"…in view from the windows of the Capitol, a sort of negro-livery stable, where droves of negroes were collected, temporarily kept, and finally taken to Southern markets …had been openly maintained for fifty years." Abraham . . . — — Map (db m129921) HM
Before the Civil War, Washington was a slave-holding city. But many of its citizens–especially free blacks and abolitionists–assisted freedom seekers at locations known as stops on the Underground Railroad.
The largest . . . — — Map (db m112455) HM
In 1848, in the largest recorded escape attempt by slaves in US history, 77 men, women, and children attempted to flee on the 65-foot schooner Pearl, but were recaptured due to opposing winds. — — Map (db m112420) HM
In April 1848, the largest slave escape attempt on record in the Unites States took place at the Southwest Waterfront. Seventy-seven men, women, and children boarded the schooner Pearl to sail to freedom, but were ultimately recaptured. The . . . — — Map (db m110136) HM
Moses Elias Levy (1782-1854), a Moroccan born Jewish merchant, came to Florida after its cession from Spain to the United States in 1821. Before his arrival, Levy acquired over 50,000 acres in East Florida. In 1822, Levy began development on . . . — — Map (db m93854) HM
Folklore linked Frenchtown to settlers who emigrated to the Lafayette Land Grant and later moved to town. Census and property records contradict this story. Researcher Julianne Hare advances two other possibilities. When the area was first platted . . . — — Map (db m229577) HM
In the early 1820's, enslaved Africans, runaways, and "Black Seminoles" seeking freedom from slave catchers and plantation masters, secretly worked their way down to CAPE FLORIDA. They met with bold captains of sloops from the British Bahamas who . . . — — Map (db m79723) HM
Great Seal of the State of Florida:"In God We Trust"
On the shore of Robinson Creek, ¼ mile east of this marker, was the site of a Spanish mission for Indians left homeless during Queen Anne's War. Since 1688, Negro slaves . . . — — Map (db m126969) HM WM
St. Augustine’s most famous garage building began its life long before the automobile age. The crack running down the east wall from top to bottom shows the original length of the structure, before it was enlarged in the 1920s for automobile and . . . — — Map (db m154602) HM
On April 13, 1862, following the Union capture of Ft. Pulaski during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. David Hunter issued General Orders No. 7 freeing those enslaved at the fort and on Cockspur Island. Hunter, an abolitionist advocating the enlistment of . . . — — Map (db m13830) HM
Enslavement
Three hundred and fifty-seven enslaved Africans—men, women, and children—spent much or all of their lives in forced labor on this land that once belonged to James McGilvery Troup. Upon his death in 1849, these enslaved . . . — — Map (db m212673) HM
James Osgood Andrew was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, on May 5, 1794, about 400 yards N.E. of this marker, the son of Rev. John Andrew and Mary Cosby Andrew. He was licensed to preach in the Ellam Methodist Episcopal Church, Broad River Circuit, . . . — — Map (db m17257) HM
Lincoln: ". . . I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so. And I have no inclination to do so."
Douglas: ". . . Mr. . . . — — Map (db m156831) HM
On an August night in 1842, Dr. Richard Eells, an active Quincy Abolitionist in the 1830-40's, was transporting a runaway slave named Charley to a safer location when his carriage was stopped near this spot by a posse searching for Charley. . . . — — Map (db m156857) HM
"I regard (Richardson) as one of the truest men that ever lived; he 'sticks to judge Douglas through thick and thin" (A. Lincoln, 1860). Douglas composed the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. William A. Richardson, another Quincyan and Douglas' . . . — — Map (db m58760) HM
Lincoln: We oppose the Dred Scott Decision, . . . because we think that it lays the foundation not merely of enlarging and spreading that evil [slavery] but that it lays the foundation of spreading that evil into the states themselves . . . . . . — — Map (db m156830) HM
On November 1, 1854 an incensed Lincoln attacked the immorality of slavery in a speech at Kendall Hall. Lincoln was awakened from a five-bear political slumber by Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act, attacking it in a series of speeches in . . . — — Map (db m149831) HM
Lincoln: ". . . reduced to its lowest element, slavery is no other than that between the man that thinks slavery is wrong and those who do not think it wrong. . . . We think it is a moral, a social, and a political wrong. . . . [Douglas] has, . . . — — Map (db m156822) HM
Douglas: "Let each state mind its own business, and let its neighbors alone - then there will be no trouble on this question. . . . If we will stand by that great principle, then Mr. Lincoln will find that this Republic can exist forever . . . — — Map (db m156824) HM
Lincoln: ". . . there is no reason in the world why the Negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence . . . . I hold that . . . in the right to eat the bread . . . which his own hand earns he is . . . — — Map (db m156821) HM
