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Laura Keyespresents “Lucy Pettengill, Station Operator on the Underground Railroad”
March 20, 6pm
Madden Auditorium
This program finds Lucy Pettengill, resident of Peoria, IL, in March 1857. Learn about the struggles she and her fellow abolitionists encountered, in order to assist freedom seekers on their way north.
This event is part of the Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad series in honor of the exhibit visit.
Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad
The exhibit will be available and open to the public during regular business hours on the Main Floor until April 29.
• Join us to visit the exhibit and hear from Heather Feezor with Looking for Lincoln- Opening Reception March 4, 5:30pm
There will be other programs available in March and April at the public library including:
• Laura Keyes- presents “Lucy Pettengill, Station Operator on the Underground Railroad” March 20, 6pm-Madden Auditorium
• Chris Vallillo- presents "Songs of the Illinois Freedom Road" April 5, 2pm-Madden Auditorium
• Connie Martin- presents "Pre-Civil War Quilts:The Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad" April 29, 6:30pm-Madden Auditorium
For more information about these programs, you can learn more about these events at www.illinoisugrr.org
Many Illinois communities and residents were part of the courageous effort to assist freedom seekers on the underground railroad. Many of them are featured in a new traveling exhibit unveiled today by the Looking for Lincoln and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area called Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad. The exhibit will be available and open to the public in Decatur at the Decatur Public Library from March 4 to April 29.
This exhibit tells stories of freedom seekers, conductors and communities in Illinois that were part of the journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad as never told before.
“We are so honored to share this new exhibit with the community,” said Sarah Watson, executive director of Looking for Lincoln. “Many of these Illinois Underground Railroad stories have not been shared in one place. It is so inspiring to learn more about the bravery of all these multiracial people who took so many risks to fight against slavery for the basic rights for themselves and others.”
In the exhibit, viewers will learn more about the communities from Cairo through Springfield to Quincy and Chicago, that were stops on the Underground Railroad. Other featured areas are Brooklyn/Freedom Village, Miller Grove, Rocky Fork, Galesburg, Mount Hope, Jacksonville and New Philadelphia.
The exhibit also tells stories of freedom seekers like John and Eliza Little, who traveled barefoot from Tennessee through Illinois to Canada to gain their freedom, or conductors like Henry, who sometimes worked for Abraham Lincoln, and Mary Ann King Brown who helped slaves to freedom in the Springfield, Quincy and Galena areas.
This exhibit was made possible by the dedication of Looking for Lincoln staff members as well as a project advisory committee that included dedicated historians and memory-keepers who provided research and, in some cases, personal family stories.
For more information about these programs, you can learn more about these events at www.illinoisugrr.org
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Decatur Public Library-Illinois, 120 US-51-BR, Decatur, IL 62523, United States,Decatur, Illinois
