Hello, A number of people have contacted me over the last few months wondering about the status of the Old Slave House, one of only two "reverse" Underground Railroad stations left in the country. Originally known as Hickory Hill plantation, this three-story mansion near Equality, Illinois had been opened 70 years as a museum. The current owner retired in 1996 and closed it. He is interested in selling it to the state, but the state hasn't shown much interest. The first request for state acquisition of the site occurred by the Southern Illinois Historical Society in 1944 when they drew up a list of post-war projects that needed to be completed. The state responded that they didn't have the money. Later responses added that they didn't believe the history or as one state consultant put it, it didn't have the "dignity" to be a state historic site. As I wrote the governor's office last week, "what's dignity have to do with it." Auschwitz and Andersonville don't have dignity. They are monuments to humanity's lack of respect for others' human dignity. For decades local residents talked about how Crenshaw kidnapped free blacks and runaway slaves and sold them into slavery. Missing court records and the lack of names hindered any serious research. That changed when the owner closed the site. With his assistance, myself and two other researchers began uncovering every stone, tracking down every possible lead. While we couldn't prove every story about the house, we can say this. The legends fit the facts. John Crenshaw did kidnapped free blacks and indentured servants. We now have names and we now have dates. For the first time, the state now has the facts and they also have the money, thanks to the good economy. The local state representative, David Phelps, has requested that the state acquire the site in his list of local projects he would like to see funded. It's now up to Gov. Jim Edgar. This is the week the decision will be made. If you support the state acquring the this extremely important site which details slavery in the Land of Lincoln, please contact the governor's office or the office of the Speaker of the House. Their email addresses and telephone numbers are listed below. The package we are requesting for the site is this: A $2 million line item in the Dept. of Natural Resources budget to... ....Expand Saline County Fish and Wildlife Area through the acquisition of lands and structures associated with the historic Gallatin Salines. This would cover not only the Old Slave House and large collection of antiques on display at the house, but also the following: 1) Surrounding lands atop Hickory Hill (the existing lot is just 2.7 acres) 2) Half Moon Lick (where the saltworks were first established), and 3) The old RR right-of-way linking the sites (built by Crenshaw in 1840) Saline Co. F&WA is already a part of the Illinois state park system and has a support staff on the site. The boundaries currently abut on the west the property parcel that includes Half Moon Lick. The RR ROW runs on the north side of that property and the Saline River and passes along the south side of Equality and Hickory Hill (it runs parallel with the entrance road leading up to the Old Slave House). The important email addresses and telephone numbers are as follows: Gov. Jim Edgar Speaker Michael Madigan governor@state.il.us mmadigan@housedem.state.il.us (217) 782-6830 (217) 782-5350 Phelps' email is dphelps@housedem.state.il.us For more information about the Old Slave House check out the Southern Illinois History Page at http://www.midamer.net/users/jonm Thanks for your interest, Jon Musgrave P.S. Please feel free to forward this message to any person or lists you may think appropriate. jonm@midamer.net Check out Jon's Southern Illinois History Page at http://www.midamer.net/users/jonm