"Who shall say, I am the superior, and you are the inferior?" asked Lincoln in July 1858. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates focused on slavery. During the October 13th Quincy debate Lincoln affirmed: "...in the right to eat the bread . . . — — Map (db m58798) HM
Lincoln: "We also oppose [slavery] as an evil so far as it seeks to spread itself. We insist upon a policy that shall restrict it to its present limits. We do not suppose on doing this that we infringe upon the Constitution. . . . . . — — Map (db m156828) HM
Illinois Confederacy Indians roamed this prairie land, rich in game, which became Illinois County of Virginia. Ceded in 1784 to the United States it was successively included in the Northwest, Indiana; and in 1809, Illinois Territory. Formed in . . . — — Map (db m34169) HM
This two-story frame structure was the home of abolitionist Owen Lovejoy, who was born in Maine in 1811. Lovejoy moved into the house in 1838, when he became a Congregationalist minister. He was leader in the formation of the Republican Party in . . . — — Map (db m44351) HM
The First Congregational Church, built in 1855-56, was popularly known as the “Goose Pond” Church, because the site was once a water-filled area, home to flocks of wild geese and ducks. The church became a meeting center for numerous . . . — — Map (db m31118) HM
On September 18, 1858, Springfield attorney and former U.S. Congressman Abraham Lincoln debated U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Coles County Fairgrounds during the senatorial campaign of that year. The Charleston debate was the fourth of . . . — — Map (db m184632) HM
This was the home of Dr. Hiram Rutherford, who was involved in 1847 in a case in which Abraham Lincoln represented a slaveholder. Rutherford and Gideon Ashmore harbored a family of slaves who had sought their help. The slaves belonged to Robert . . . — — Map (db m30877) HM
Top Section
Dr. Hiram Rutherford was a key person involved in Abraham Lincoln’s famous slave case, the only instance in his career where Lincoln represented the rights of a slave owner. Robert Matson brought slaves from Kentucky to work his . . . — — Map (db m30867) HM
From 1847 until his death in 1861, Stephen Douglas was both a powerful U.S. senator and an influential Chicago resident. Douglas moved from Vermont to southern Illinois at age 20 to begin his career in law and politics, rising quickly among the . . . — — Map (db m235224) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m231844) HM
To Morris Birkbeck
Who in 1817 with George Flower founded the English settlement in Edwards County This memorial is erected by the Department of Illinois Woman's Relief Corps Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic "In respect and gratitude . . . — — Map (db m154631) HM
At the beginning of Lincoln's second term as a state representative, several southern legislatures were concerned that the Federal Government would abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. Most of the members of the Illinois Legislature . . . — — Map (db m42490) HM
An outspoken abolitionist, Lovejoy was owner and publisher of the Alton "Observer". His anti-slavery writings aroused dangerous animosity in the area. Three times his presses were destroyed by mobs, and replaced by the townspeople. The fourth time . . . — — Map (db m142763) HM
You are standing in what once was known as Hickory Grove, a tiny settlement that included three log cabins and the Red House.
The four-room Red House, built in 1827, was the first frame home in this area. In 1830, the Red House was converted . . . — — Map (db m142827) HM
This New England style farmhouse was built circa 1848, by Samuel Wilder to resemble his former New York State home. Robert and Lucy Duff purchased this property in 1868; however, historians claim they lived at this location during the Civil War . . . — — Map (db m94312) HM
Allan Pinkerton, famous detective, had his home and cooperage on this lot, 1844-1850. Here he sheltered and employed slaves escaping to freedom. After helping to capture some counterfeiters, he became deputy sheriff of Kane County in 1848. In 1850 . . . — — Map (db m55485) HM
The northern boundary of Illinois as prescribed in the Ordinance of 1787 was an East and West line from the Southern tip of Lake Michigan at approximately 41° 38', passing through this region to the Mississippi River. When Illinois applied for . . . — — Map (db m193168) HM
Site of Beecher Chapel, first brick church in Galesburg, built in 1858 and named after its first minister, Edward Beecher. Often used as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Razed 1966. — — Map (db m230127) HM
On October 7, 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas met in Galesburg for the fifth of seven joint debates. From a platform erected along the east side of Old Main on the Knox College campus, Lincoln said: "He is blowing out the moral lights . . . — — Map (db m37056) HM
[Left panel]
Lincoln and Douglas
debated here on October 7, 1858.
