Concealed in a crawl space, for lacking identification papers or just the color of their skin, Black Americans sought sanctuary on the Underground Railroad in Kendall County in what became Chapel on the Green in Yorkville.

A new historical marker, designated by the National Parks Service, stands testament to the courage and moral conviction the early Congregational and Baptist Church members in Kendall County displayed repudiating slavery and ensuring every human had the right to freedom.

Historians, political representatives, researchers and community members gathered at the chapel on Oct. 24 to commemorate the unveiling of the marker and to honor the history we are entrusted to uphold.

Six years before the first cannon fire of the Civil War, the “First Congregational Church of Bristol,” as it was then known, was built in 1855. The stain-glass dappled chapel remains the oldest church in Kendall County.

While Abolitionist hearts beat passionately amongst some in the state, Illinois was a racial powder-keg with laws targeting minorities in ways emblematic of the slaveholding Deep South.

“The most draconian Black laws in the country existed in Illinois,” Bill Furry, executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society, said during the ceremony.

“You could not be in Illinois if you did not have papers. If you could not pay the fine, you would be jailed and put to work until you could pay your fine. It was an adventure not hospitable to people coming here from slave states,” Furry said.

What’s special about such historical places as Chapel on the Green, he said, is they shine a light for those seeking answers today.

“When we talk about fugitive slaves, draconian law, we’re talking about people being arrested for the color of their skin, and we have a similar situation going on right now,” Furry said. “We’re not very far from where we were in 1855 and we need to be vigilant about what it means to be free.”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D- Naperville, called the chapel a moral beacon and said the presence of those who came before can still be felt in the room.

“From the Springfield Riot to the Great Migration, Illinois holds a complicated and dark history for Black Americans, Underwood said. “Some of the most shameful chapters of our local and national history come from years of injustice and inequality. As we reflect on the courage it took for both freedom seekers and those that opened their hearts and homes in times of danger and moral urgency, we also have to confront threats to our freedoms that we still face today.”

Underwood said the marker can illuminate our path forward.

“This dedication is not merely a marker of the past, but a living reminder that those who gather here can choose to live with that same courage, that same compassion, that same moral clarity.”

State Rep. Jed Davis, R- Yorkville, asked those in attendance to wonder what they would have done back then when their conscience and conviction were on the line when it came to the practice of slavery.

“The pastors and members of the churches refused to remain silent,” Davis said. “They not only spoke out against slavery, they acted. They opened their homes, their churches and lives to those people seeking freedom. (They) took tremendous risks. They could have chosen comfort and safety, instead, they chose conviction and sacrifice. They stood on the word of God and lived on the truth that all men are created equal.”

Kendall County’s role in The Railroad

While conducting research that led to the National Park Service designating the chapel as an official National Underground Network to Freedom site in 2023, Susan Kritzberg, president of the chapel, unearthed the abolitionist roles many early church members undertook. Her discoveries included their methods for concealing runaway slaves and how they used safe houses to evade detection.

“(The research) inadvertently opened a window into a fascinating period of history for Yorkville and the county and shed light on the genuine commitment and dedication to human rights and personal freedoms that members of the Underground Railroad demonstrated,” Krtizberg said.

Jeff Wehrli, chairman of the Kendall County Historic Preservation Commission, alluded to Kritzberg’s research.

“We celebrate the old church that with its crawl space served as a part of the great coordinated effort to help people and families escape slavery to get a better life,” Wehrli said. “In that church, parishioners were able to comfort and hide people on their way to freedom. (Our community) believed all of us were created with equal rights, regardless of our heritage.”

Holy Wheeler Brady, the great-great-granddaughter of Dr. Calvin Wheeler, the town’s first physician and one of the early congregationalists and participants in the Underground Railroad, said while she is proud of her family’s legacy, the real heroes are the ones who sought shelter and “risked everything, and we don’t even know their names.”

Kritzberg said their memories are embodied in the historical marker now erected before the chapel.

“I am proud to know this was a part of the early foundation of the community we now call home,” Kritzberg said. “I hope people throughout the area will take pride in the legacy of local history this special historical marker celebrates.”