When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, its progressive position on issues of human rights and its active participation in the anti-slavery movement were already well known throughout the nation. As a consequence, African Americans came to Wisconsin seeking freedom, security, education and an opportunity to earn a livelihood.
Wisconsin was home to the last stations on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves seeking freedom in Canada. The Underground Railroad had no tracks or trains but was, instead, an organized resistance movement made up of people who sheltered and helped transport escaped slaves. Fugitives were hidden in innovative ways, ranging from secret passages in homes to barrels on the street. Some fugitive slaves took the Fox and Rock Rivers from Illinois to Wisconsin and beyond. Lakes Geneva and Winnebago served as landmarks along the trail. Others traveled to freedom up the Mississippi River along the western boundary of the state. Many fugitive slaves were helped by sympathetic captains of sailing vessels that plied the waters from Lake Michigan ports on the eastern border of the state. In addition to carrying grain and manufactured goods north and east, and lumber south, these captains carried another, more precious cargo -- human beings in search of freedom.
Fugitive slaves also traveled north through Wisconsin on foot under cover of darkness aided by "friends of a friend" -- abolitionists who operated stations on the famous Underground Railroad. Not all who sought freedom moved to Canada. Some put their roots down in Wisconsin. And, not all who settled here were fugitive slaves. Some were free people of color seeking the right to live as they choose.
At Forest Home Cemetery, a number of historically significant African Americans are buried, including Civil War Veteran John Miles. Harambee House contains paintings and other works by African American artist Gerald Duane Coleman and artifacts from his extensive travels in Haiti, Africa and Brazil. The Historical Marker, located on the corner of 4th and Kilbourn, indicates the original site of St. Mark A.M.E. Church, the city's oldest African American church, founded in 1869. Among the church founders was Ezekiel Gillespie, a railroad employee and former slave.
The Milwaukee Public Museum features a special exhibit that tells the story of the Watson-Raimey family -- a pioneer African American family. A descendant of that family, Mabel Raimey, was the first African American female to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the first to be admitted to the Wisconsin Bar. The Museum also has a diorama depicting Ezekiel Gillespie's suit to secure the right to vote for African Americans in the state, an excellent collection of Native American and African artifacts, and impressive environmental exhibits of life in Africa, Asia and America.
The Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum chronicles the lives and contributions of African Americans to Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin.
Old World Wisconsin, a living history museum near Eagle, has re-created Pleasant Ridge, a 19th-century Grant County farming community that was home to free blacks, fugitive slaves and European immigrants. The exhibit represents the first effort to interpret Wisconsin's African American history within the state living history museum system.
A number of historic sites are located in Racine and Racine County. Points of interest include the Racine County Historical Museum, which has an exhibit that tells the story of Wisconsin's most famous anti-slavery incident, the rescue of Joshua Glover. A fugitive slave captured by southern agents, Glover was rescued from jail by anti-slavery forces who helped him escape to Canada.
Founded in 1857, St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 1120 Grand Ave., is among the oldest African American churches in Wisconsin. The church maintains a library about its illustrious history.
The congregation of Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church, 424 Memorial Dr., has served the Racine community since 1869.
As part of a 10-year collaboration with the Greater Racine chapter of The Links Incorporated, Racine Heritage Museum is committed to the ongoing research, documentation, identification and dissemination of information detailing the Underground Railroad movement and abolitionist politics. The exhibits, educational-outreach programming, and site identification and documentation are carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program of the National Park Service. In 2002, Racine Heritage Museum was identified as a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Facility by the National Park Service. The award-winning exhibit, "Racine Protests Slavery", is a major attraction at the museum.
www.racineheritagemuseum.org
Burlington's first frame house was owned by Dr. Dyer, a strong abolitionist, who named the path in front of his home Liberty Street.
The Kenosha County Historical Museum offers walking tours of homes that served as stations on the Underground Railroad and has extensive documents on the Underground Railroad. Several homes in Kenosha once formed a network of safe havens for fugitive slaves. They include the Deacon Joseph Qualis barn, 6036 8th Ave.; the attic in the home of Rev. Deming, 426 Park Ave.; the barn of Deacon Smith, 109 Congress St.; and the music room in the home of John Bullen, Jr., 6027 7th Ave.