Their joint meeting was one of seven across Illinois as they
contested Stephen A. Douglas's seat in the Senate that summer and fall. Here in . . . — — Map (db m150565) HM
The Mother Rudd Home is the oldest building in Warren Township. It served as a stagecoach stop, inn, tavern and post office. After the organization of the township in 1850, it was the official town hall and all caucuses and elections were held here. . . . — — Map (db m55519) HM
Philanthropist - Pioneer Abolitionist - Publisher - Census of Universal Emancipation, Fore-Runner of "Western Citizen" now "Chicago Tribune". He Gave His Life and Fortune For Freedom — — Map (db m197995) HM
First Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Abraham Lincoln's first heated exchanged with Stephen A. Douglas on Aug 21, 1858 in Ottawa was received coolly by his advisors. They insisted Lincoln had treated Douglas entirely too "tenderly." . . . — — Map (db m65302) HM
In 1859, Jim Gray, a slave who escaped from Missouri, was apprehended in Illinois by slave hunters. Gray was taken to Ottawa for a hearing before Justice John Dean Caton of the Illinois Supreme Court's northern division.
On October 19, with a . . . — — Map (db m201759) HM
On August 21, 1858, the first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas took place in this park. Approximately 10,000 people gathered to hear the two candidates discuss the question of slavery in America. . . . — — Map (db m65299) HM
This tablet marks the home of
John Hossáck
It was here he directed the underground
freedom of slaves 1859
Erected by
Illini Chapter D.A.R.
1947 — — Map (db m185011) HM
On August 21, 1858, the first of the famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas was held in Washington Square. Here ten thousand heard the two candidates debate for a seat in the United States Senate.
Principally, the great . . . — — Map (db m65325) HM
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in a house that stood on this block. His parents, William A. and Polly Butler Hickok, settled in Troy Grove (then called Homer) in 1836 after living for a time at Tonica (then called Bailey's . . . — — Map (db m199848) HM
By 1856 Abraham Lincoln had realized that his former political party, the Whigs, was in ruins. The political landscape had changed to the point that Lincoln accepted an invitation to attend an Anti-Nebraska Editors Convention held at the . . . — — Map (db m56884) HM
16th, President of the United States
Born: February 12, 1809, Hodgenville, Kentucky
Assassinated: April 15, 1865, Washington D. C.
Presidential Term: March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865
College Avenue Presbyterian Church, established 1837, formerly Upper Alton Presbyterian Church, heralds Elijah Parish Lovejoy, editor and martyr to freedom, as its first pastor.
Emerson wrote, "The brave Lovejoy gave his breast to the bullets . . . — — Map (db m142158) HM
This is the third church to be built here since 1836.
The first church was made of stone and was built late in 1836 on the present site. The land and church's bell were donated by Enoch Long.
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was the first pastor . . . — — Map (db m144833) HM
Rich in heritage and haunted by history, many threads of our nation's past can be discovered here in Alton.
Located at the confluence of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers, Alton is one of America's great river towns. It was . . . — — Map (db m133286) HM
Elijah Parish Lovejoy (Nov. 9, 1802 - Nov. 7, 1837) was a newspaper editor, social reformer, and Presbyterian minister whose death at the hands of an angry mob at Alton, Illinois, made him an enduring symbol of the fight for human liberty and . . . — — Map (db m133297) HM
[South side]
Editor Alton Observer
Albion, Me.,
Nov. 8. 1802.
Alton, Ill.,
Nov. 7, 1837.
A Martyr to Liberty
"I have sworn eternal opposition to slavery,
and by the blessing of God I will never turn back." . . . — — Map (db m133298) HM
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was the first pastor of Upper Alton Presbyterian Church, now College Avenue Presbyterian Church. A minister, teacher, newspaper editor, and martyr to free speech and the abolition of slavery, he was fatally shot on Nov. 7, . . . — — Map (db m142159) HM
Considered by many to be the first casualty of the Civil War, abolitionist editor and Presbyterian minister Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy was killed defending the freedom of the press.
