A railroad station mural
Dublin Core
Title
A railroad station mural
Subject
The underground railroad in Macomb, IL
Description
This three-paneled mural is located in the Thomas C. Carper Amtrak train station in Macomb. Unveiled November 6, 2025, the mural is titled, "Freedom's Trail: The Underground Railroad in McDonough County." The artist Michael Mahoney created the mural. The mural centers the figures of African Americans fleeing slavery, suggesting their agency and various ways of flight (though, notwithstanding the mural's details and location, actually rarely along railroad tracks), both individually and, less often, as families. The fugitives in the mural do not depict any particular people, suggestive of the anonymous identities of most freedom-seekers - their intention and that of their conductors. The white figures in the murals are based on historic photographs of the Harmon Allison and James Blazer families, who hid and transported fugitives through McDonough County. The map shows the locations of the Allison farm in Chalmers township and the Blazer farm in Industry.
Creator
Michael Mahoney
Date
November 6, 2025
Contributor
Macomb Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Format
Still image
Identifier
WIUGRR24
Coverage
Illinois, United States
Files
Citation
Michael Mahoney, “A railroad station mural,” Traces of Western Illinois' Underground Railroad, accessed October 6, 2026, https://timroberts.org/wiugrr/items/show/24.