Alton City Hall Exhibit Highlights Local Underground Railroad History
Freedom Seekers, abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors are the focus of a special exhibit at Alton City Hall. Learn how Illinois and the Riverbend area fit into the history visitors will encounter.
Hayner Library’s ‘Journey to Freedom’ Exhibit Explores the Underground Railroad in Alton
ALTON - The Hayner Genealogy and Local History Library invites you to an opening reception for “Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad,” a special exhibit at Alton City Hall.
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From 6–7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, community members can stop by Alton City Hall to see the new historical exhibit, chat with curators, and learn more about the Underground Railroad in Illinois and the Riverbend area. Lacy McDonald, manager of Hayner’s Genealogy and Local History Library, can’t wait to share this local history with the community.
“We’re talking about abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors and formerly enslaved Freedom Seekers who are traveling through Illinois either to stay here or to continue on their journey to other parts of the U.S. or Canada,” McDonald said.
The opening reception marks the beginning of the exhibit at City Hall. Sponsored by the Hayner Public Library District and Looking for Lincoln, this exhibit will be available at City Hall through the end of 2026. Community members are invited to come by during City Hall’s open hours to check out the display and learn more.
McDonald hopes to welcome many folks to the reception on Oct. 1, but she is also excited for a few special programs hosted by Hayner Library throughout the month of October.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Hayner Library’s Alton Square Mall branch will host historian Connie Martin for a talk titled “Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad.” From 6–7:30 p.m., Martin will share information about quilt patterns that were actually codes to guide people along the Underground Railroad.
At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, you can check out “Songs of the Illinois Freedom Road with Chris Vallillo” at the Alton Square Mall Hayner branch. Vallillo will share music and stories drawn from first-person accounts of Freedom Seekers traveling the Underground Railroad.
But McDonald is most excited for the Genealogy and Local History Library to host “The Underground Railroad in the Alton Area with Charlotte E. Johnson” at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. A renowned local historian, Johnson will give information about Alton, Rocky Fork, and other local communities that were connected to the Underground Railroad.
McDonald said Johnson is “a wealth of knowledge.” Johnson and her daughter Reneé B. Johnson were both instrumental researchers in the curation of the “Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad” exhibit.
McDonald expressed her appreciation for them both, as well as the other people and researchers who helped create the exhibit. Heather Freezor with Looking for Lincoln will also be present for the Oct. 1 opening reception at City Hall to share more about the exhibit’s curation.
The team encourages people to call 1-800-613-3163 to register for the free Hayner Public Library District programs on Oct. 7, 13 and 24. But she emphasized that anyone can stop by the opening reception at City Hall on Oct. 1. Additionally, the exhibit is open and ready for visitors through the end of the year, and McDonald hopes many people stop by Alton City Hall to experience it and learn more about American and local history.
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