Editor of the St. Louis Observer, Lovejoy wrote . . . — — Map (db m133295) HM
"Lovejoy's tragic death for freedom in every sense marked his sad ending as the most important single event that ever happened in the new world." - Abraham Lincoln in a letter to his friend Rev. James Lemen, March 2, 1857
In 1832, . . . — — Map (db m144832) HM
The seventh and last debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the 1858 U.S. Senatorial Campaign was held at this site on October 15. Approximately five thousand people gathered in front of the old City Hall to hear the two . . . — — Map (db m154153) HM
The two life-like statues represent a monumental event in our nation's history—the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
For a decade, the Illinois U.S. Senate seat was held by Stephen A. Douglas, one of the most famous politicians of his time. . . . — — Map (db m133288) HM
The warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. was situated at the foot of William Street near where the flour mill is located today. Broadway was a one lane street at that time called Short Street. The building was stone, three stories on the street . . . — — Map (db m211806) HM
The stately house down the block once housed the co-author of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.
In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give and what we . . . — — Map (db m133291) HM
Site of the courthouse where, in 1824, political enemies convicted Governor Edward Coles of illegally freeing his slaves. "To preserve to a continuous line of generations that liberty obtained by the valor of our forefathers, we must make . . . — — Map (db m143182) HM
Edward Coles, the second governor of Illinois, was born into one of the wealthiest families in Virginia in 1786 and graduated from William & Mary. Although raised on a plantation, Coles was an anti-slavery advocate who persistently urged Presidents . . . — — Map (db m182845) HM
This Federal-style home was built in 1836 for Dr. John Weir (1809-1878) and his first wife, Hepzibah Damon (1810-1838). His first patients entered the house through a side entrance on the north face of the building. Weir, both a surgeon and . . . — — Map (db m187506) HM
Miles of rich farmland, scenic vistas and proximity to the river attract residents to Godfrey today, just as it did the early settlers of the 1800s. In 1817, Jacob and Sarah Lurton traveled from Louisville, Kentucky with their family and settled . . . — — Map (db m220777) HM
Macomb's historic Oakwood Cemetery is burial ground of approximately 300 Civil War soldiers.
It also is the last resting place for various conductors of McDonough County's legendary Underground railroad, most notably the area's Allison and . . . — — Map (db m181708) HM
Horace Greeley's New York Tribune reported on the Bloomington convention for its national readership: "It was most emphatically a convention of the people, where all classes, opinions and shades of belief were represented---but all inspired . . . — — Map (db m57458) HM
The Village of Maeystown, originally known as Maeysville was founded in 1852 by Jacob Maeys, a German immigrant from Bavaria. Maeys purchased 100 acres and had the land surveyed and subdivided into streets and lots with the intention of attracting . . . — — Map (db m144864) HM
Pictured in the crowd listening to Abraham Lincoln's speech is Joseph O. King, a prominent merchant who later became mayor of Jacksonville. He helped found a political group that agitated for the exclusion of slavery from the free . . . — — Map (db m57653) HM
The Chicago and Iowa trail, usually known as the C & I trail, passed through here. Travelers by stage coach, covered wagon, or on horseback between Chicago and Iowa frequently stayed overnight at Capt. Stinson's inn. This center of community life in . . . — — Map (db m131316) HM
Thomas Mather was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1795. His father, William Mather, fought in the Revolutionary War and was a direct descendant of Cotton Mather. The New England minister associated with the Salem Witch Trials. Thomas Mather . . . — — Map (db m161322) HM
In the empty lot before you once stood two small houses. The 1850 census tells us two families lived here. The Jenkins and the Blanks shared walls and a common goal: to improve the lives of African Americans. Both families became advocates for . . . — — Map (db m190190) HM
The Underground Railroad refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage. Acts of self-emancipation made runaways "fugitives" according to the laws of the time. While most began and completed their . . . — — Map (db m48450) HM
(Six panels (three on each side) that contain one line of historical information)
•Born in North Carolina around 1810, but unclear if enslaved or free. In 1846 filed his Certificate of Freedom papers with the Sangamon County Recorder of . . . — — Map (db m227803) HM
(Six panels (three on each side) that contain one line of historical information)
•Was a successful barber and entrepreneur who lived at 322 North 12th Street
•He owned a Barbershop at Ninth and Jefferson St
•Told his family to leave . . . — — Map (db m227806) HM
