ADRIAN — The Adrian Diversity Event Fund recently gave the Lenawee Historical Society a $3,000 donation to sponsor the restoration of the Underground Railroad exhibit at the Lenawee Historical Museum.
The funds will be used to repair the moisture-damaged plaster ceiling and walls in the room housing the exhibit.
Restoration work will include plaster repair, drywall work, and painting.
The project is expected to take at least a year and will cost just over $60,000.
The exhibit highlights Lenawee County’s role in aiding fugitive slaves on their way to freedom in Canada where they would be out of the reach of Southern slave hunters.
Artifacts and graphic displays included in the exhibt honor the work of abolitionists Laura Haviland, Elizabeth Chandler, and Elizabeth Comstock, as well as Captain Ludlum Drake, the white officer assigned to the 114th U.S. Colored Troops.
The Society is currently looking for sponsors for the other 19 exhibit spaces.
Sponsors may be individuals, businesses, civic organizations, or groups of individuals, and will be recognized by a plaque placed prominently in the sponsored room.
Sponsorship amounts range from $700 to $7000.
Potential sponsors are invited to either stop by the museum or call (517) 265-6071 for a list of available sponsorships.