Among 16 sites that were announced as additions to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, Friday is a building in Knoxville steeped in history.
The old Knox County Courthouse in Knoxville was the site of several legal cases stemming from the 1842 escape of Susan “Sukey” Richardson, her three children, and Hannah Morrison who were held in bondage in southern Illinois, drawing important attention to the existence of slavery in a “free” state.
The Knox County Courthouse in Knoxville hasn’t been a legal building since shortly after 1873 when the county seat moved to Galesburg
The announcement was made by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and Second Gentleman of the United States Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.
This inclusion of the old Knox Courthouse in this program is thanks to Owen Muelder, the longtime Director of the Galesburg Colony Underground Railroad Freedom Station at Knox College.
Muelder was assisted by his wife, Laurie Muelder, who is a retired teacher and president of the Galesburg Public Library Board, as well as Galesburg historian Rex Cherrington.
Muelder says this program he believes is an attempt to shine a light on and preserve the legacies of people and places that were instrumental in the Underground Railroad.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Network was established in 1998 through federal legislation signed by President Bill Clinton.
