Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing - St. Louis, Missouri - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
This Underground Railroad site is the first site in Missouri to be recognized as a site on the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and is only accessible via the St. Louis Riverfront Trail.

From the marker on site, "In the early morning hours of May 21, 1855 a small group of people, including three runaway slaves, crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis in an attempt to reach safety in Illinois. Accompanying them was Mary Meachum, a free woman of color and the widow of a prominent African American clergyman. Even today The activities of the Underground Railroad remain largely shrouded in mystery. this event is remarkably different because the group was apprehended and, since the slaves belonged to the prominent St. Louisan Henry Shaw, a detailed story of the escape was covered in local newspapers. Thus was preserved for posterity a rare example, with exact location, of an Underground Railroad event in Missouri -- in fact, the first documented site in our state. In late 2001, the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing was dedicated as a National Park Service historic site."

Address: Riverfront Bicycle Trail St. Louis, Missouri Web site: [Web Link] Site Details: Daylight hours Open to the public?: Public Name of organization who placed the marker: Confluence Greenway

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