Meet us where freedom was harbored
The Underground Railroad Memorial honors the courageous men and women of Maywood who helped deliver enslaved people to safety through the Underground Railroad.
The memorial sits on the former site of the Ten Mile House, an inn where weary settlers hauling crops to Chicago on horse-drawn carriages would stay to rest.
Those weren't the inn's only guests, however. In the 1880s, Ten Mile House served a crucial safe house along the Underground Railroad. There, enslaved people took shelter before continuing their treacherous journey to freedom up north.
The Ten Mile House In the 1800s, it was a stop on the Underground Railway, a crucial safe house for slaves on their dangerous trek to freedom.
The historical significance of the inn was widely unknown, owing to the secrecy surrounding the Underground Railroad necessary for maintaining the safety of its passengers and those who aided them.
The inn's courageous history was uncovered several years after its demolition in 1927, following the discovering of old photographs and maps of Maywood.
To ensure its history is never again forgotten, the memorial was erected, thanks to the efforts of community leaders, volunteers from Operation Uplift INC. and the West Town Museum of Cultural History.
You can visit the Maywood Underground Railroad Memorial at any time.
There is no cost to visit the Underground Railroad Memorial that stands in Maywood.
The Maywood Underground Railroad Memorial sits on top of the site where the 10 Mile Freedom House once stood. It’s in the parking lot of the McDonald's on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue and Lake Street.
The address of the McDonald’s Restaurant is: 11 West Lake Street in Maywood.
