The Fulton (Martin House) Museum will host its monthly program, on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. This month’s program pertains to the “Underground Railroad” as it relates to the strategic role played by Clinton County, IA, and Whiteside County, IL, in the years prior to the Civil War. The location is 707 Tenth Avenue, in Fulton, IL. The north entrance is easily accessible. Refreshments will be served. The program is free and open to the public.
The presenter is Herb Shafer, retired Pastor and amateur historian.
Slavery was the most contentious political issue in America during the 1850s. For most Americans, the question of the day was not whether or not this “peculiar institution” ought to be perpetuated, but how and when it could best be brought to an end.
The Underground Railroad is the story of enslaved persons who took the question of their personal freedom into their own hands, and others who aided them in their quest to find safe haven in Canada.
Shafer’s program will illustrate how geography and human conscience converged to make Clinton and Whiteside County key players in the national network, we call the “Underground Railroad.”
