Underground Railroad
In spite of activities by Crenshaw and others, both blacks and whites managed to help slaves escape into freedom here in Southern Illinois. Check out the Underground Railroad page for more information and links.

Earlier this month staff working for Gov. Rod Blagojevich rejected a plan that would preserve and reopen the Old Slave House at no cost to the state. Open it NOW! Friends of the Old Slave House had drafted the plan, which had been endorsed by Southern Illinois lawmakers of both parties as well as numerous local governments and organizations.

"We're disappointed. What else can we say?" said area historian and group organizer Jon Musgrave of Marion. "We could lose this site forever if something isn't done."

To prove his point, Musgrave noted that while the governor toured southernmost Illinois on Monday, a vandal tried to break into the Old Slave House, and did break one of the windows on the third floor.

"And this happened in the day time!" exclaimed Musgrave. "The state's unpaid caretaker has already had numerous problems with trespassers, particularly those coming in the middle of the night. He's had enough. When he leaves, there's no security."

Using formulas provided by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, Open it NOW! estimates more than 60 new jobs would be created in the region once the house is open and attendance reaches levels seen in the site's heydays of the 1980s. Then, between 35,000 and 40,000 visitors a year climbed the steps to see the third floor where legends said John Hart Crenshaw held kidnapped blacks before selling them south into slavery.

Since the site closed in 1996, research led by Ron Nelson of McLeansboro, Gary DeNeal of Harrisburg and Springhouse Magazine, and Musgrave has found a solid foundation for those stories, including the names of some 60 victims either kidnapped, stolen, sold, imprisoned, or directly threatened with such.

Although the governor's staff told at least one elected official that they "would like to further explore options regarding this site" and would "continue to work with local groups and legislators…" they have refused to meet with Open it NOW! or even respond directly to the organization concerning their proposal."

"We only found out about the rejection letter because someone forwarded us a copy their office had received. We know the state has no money that's why we offered a proposal that didn't ask for any," Musgrave said.

Open it NOW! had proposed that the governor move the Old Slave House from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency over to the Department of Natural Resources, merge the site with the nearby Saline County Fish and Wildlife Area, then lease the site to a private non-group that could develop the site as an educational facility, a museum.

Once opened, the site could pay for itself using admission fees for general revenue. Ticket prices cost $4 for children and $5 for adults when the site closed in 1996 after 70 years in business.

Besides the verbal and written support from local lawmakers, the county boards of Gallatin, Saline and Williamson Counties had endorsed the plan as well as the municipal governments of Equality, Ridgway and Marion. It also had the backing of the county tourism boards and the Gallatin County Historical Society.

"The ball is in the governor's court now. We can't do anything at the local level. The agency in charge can't do anything because they don't have any money and they don't want to take the initiative to do something if it is outside the scope of what they normally do," explained Musgrave.

"What that means is we're stuck in limbo. If something is going to happen it is going to have to come from the governor himself. His staff fumbled the ball on this. Illinois can still win this game but it's going to take the team captain getting off the bench and leading his team," Musgrave added.

Open it NOW!'s core philosophy is that Southern Illinois will be best served if the Old Slave House is reopened in the short-term, not years down the road as suggested by the staff's letter.

"We can't afford to wait. Something could happen to the house and we could lose it forever," added Musgrave.

Illinois has five state-owned historic sites in the counties along the Ohio River where the governor visited this week. However the state has no staff for any of them.

"There used to be six sites, but the Maud House in Cairo literally collapsed before anything could be done. The Old Slave House is much better physical condition, but the point is the same. If we wait for a better day, for some theoretical point in the future, we could lose this site completely," said Musgrave.

"It took the state four decades to buy the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown after the Southern Illinois Historical Society first suggested it in 1944. Then it took another decade before it reopened. The same letter in 1944 called for the state to take over the Bank of Illinois building in Shawneetown and they did in 1946, but nearly six decades later it is still state-owned and mothballed, unsafe for public admission."

"Please do not tell me 'additional time is necessary' as the letter suggested. That is an insult to the people of this region who have waited literally decades for the state to do what's right. We're offering a proposal that can work, that's legal, that's good public policy and could have the site opened in a month without any cost to the state right now," explained Musgrave.

The Old Slave House sits two miles east of Equality, Illinois. It is one of only two reverse Underground Railroad stations known to still exist in the United States, and is the only one of the two that appears to have been built for its illegal purpose in mind.

Its home county of Gallatin County suffers from high unemployment. One of five residents lives in families with incomes below the poverty line. One in 50 residents either died or moved away in 2002, making it the fastest shrinking county in the state in terms of population loss.

"At the very least it would take two, three or more likely five years before the site could reopen, if everything is done just like the agencies want. However that would require them getting funding next spring, which is not likely in the state's current financial crisis," said Musgrave.

"Gov. Blagojevich, we respectfully request that you reconsider your staff's position. You talk about changing the way state government operates. Here's your chance. As your bus tour's theme music suggested, we need a little more action and a little less conversation," Musgrave concluded.