Lake Ivanhoe, located five miles east of Lake Geneva on Highway 50, is Wisconsin's only African American-owned community. The streets are named for historic African American figures and educational institutions. Lake Ivanhoe was founded as a summer retreat for upper income Chicago residents who were seeking a place to live the good life away from growing racial tensions and race-related incidents. At its peak, Lake Ivanhoe included a grand Pavilion that had a dance floor, veranda that encircled the building, soda fountain, snack bar and full-service dining room.
In the historic community of Portage, Corning House, 532 W. Wisconsin St., is another interesting attraction. It was the home of Ansel Clark, a former slave forced to serve in the Confederate Army. Clark was captured by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and followed the Union Army north. He eventually settled down in Portage. Clark died in 1932, and is buried in Silver Lake Cemetery. The Turner House, 212 E. Howard St., was built by Steven Turner, a freed slave who moved to Portage in 1858. Turner is considered the first African American to vote in Columbia County. Portage is also the birth place of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and suffragette Zona Gale. Ms. Gale won the Pulitzer in 1921 for her play "Miss Lulu Bett."
Baraboo is the birthplace of the Ringling Bros. Circus and the home of the Circus World Museum. The Museum offers summer Big Top and magic shows, and tours of the world's largest circus wagon collection. It also showcases the careers of such legendary African American circus performers as Sydney Rink, Rene Bageno, Manuel Raffin and Wisconsin's own Ephraim Williams.
In Madison, a bust of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stands in the front of Madison's Municipal Building on Martin Luther King Boulevard. The Otis Redding Memorial, dedicated to Otis Redding and his musical genius, is located in the William T. Evjue Rooftop Garden of Madison's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. The legendary rock and roll star died in a plane crash into Lake Monona on December 10, 1967.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has the largest collection of African American periodicals and archival material in America. It also has numerous documents about African American life in the south from before the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement, including the records of CORE, SNCC, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the NAACP papers of Mrs. Daisy Bates. The museum is an excellent source of information about the pioneer experiences of African Americans in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's military history is on display at the Wisconsin Veteran's Museum. Included in the museum are exhibits that showcase the contributions of the state's African Americans. The State Historical Museum has four floors of permanent and changing exhibits on many aspects of Wisconsin history, from prehistoric Indian culture to contemporary social issues. Two other locations of note are Madison's two oldest African American churches, St. Paul's, 402 E. Mifflin St., and Mt. Zion, 2019 Fisher St.
The community of Janesville was also an important station on the Underground Railroad, as well as the home of the man who performed the world's first successful open heart surgery. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams moved to Janesville as a teenager and worked part-time as a barber. He attended Jefferson High School and later graduated from the Janesville Classical Academy. From there he served as an apprentice with Dr. Henry Palmer. In 1880, Williams left Janesville to attend medical school in Chicago.
Other historic sites in Janesville include the Lincoln Tallman House, 440 Jackson St. The Tallman House is considered by most historians to be an important Underground Railroad station in Wisconsin. The 20-room brick house includes hiding places in the basement and attic and a special lookout place on the roof. It is also the only remaining private residence in the state where President Abraham Lincoln stayed.
The Milton House, an 1840s era "stage coach inn," once was a stopping place for tired, hungry travelers headed for Milwaukee or Chicago. Innkeepers Joseph and Nancy Goodrich wanted to hide fugitive slaves, but feared that guests might discover and betray both them and the fugitives. They dug a tunnel connecting the Inn cellar with a back-lot cabin used for storage. Today, the Milton Historical Society has preserved the tunnel and Inn for visitors. School groups can tour the house and tunnel and hear docents share about the Goodrich family and underground railroad network in the area. Goodrich was a friend of Sojourner Truth, who frequently visited Milton to lecture at Milton College Academy. The school closed in 1982. The hexagonal house, the first of its kind in the United States, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Beloit also has a number of points of historic interest, including Edgewater Flats Apartments, 205-215 Birch St. The Edgewater Flats were built to accommodate new recruits brought to Beloit to work for Fairbanks Morse Company. Fairbanks Morse, like other manufacturers just before America's entry into World War I, needed workers. The company sent recruiters south to encourage African American workers to move north. These recruiters, two African American residents from Beloit, were so successful the city developed a housing shortage. Steelworkers' Union Hall (formerly the Carpenter Mansion), 1620 Shore Dr. is a 26-room Georgian-style home that was one of three stations on the Underground Railroad in Beloit.
