Bristol Churches and the Underground Railroad

Bristol Churches and the Underground Railroad. . , Before the abolition of slavery, a movement was established throughout the United States to help enslaved African Americans escape north into free states and Canada. Known as the "Underground Railroad," this network was comprised of communities, cities, and farms, a chain of secret routes and safe houses where freedom seekers could rest and eat, find warm clothing, and secure guidance or transportation to the next "station" on their journey. In Illinois, many routes led to Chicago, and hundreds of individuals, most from Missouri and Kentucky, were believed to have passed through Kendall County on their journey to freedom during the antebellum years. In the village of Bristol, early Congregational and Baptist church members arrived from the east with strong convictions against slavery and, long before their church edifices were built in 1855 and 1867, worked together as one body to assist and support freedom seekers. Eventually the two churches merged to form the Yorkville Federated Church in 1920. The original cellar of the Bristol Congregational Church was rumored to have been a hiding place for freedom seekers, and today's Chapel on the Green stands as a legacy to the early pastors and church members who risked their own safety to champion human rights and personal freedoms, including Rev. Heman Colton, Rev. Joseph Hallock, Drs. Calvin Wheeler and Townsend Seely, Francis Seely, Benjamin Alden, James McClellan Jr., Edward Ament, and many others who operated the UGRR in this community and throughout Kendall County.