The Benita Devney History Award is our way to recognize and say, "thank you" to a Farmington area resident that has contributed to the improvement of our understanding of Farmington area history.

This award is named after Benita Devney, an historian, educator, researcher, and author. Devney was a graduate of Lakeville High School; she received her teaching degree from the Farmington Normal School and taught in Eureka Township.

She has shown us how to study history. How to research it, how to write about it, and how to publish it. The Farmington Area Historical Society follows in her footsteps.

The Oculus Award is presented to a Farmington area individual or family who has been involved with the restoration and preservation of their home, business, or property. The award is given with gratitude for their sharing the research, the restoration and preservation knowledge, and the skills the recipient has acquired with the community.

In the preservation process many of these individuals and families have become house historians. They are detectives who deduce how their home or business has changed through the years. These old buildings, these homes, these private residences, these businesses, embody history. They are worlds of previous generations. They are keepers of secrets. Farmington area preservationists discover those secrets and share them with all of us, enriching the community.