(Six panels (three on each side) that contain one line of historical information)
•Escaped from slavery in Missouri and settled in Springfield, IL
•Used his home as an Underground Railroad station
•Organized secret raids to free . . . — — Map (db m227797) HM
(Six panels (three on each side) that contain one line of historical information)
•Was a successful entrepreneur and shoemaker who made shoes for Abraham Lincoln
•His business sat a block east of the Lincoln and Herndon Law Office and . . . — — Map (db m227801) HM
Abraham Lincoln first publicly challenged U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas's "Nebraska Bill" during a Whig county convention August 26, 1854, in the Scott County courtroom located at this site. Because the bill allowed for the expansion of slavery, . . . — — Map (db m182043) HM
Gustavus Koerner came to Belleville from Germany in 1833. He took a law degree from the University of Heidleberg in 1832. Shortly after, he was arrested during a political demonstration. He escaped and joined a party of emigrants. In Illinois his . . . — — Map (db m140531) HM
Abandoning hope of political reform in Germany, members of the Friedrich Engelmann family, including daughter Sophie, immigrated to the Belleville area in 1833. Sophie's suitor, Gustave Koerner, accompanied them after participating in a failed . . . — — Map (db m153301) HM
A native of Connecticut, Trumbull arrived in Belleville in 1837 to practice law. He successfully challenged the last legal justification for slavery in Illinois. Before moving from town in 1848, he entered politics, serving a term in the Illinois . . . — — Map (db m153287) HM
The oldest black town in the United States, Brooklyn, Illinois, had its origins in the northern part of the present town. Despite the black code laws meant to discourage African-American settlements in Illinois, Brooklyn's oral history recounts the . . . — — Map (db m186738) HM
Founded in 1809 by Rev. James Lemen, Sr. In 1840 the 200 members made it the largest Baptist congregation in Illinois. A 40' x 60' frame building was built by the members in 1840. Rev. John Mason Peck preached at the dedication service. The church . . . — — Map (db m176309) HM
The second round in a seven-round bout between political giants Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln was held in Freeport on August 27, 1858. In what has become a legendary struggle, Lincoln and Douglas contested for a seat in the United States . . . — — Map (db m93499) HM
The two "articles" shown from the Freeport Weekly Bulletin, an openly Democratic newspaper, give some indication of the disdain in which some held Lincoln in 1858. Having opposed the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) while he was a member of . . . — — Map (db m233433) HM
President Roosevelt’s Speech The following is the text of the President's reply: Congressman Hitt, and my fellow countrymen: We meet today to commemorate one of those numerous scenes of this country in which the whole future of the . . . — — Map (db m233346) HM
The newspaper article headlined "The People for Lincoln" proclaims that Lincoln won the popular vote, defeating Douglas. However, in 1858, United States Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by popular vote. (The 17th Amendment to . . . — — Map (db m233494) HM
The issue of slavery was so heavily contested in the early days of the United States, that when the Constitution was adopted (1787), slavery was largely omitted from its lines in order to secure agreement on its ratification. Northern states . . . — — Map (db m233361) HM
In the 1850's, Stephen A. Douglas, United States Senator from Illinois, was chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Territories. After the admission of California as a state in 1850, Douglas began to work, along with others, to secure the . . . — — Map (db m233408) HM
On August 27, 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, on a platform erected near State and Douglas Streets, met in the second of their seven joint debates. Douglas answer to Lincoln’s “Freeport Question” helped him to win the senatorial race, . . . — — Map (db m233242) HM
Within this block was held the second joint debate in the sensational contest between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, August 27, 1858. ☆ ☆ ☆ ”I am not for the dissolution of the Union under . . . — — Map (db m233337) HM
Born in Vermont in 1813, Stephen Arnold Douglas (he spelled his last name with two "s" at one time), came to Illinois in 1833 after having studied law in upstate New York. A strong believer in the political ideals of Andrew Jackson, Douglas was a . . . — — Map (db m233422) HM
In an era before television, radio and the Internet, political rallies were both public entertainment and a necessary element to the exercise of democracy. The prospect of having both candidates on the same stage at the same time arguing a hotly . . . — — Map (db m233493) HM
The Civil WarAs Lincoln assumed the presidency in March 1861, states in the South began to secede from the Union. Four long years of a bloody civil war followed in which some 618,000 Americans died and an additional 375,000 were . . . — — Map (db m233497) HM
