The Underground Railroad in the Alton Area with Charlotte E. Johnson

Genealogy & Local History Library Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Please note – This program registration is full. However, the presentation will be recorded and we will post the presentation on our website as soon as the recording is available. Charlotte E. Johnson is an award-winning Illinois historian who has spent more than fifty years collecting, researching, and documenting local history. She will discuss the Underground Railroad in the Alton area. Mrs. Johnson is credited as both a project advisor and memory keeper in the “Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad” exhibit. Her work has been featured at the Hayner Genealogy & Local History Library, Madison County Historical Society, Alton City Hall, Lewis & Clark Community College, in the Mythic Mississippi Project at the University of Illinois system, and in displays and research collections around the state. Mrs. Johnson, who grew up in Springfield, Illinois, taught choral music in Chicago and Minneapolis before moving to Alton. She became involved with the Black Pioneers of the Alton Museum, and later with the “20th Century African American Leaders of Alton” exhibit. These contributions led to her work with the Springfield Bicentennial Commission’s exhibit “If the Truth Be Told,” and with the National Park Service and its Underground Railroad Freedom Project. Other projects include “Let the Church Say Amen: Rocky Fork Church in Voice and Vision,” the Illinois State Library’s Illinois African American Resource Guide, and the history exhibit for the Fosterburg Sesquicentennial Celebration. In recognition of her work, Mrs. Johnson received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, which recognizes individuals for sustained and varied contributions to state and local history.