Washington Underground Railroad Conductor Recognition

Beginning sometime in the late 1840s and continuing throughout the Civil War, an estimated 800 enslaved individuals passed through Tazewell County on a pathway to freedom in Canada, thanks to a secretive network of citizen volunteers, which today is nationally recognized as the Underground Railroad

Here in Illinois, while a Free State with laws that did not allow slavery within the state, strong laws against harboring runaway slaves or assisting in any way existed. The minimum fine for harboring slaves was $1000 and a minimum six months in jail. Additionally, hired bounty hunters worked within the state to capture and either return or, in most cases, resell individuals into slavery in St Louis.

In Tazewell County, the main pathway of the Underground Railroad entered at Delavan and continued through Tremont to Morton and then around Washington to Metamora.

To recognize the heroic efforts of Washington area residents who aided their escape, we will gather April 24 at the  Five Points Washington Community Center to honor Washington area residents George Kern, James Patterson Scott, and John Randolph Scott. 

The program is being held indoors and is open to the public.  A metal Freedom Train Conductor grave marker (see graphic) will later be placed at each of their graves.

Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Daniel E. Worthington
Director of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Springfield, Illinois

Peoria Heritage Ensemble Choir
will give a free performance after the program

Map & directions to Five Points Washington

Jointly sponsored by
Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society
NAACP Peoria Branch
Washington Historical Society
Tazewell County Clerk John C. Ackerman