The Underground Railroad: with Dr. Larry McClellan

Guest Speaker, Dr. Larry McClellan will share his research on the Underground Railroad networks in Illinois and Indiana.

In 1970, after his graduate work at the University of Chicago, Dr. McClellan helped create the Governors State University south of Chicago and served with the University for 30 years. He is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Community Studies. In the mid-70s, he was mayor of University Park (then Park Forest South). He spent four years as a senior consultant with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, and throughout his career, served as a pastor with diverse congregations. Dr. McClellan’s research and writings focus on freedom seekers and the Underground Railroad. Major publications include 25 articles in the Encyclopedia of Chicago [2005]; The Underground Railroad South of Chicago [2019], co-author of To the River: The Remarkable Journey of Caroline Quarlls, a Freedom Seeker on the Underground Railroad [2019] and Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois (which received the 2023 Memorial Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge from the Underground Railroad Free Press). In 2022, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for his contributions to Illinois history and, in 2024, they gave his book their Award for Superior Achievement. He is President of the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project and serves on the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force: illinoisundergroundrailroad.info 

Dr. McClellan will present his research in the Wabash & Erie Canal Park event room and will be available afterwards for a question/answer session.

*Sweet tea and lemonade will be served.