Many of Kendall County’s earliest settlers were staunchly anti-slavery, and so it wasn’t surprising that the county became a major participant in the sprawling network of activists helping escaped enslaved people gain their freedom in Canada.
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Oswego’s Little White School Museum has opened “The Road to Freedom through Kendall County,” a seasonal exhibit celebrating those who helped so many safely continue on the road to freedom.
The exhibit was designed and mounted by museum intern Lucas Chase. A senior at Illinois State University from Oswego, Chase is history and anthropology major. Previously, he served as an intern at the McLean County Museum of History and will be participating in a state-funded archaeological excavation in Iowa between academic terms this year.
The exhibit recounts the Underground Railroad’s routes through Kendall County and some of the most active members who helped with it, including Dr. Townsend Seely, whose brother, John Seely, lived in Oswego. Chase also made use of the resources of Yorkville’s Chapel on the Green. The former Yorkville Congregational Church, the Chapel was declared a genuine Underground Railroad site last year by the Illinois State Historical Society due to the active participation of so many of the church’s early members in the anti-slavery group’s activities.
Regular museum hours are Thursdays, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Mondays, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The museum is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
—Little White School Museum