Looking for Freedom Seekers: A map and guide to the Underground Railroad in Illinois

Juneteenth. Black History Month. Social unrest.

The Chicago Tribune has been a source of information for 175-plus years since 1847.

Now the Tribune is hoping to document Underground Railroad sites in Illinois. We’re seeking some help from our readers to see if they know of any ancestors or descendants who traveled on the Underground Railroad.

The project will document sites like the Jan and Agje Ton Farm at 557 E. 134th Place in Chicago. The Ton Farm became part of the National Park Service Network to Freedom program, which recognizes Underground Railroad locations across the nation. And in September 2022, an Illinois State Historical Society marker was unveiled on the site.

The former farm near the Little Calumet River is now a marina, but it also carries the historical weight of being a place where Freedom Seekers — formerly enslaved people who were escaping north between the 1830s and the Civil War — found refuge.

In creating this comprehensive map of Underground Railroad sites in Illinois, we’re planning to have details of each location alongside narratives from descendants of Freedom Seekers.

If you are an Illinois resident or native with a story and/or family memorabilia, reach out to us. We welcome the sharing of your family’s story, pictures and documentation within the work. If you feel comfortable speaking about that history on video, we welcome that, too.

Submit your responses here and we’ll reach out to you. This is an ongoing project, so keep the responses coming. The map will be published in September, during International Underground Railroad Month.