![undergroundrailroad[1]193616](https://chhpac.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/undergroundrailroad1193616.jpg)
Born and raised in Chicago Heights, I wanted to share a little, since black history
month is here. As a child I was able to visit Canada to see places and trails on the Underground Railroad.
My parents, both being African American, wanted me to see what African Americans had to
experience to achieve freedom. Recently, I have learned that the Underground Railroad was also
here in Chicago Heights.
The “Underground Railroad” became a major force leading to the
elimination of slavery. Runaway slaves called passengers, usually traveled to their
destinations by night either alone or in small groups. Whenever possible black and
white abolitionists provided food and shelter at stopping places known as “stations”
or served as “conductors” providing transportation between stations. The Underground Railroad remained active until the end of the Civil war as black bondsmen continued to use the system to flee the horrors of slavery.
The Bacheldor and McCoy homes in Thorn Grove, later Chicago Heights, were stops on the Underground
Railroad. When I found this information out, I became admirable of Chicago Heights. How brave my ancestors were to
travel North, knowing that they might have had to travel this way for freedom. It makes me realize how much America as changed since that time. I agree American still needs more growth change. But what I can say, I am glad to be an American. Land of the free and home of the brave.
Belinda James
Belinda James is a member of the Chicago Heights Historic Preservation Advisory Committee
A few notes: Sauk Trail is one of the early, highly traveled Native American trails used heavily between 1849 and 1853 by those traveling West for gold, to Iowa for land, or to Kansas or Canada to escape slavery. The Bacheldor farm was located at the intersection of what is now Sauk Trail and Western Avenues, the McCoy’s about a mile east near Thorn Creek. These families hid slaves from Missouri between Joliet and Dyer on their way to Canada. – Chicago Heights; At the Crossroads of the Nation by Dominic Candeloro & Barbara Paul
February 9, 2013
chhpac
Chicago Heights Historic Preservation Advisory Committee 
3 responses to “Guest Columnist Reflects on Black History Month”
Lawrence Varkalis
January 26th, 2014 at 13:30
Interesting is the fact that I found the plot where John Morrison is buried in Bloom Presbyterian Cemetery (there is no longer a grave marker).
He was an abolitionist against slavery in the United States of America.
Son of I and Mary (Wilson) Morrison. Born in Chester county South Carolina. Educated in Theology at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. Married to Martha McEldowney. They had eight children, Helen, Mary, John L, Emma, Lotty, Gilbert Y, Harriet.
Arriving from Kentucky he became the first pastor of Thorn Grove Presbyterian Church (now First Presbyterian Church of Chicago Heights)on May 3rd 1845.
He resigned his charge in the church after 22 years to devote himself to working with the newly emancipated freedmen in America. Feeling, as he expressed it, “that the education of that people was the work to which God now calls the Church and the nation.”
He died in Lake Forest, Illinois due to exposure he suffered while traveling in Iowa.
According to the Presbyterian Historical Almanac he was said to have longed for the reuniting of the divided family of Christ.
He was quoted in a dying confession of faith as saying; “I am a great sinner, but I cannot doubt the promises”.
chhpac
January 26th, 2014 at 14:29
Thank you so much for your comment! Wonderful information to have for this post. It is interesting about the grave marker….we’ll have to check into that. Thank you
Lawrence Varkalis
January 26th, 2014 at 15:26
For more information about the cemetery you may want to check out our page for Bloom Presbyterian Cemetery. Midwest Cemetery Preservation completed a Fall / Winter project of compiling a database of all interments through January 2014.
This also includes the plot maps we digitized. After we finished we donated the paper copies to the Chicago Heights Public Library. c/o Jaime Paisely
We photographed every stone in the cemetery (over 600 photos) and we have them filed by plot number. This also enabled us to identify stones that were no longer readable.
Please feel free to share this information on your main page.
http://midwestcemetery.weebly.com/bloom-presbyterian-cemetery.html
I wish we could have known Barbara Paul. We came across her name so many times during our research of the early pioneers of Bloom / Thorn Grove. She could have directed us to so much we needed a lot faster than we did. R.I.P. Barbara