05/07/2026
Looking for something to do this weekend? We’re hosting this Jacksonville Area Museum event on Saturday at 6 pm in the sanctuary!
This Saturday! Re-enactor Kathryn Harris will be portraying Underground Railroad conductor Priscilla Baltimore on Saturday, May 9 at 6 pm, hosted at Centenary United Methodist Church, presented by the Jacksonville Area Museum.
This engaging performance by Kathryn Harris will bring Baltimore’s efforts to life, and highlight her life and struggles during this challenging time in our history.
Priscilla was the daughter of a Methodist minister and a woman he enslaved. Her father sold her when she was 10. Priscilla was later bought by a different Methodist minister in St. Louis. He allowed her to earn money as a seamstress and midwife. After seven years she bought her own freedom, and later, she bought her mother’s.
In 1829, Priscilla led eleven Black families across the Mississippi River. They settled in Illinois and founded “Freedom Village” in the woods, which became an important stop on the Underground Railroad. From this base, “Mother” Baltimore set up an Underground Railroad route connecting St. Louis to Brooklyn, Alton, Rocky Fork, Jerseyville, and beyond. It’s said she helped over 300 people escape from Missouri.
Centenary UMC is located next door to the museum at 331 E State Street in Jacksonville, IL. The event is free and open to the public.
The event is presented in conjunction with a new exhibit on the Underground Railroad at the Jacksonville Area Museum. The courageous stories of freedom seekers and the multi-racial conductors who assisted them on the Underground Railroad in Illinois are featured in ‘Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad,’ which will be open to to the public through August 1, 2026.
‘Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad’ is presented in arrangement by The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, also known as Looking for Lincoln. The exhibit will be open during regular museum hours: Wed & Sat 10-4, and Sundays 1-4. The exhibit is free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged.
The museum is grateful to our neighbor, Centenary United Methodist Church, for hosting the event.