In southwestern Wisconsin, a portion of Highway 16 between La Crosse and Salem is named for Nathan Smith, an escaped slave from Tennessee who arrived in La Cross, in 1864. He is the only African American in the state so honored. Smith was active in politics, and he and his wife Sarah adopted many needy children. One of Smith's proteges, George Edwin Taylor, became the first African American candidate for president of the United States in 1904, running on the Liberty Party ticket. Another pioneer, George Coleman Poage, was a scholarship student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who, in 1904, became the first African American to participate in the Olympics. He won two bronze medals.
Near Lancaster in Grant County, a commemorative plaque marks the location of Pleasant Ridge. The community was founded in 1849 by Charles Edward Shepard, the first African American resident of the county. Shepard, who purchased land for $1.50 per acre, was one of many families who sought freedom, security and educational opportunities in Wisconsin. Wisconsin shielded runaway slaves from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The school in Pleasant Ridge, which was established in 1870, is believed to be the first integrated school district in the state. In the late 1800s, the community went into decline as younger members left in search of greater social and economic opportunities in larger cities. A cemetery is all that remains of the community, but a re-creation of the village can be found at Old World Wisconsin near Eagle.
In Lancaster, the Cunningham Museum, 129 E. Maple St., features the "Green Room," which contains a pictorial history of the Green Colony, near Lancaster. Once a flourishing African American settlement. It was founded by Lester Green, a porter on a commuter train traveling each day between southern Wisconsin and Chicago. Green was so well-liked he was invited to work on a private rail car owned by a group of prominent stockbrokers. Green took the brokers’ advice in the stock market and died a millionaire.
In 1855, Walten Stewart, a free black from North Carolina living in Illinois, moved to the Cheyenne Valley in Vernon County and founded the town of Forest. Stewart moved because the climate for African Americans became more restrictive in Illinois after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Wesley Barton also moved from Illinois to Wisconsin in the summer of 1855 for the same reason. He served as Burr Corners postmaster in 1859.
The city of Eau Claire has the distinction of being the place where home run king Henry Aaron began his major league journey. A bronze statue of Henry Aaron at age 18 stands in Carson Park on Half Moon River, a gift from grateful fans and citizens of Eau Claire. Aaron made his debut in Eau Claire on June 14, 1952. The statue was the last work produced by artist Ken Campbell, who died at age 63 shortly after he delivered the clay sculpture to a Utah foundry for casting.
Wittman Field, in Oshkosh, is the busiest airport in the world during the week-long Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Fly-In and Convention. Each year the event attracts 15,000 airplanes and approximately one million people. The EAA Air Adventure Museum attracts thousands of people year-round, who come to see original planes and learn about aviation history. Among the airplanes on display is one built by Neal V. Loving, the first African American (and double amputee) to qualify as a racing pilot.
In Appleton, the Fox Cities Children's Museum offers hands-on exhibits, including the Passport to the World exhibit showcasing the contributions of African American inventors. During the winter, the Black Organization of Students holds its Kwanza Celebration on the Lawrence University campus.
Green Bay is probably most well-known for its football team. The history of that team is on display in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, located in newly renovated Lambeau Field. Legendary players such as Willie Davis, Herb Aderly and Willie Wood are enshrined in the Hall.
Take a drive through Freedom. James Andrew Jackson, an escaped slave who settled with his Stockbridge Indian wife and child on a nine-acre clearing near the Oneida Indian reservation, named this town "Freedom" as an expression of gratitude for the freedom he found there.
Chilton, the county seat of Calumet County, was originally named Stantonville after its founder, Moses Stanton, an African American. Stantonville/Chilton was also once part of the route of the Underground Railroad.