Jackson, MI – Jackson’s anti-slavery history is being honored with a new State of Michigan Historical Marker.
The marker, titled ‘Abolitionists in Jackson,’ was unveiled during an outdoor event Friday morning in Bucky Harris Park.
In the mid-1800s, there were several commercial buildings at this location. Research from a Jackson resident shows Michigan’s first anti-slavery newspaper, the American Freeman, along with three other antislavery newspapers, were founded in these commercial buildings.
These newspapers were influential in the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War. The American Freeman is now recognized as Michigan’s first anti-slavery newspaper. Jackson has been identified as a stop on the Underground Railroad, which was a secret network dedicated to helping slaves escape to freedom.
Earlier this year, Bucky Harris Park was listed on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
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