inherited the farm in 1889. There she raised her niece, Claire who shared the farm with her sisters Martha and Mary after Alice’s death in 1940. Alice was a charter member of the Oregon Federation of Garden Clubs. She aided the establishment of the Oregon Home Extension Service in Southern Oregon in 1919 and served on the board for the rest of her life. She appeared before the state legislature to improve conditions for farm women and ran for state representative in opposition of the Ku Klux Klan backed candidate in 1922. Like her aunt, Claire was active in the home extension service and local and state garden clubs. Claire and her sister Mary were founding members of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, and in 1982 Mary donated the farm to the Southern Oregon Historical Society. |
