Brooklyn’s history on Underground Railroad, town founder honored with monument
Community members and the Historical Society of Brooklyn gathered Saturday for the dedication of a monument symbolizing the town’s history as the oldest incorporated Black town in the country and honoring its founder.
The unveiling of the granite monument, which stands beside the Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, followed a visit by members of the historical society to Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis and the grave of Priscilla Baltimore, who the monument also honors.
Priscilla Baltimore, known as “Mother Baltimore,” was an abolitionist and former slave who led 11 families both free and enslaved from St. Louis to Brooklyn, which she then founded as Freedom Village.
Baltimore founded the settlement as a refuge for former and escaped slaves and the town was officially incorporated in 1873.
“This monument is dedicated to Mother Priscilla Baltimore and the 11 families that crossed the Mississippi River and our founding families,” said Historical Society President Roberta Rogers at the unveiling.
Rogers said the $7,000 granite monument took nearly a decade to fund. It is six feet deep and two feet wide. She said the historical society wanted a marker that would last long after her generation was gone. The monument also is the first step in the process for the town to be listed on the National Register of Historic places, which required a form of signage to be present.
“It’s taken us a while to acquire this signage because we wanted something to reflect the resilience and tenacity of the people of Brooklyn,” Rogers said. “Brooklyn is one of the only pre-Civil War Black towns that are still in existence and that says a lot about the resiliency of its people.”
Rogers went on to speak about Priscilla Baltimore’s legacy and her many contributions to the city and to St. Louis.
At the unveiling, Quinn Chapel Elder and Secretary George J. McShan spoke about Brooklyn’s history as a haven for Black people who were escaping slavery.
The original site of the Brooklyn A.M.E Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad. McShan said in several homes and churches of Brooklyn, runaway slaves hid until it was safe to move on.
“I’m still trying to do what I can to make it known and to let people know that it played a very important part in the establishment of this town,” McShan said.
Ronnie Steele, the historical society’s treasurer, said the monument is just the first project completed in the larger effort to preserve the history of Brooklyn. There’s more to come, he said.
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.