CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A portion of the city’s Southeast Side is getting some attention as the New York Times featured it as one of 52 places people should visit for a “changed world.”
The African American Heritage Water Trail is a seven mile stretch of the Far South Side that includes areas along the Little Calumet River where freedom-seeking slaves crossed to continue their trek north.
“It’s actually just south of Altgeld Gardens along the Little Calumet River at roughly, what you would call, 134th and St. Lawrence Avenue," said Tom Shepherd of the Little Calumet Underground Railroad Project.
"That’s roughly where the house, the Jan Ton farmhouse was.”
Jan Ton was a Dutch immigrant farmer who hid former slaves during their travels north.
Shepherd said that, a few months ago, the project received a $10,000 grant from the National Park Service which will be spent on signage to better inform visitors.
He also said the bridge currently over the Little Calumet River at 136th Street and Indiana was the sight of a bridge back before the Emancipation Proclamation of the Dolton brothers bridge in which people would pay to cross to the other side of the river.
Shepherd said the Dolton brothers also helped freedom-seeking slaves get across the bridge.
The Little Cal is also used by kayakers and canoers and because of efforts by conservation groups to revive wetlands in the area, is home to more bird species.
Tom Shepherd said his group plans hikes during 2022, possibly as early as April. He said that, if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, there would have been daily hikes and lectures throughout February, Black History Month.
Regarding the New York Times featuring the historic area, Shepherd said, “Obviously all excited about it, Bernie. I don’t know how many visitors it’s going to bring here but we have been getting calls from around the country.”
The Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project does not have a website, but it does have a Facebook page.
The New York Times writes:
"In the Calumet region of Southeast Chicago, interest in the area’s nearly two centuries of African American heritage is flourishing alongside a new marine trail.
Established by the urban conservation organization Openlands and community partners, the seven-mile African American Heritage Water Trail aims to tell the story of the Little Calumet River and those connected to it throughout history, like freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad who found shelter at Ton Farm, owned by Dutch immigrants.
Paddle by canoe or kayak to the trail’s other key sites, including Chicago’s Finest Marina, one of the oldest Black-owned marinas in the area, and the Major Taylor Trail Bridge, named after the African American cyclist legend.
And history isn’t the only draw for visitors: Thanks to initiatives by Audubon Great Lakes and other conservation groups, more marsh bird species are returning to this restored wetland area."
— AnneLise Sorensen
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