“This is a story about our shared values, values that bind the Netherlands and the United States today,” says Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar
LANSING, Ill. (March 22, 2024) – In the mid-1800s, freedom seekers fleeing slavery in the South passed through the area near the Little Calumet River. One “station” on the Underground Railroad in this area was the Ton Farm, the home of Dutch immigrants Jan and Aagje Ton.
In 2020 the location, which is located along the river on Chicago’s southern border, was accepted by the National Park Service for inclusion in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom registry.
On Thursday, the Honorable Birgitta Tazelaar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United States, visited the site to participate in the unveiling of a new informational sign at the site.
More on local Underground Railroad connections
- Sand Ridge Nature Center’s Underground Railroad event explores local history of aiding freedom seekers (March 4, 2024)
- Proposed Freedom Trail would mark Underground Railroad sites of significance from Chicago to Detroit (September 25, 2023)
- Dedication of local Underground Railroad marker scheduled for Saturday (and old rumors of Lansing’s possible involvement with the Underground Railroad) (September 22, 2022)
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Very, very interesting, wish I was there.
Does anyone know the name of the marina when Mr. Gaines bought it?
My simple goggle research says the Ton farm.