We aim to memorialize the underground railroad as it relates to the city of Milwaukee. A piece of the underground railroad, the network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-nineteenth century and used by enslaved African-Americans to escape into free states and Canada, runs directly through the Lindsay Heights neighborhood on the north side of Milwaukee. Throughout the history of Milwaukee, a theme of mobility, defined and expressed in a myriad of ways, came to greatly inform the African-American experience in the city. In the process,this theme shaped the evolution of the city itself. As thousands arrived in neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee during the Great Migration, Milwaukee's economy, culture, and environment were influenced by these newcomers. This theme of mobility was further expressed in a civil-rights movement that came to be in the 1960s, pushing for increased access to housing and education. Neighborhoods like Lindsay Heights neighborhood were hit hard by processes such as urban disinvestment, redlining, and deindustrialization. These rich and vibrant histories came to be overlooked. Very few markers that attest to the ancestral stories exist in this community; and those that do exist are difficult to find and difficult to truly engage with. Our project seeks to change this.

The location of the plaque shown above is across from where the Samuel Brown Farm used to stand. The Samuel Brown Farm housed runaway slaves and aided in their escape. The map to the left shows the approximate place of the plaque. Our goal is to turn the area around this plaque into a memorial in order to commemorate those involved in the freeing of slaves in Milwaukee, and to educate the people of Milwaukee on their city's history.