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Jacksonville African American History Museum

859 Grove St, Jacksonville, IL 62650

Historic Sites

The Jacksonville African American History Museum is located in the historical Underground Railroad site, the Asa Talcott home.

The museum features both local and national African American history from slavery to the present in a chronological timeline. Highlights include the local and national Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights movement, and notable African American inventors.

One standout story is Dr. Alonzo Kenniebrew, a pioneering Jacksonville physician who was the first African American in the U.S. to own and operate his hospital and served as personal physician to Booker T. Washington

Asa Talcott’s home in Jacksonville, built by 1833, was a brickmaker’s refuge and key Underground Railroad stop. Talcott, a Congregational Church founder and abolitionist, hid escaping slaves and hosted freedom-seekers

Open throughout the entire year by appointment only. Illinois 250

What's happening nearby...

Woodlawn Farm Open House

Woodlawn Farms •  Feb 28 @ 10AM

Woodlawn Farm Open House during Black History Month featuring the Underground Railroad. 

Read more about Woodlawn Farm Open House

Underground Railroad Spring Bus Tour

Beecher Hall •  Apr 26 @ 1PM

Join our Storyteller tour guides, outfitted in 19th century period attire, as we travel the sites of the Underground Railroad!

Read more about Underground Railroad Spring Bus Tour

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