Knox College - Underground Railroad

"Copyright 2004, Peoria Journal
Star. Reprinted with permission. No further reproduction permitted."

Private school was a stop on Underground Railroad

Galesburg - Knox College is one of 60 locations nationwide to be designated a "Freedom Station" by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
     The Cincinnati Ohio-based center, which will open in August, is developing a network of sites in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean devoted to research and education about the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movements.
     Knox College's recently retired director was at the first national conference on the Underground Railroad in 2003 in Washington, D. C. and heard about the center and its intention to establish the "station." Muelder went ahead with Knox's application and was notified a few weeks ago that it was successful.
     Knox College, founded by abolitionist George Washington Gale in 1837, has always been proud of its connection with the Underground Railroad, even if the connection is not easy to document.
     "The Underground Railroad is kind of an interesting beast academically and historically because, while there is a lot of interest in it, there is not a lot of documentation," said Peter Bailley, spokesman for Knox College.
     Bailley said that while in today's world there might even be an Underground Railroad web site, the original network was cloaked in rumor and secrecy because helping slaves escape was a crime.
     "As much as we have a tremendous historical interest in it, it's very challenging to deal with," Bailley said.
     One rare case of documentation, Muelder said, is the journal of one of Knox College's trustees, Samuel G. Wright, who wrote of meetings at Knox College, the weather and other more ordinary occurrences.
     "Every once in a while he made an entry in his journal about the Underground Railroad," Mueller said.
     While Galesburg and Knox College were founded by abolitionists from New York, there was plenty of pro-slavery sentiment in the area. In fact, slavery was right next door in Missouri.
     "You have this hotbed of abolitionism in this tiny town where Knox College is," said Muelder.
     Through Wright's influence, many people in the area changed their minds, and the Congregational Church in Stark County where Wright lived, eventually issued a resolution against slavery, Muelder said.
     The site at Knox has been officially designated as the "Galesburg Colony Underground Railroad Freedom Center at Knox College." The sites are known as freedom "stations" in part because of the way the Underground Railroad made use of the language of railroads. The abolitionists who helped slaves escape were referred to as "conductors".
     "They talked about carrying "freight" and "cargo" -- those were the slaves," Muelder said.
     The Knox College exhibits will include photos, portraits, maps and information about the local network. Muelder will continue to work with the college and the center in planning the display.
      Prototype exhibits will be displayed on campus during Railroad Days next month at Old Main, the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. The exhibit will be housed in the Old Jail after Railroad Days until it reaches its ultimate home in Alumni Hall, which is being renovated. The College will also create a website devoted to the exhibit.
     Muelder said the station may help bring an increase in tourism, helping local restaurants, hotels, and other businesses.
     "It's one of those win-win situations," said Muelder. "It's good for the college; it's good for the city."