Area was connected to Underground Railroad
We’ve all heard about the Underground Railroad in the history books – but did you know this area was a part of it?
The network of secret routes and safe houses was established in the United States during the early to middle 19th century to protect slaves and help them to freedom. The 1860 census showed 3.9 million slaves in this country which was the final count before the Civil War began.
The Underground Railroad ran north and grew steadily throughout the years.
“Most of the routes were running through Ohio and part of Indiana,” explained Livingston County Historical Society President Dale Maley, during a presentation this week.
Around here, there was a route from Weston to Pontiac and up to Ottawa, though most underground routes in Illinois were in the western half of the state.
“We were the last part of Illinois to be settled,” notes Maley.
Though it has been noted by historians, Maley was unable to document the Strawn to Odell route which had been mentioned in the past by historian Alma James Lewis. This route reportedly started at Strawn and went north through Fugate property around Fairbury.
An 1878 book mentions several Pontiac men who were abolitionists, participating in the Underground Railroad. The Emancipation Proclamation marked the end of the secret network.
Maley gave a talk on the Underground Railroad Tuesday evening in Pontiac and earlier in the day to members of the Fairbury Rotary Club.
An Underground Railroad exhibit at the Pontiac Public Library started Jan. 31 and runs through March 5 with interesting displays and videos available.
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