This summer, Illinois and Michigan are offering hikes and newly established Underground Railroad trails.

• In Illinois, Kate Williams-McWorter of the University of Illinois reports that the Illinois State Assembly passed a bill establishing a Freedom Trails Commission and that 429 suspected or confirmed Underground Railroad sites in the state have now been identified. This puts Illinois among the top ranks of states with identified or suspected safe-houses, routes, or other places.

As Professor Williams-McWorter tells Free Press, “In 2023 the state of Illinois formed a temporary Underground Railroad Task Force. At the same time, seven local community/history activists formed a Freedom Corridor along Interstate 72, east and west of the New Philadelphia National Historic Site.

New Philadelphia was the first town platted and registered by a Black man. Founders Frank and Lucy McWorter freed 16 members of their family and created this abolitionist town on the prairie in 1836. Congress voted it into the National Park Service in 2022.

• Also in Illinois, the always-busy Midwest Underground Railroad Network offers its Freedom Trail bus tour on Saturday, July 26. The tour will be partly by bus, partly by moderate hike. Participants are reminded to dress appropriately for the weather. Leading the outing on the history of the Underground Railroad in the region are Professor Larry McClellan, foremost authority on the Underground Railroad in northern Illinois, and the Network’s Tom Shepherd.

The tour will depart from Sandridge Nature Center, 15891 Paxton Avenue, South Holland, and last from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Pre-registration for this free event is required as seating is limited.

• In Michigan, the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County is sponsoring Village of Vandalia Underground Railroad Days on the weekend of July 12-13, just around the corner.

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Chicago (South Suburban/Gary)
Hike The Freedom Trail Tour Reservations
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