Maywood in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Ten Mile Freedom House
The Underground Railroad
Photographed by Sean Flynn
1. Ten Mile Freedom House Marker
Many Black slaves fled from the antebellum south and gained their freedom by secretly traveling through the "Underground Railroad" route during the mid 1800's. A "Ten Mile Freedom House" providing shelter for the "Underground Railroad" travelers stood on this site in that era. It was razed in 1927. This memorial symbolically represents the escape from the chains of slavery, the journey through the Underground Railroad and the arrival in this new land of liberty and opportunity. It recognizes the Freedom House site and is dedicated to the men and women who courageously participated in the Underground Railroad freedom quest.
"If ya' wanna be free, keep a goin'
If ya' tired, keep a goin'
If ya' scared, keep a goin'
If ya hungry, keep a goin'
If ya' wanna taste freedom, keep a goin'"
Harriet Tubman
Made possible by McDonald's Corp. and RJ Nelson Enterprises with the cooperation of the Village of Maywood and the Operation Uplift-WestTown Museum of Cultural History.
Erected 2000 by McDonald's Corp., RJ Nelson Enterprises, Village of Maywood, Operation Uplift-WestTown Museum of Cultural History.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR
this page online
Location. 41° 53.305′ N, 87° 49.989′ W. Marker is in Maywood, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Lake Street and 1st Avenue (Illinois Route 171), on the right when traveling east on Lake Street. The memorial is a few yards east of the Lake Street entrance to the McDonald's in Maywood. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11 North 1st Avenue, Maywood IL 60153, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Historic Maywood Home for Soldiers' Widows (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Benjamin R. Morin, S.J., Memorial (about 800 feet away); 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial (about 800 feet away); Maywood World War I Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Waller Gates (approx. 0.2 miles away); Frederick Allen Hampton (approx. Ό mile away); Bicentennial Bandstand (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Maywood.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Site Of Company "B" 192nd Tank Battalion
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 31, 2023
2. The Underground Railroad Memorial and the Maywood McDonald's
More about this marker. The plaque is on a stone in front of two parallel railroad ties bisected by a large shrubbery. At the east end of the ties are two broken shackles on a concrete slab, symbolizing the end of the slaves' bondage. The Des Plaines River is visible from the shackles.
Regarding Ten Mile Freedom House. During the mid-1800s, an inn at the corner of what is today Lake Street and 1st Avenue, near where Lake crosses the Des Plaines River, was known as a "ten-mile house," where people hauling goods could stop for the night. This building was razed in 1927 and much later replaced with a McDonald's.
In 1998, Operation Uplift, a Maywood organization that runs the West Town Museum of Cultural History, was researching the history of African-American settlers in Maywood when it discovered evidence that the old inn had been used as a clandestine stop on the Underground Railroad.
Also see . . . Freedom's Way Station.
Excerpt from a January 1998 article in the Chicago Tribune: "...information, including several photos, maps, old newspaper clippings and other documents from the archives of the Chicago Historical Society,(Submitted on August 31, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)Oak Park/River Forest Historical Society and Maywood Historical Society, revealed that on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue and Lake Street, along the bank of the Des Plaines River where a McDonald's restaurant now sits, there once stood a '10 Mile House.'"Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 31, 20233. Shackles and railroad ties at the Underground Railroad Memorial
Credits. This page was last revised on August 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 1,748 times since then and 172 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 31, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
