In 2024, the Muscatine Historic Preservation Commission received a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant from the State Historic Preservation Office of Iowa through the Historic Preservation Fund of the National Park Service to complete a research project on the Underground Railroad and related history in Muscatine County. The purpose of this project was to research and document Underground Railroad activities in Muscatine and Muscatine County through the development of a historic context, as well as identify extant resources and other sites related to this historic context. Rebecca Lawin McCarley of SPARK Consulting was hired as the consultant for this project, which spanned from September 2024 to July 2025. As a result of this project, the report entitled A Survey of Underground Railroad, African American, Emancipation, and Antislavery Themes in Muscatine and Muscatine County, Iowa was developed. This report unifies the previous research and expands on the historical record of both extant resources and non-extant sites into a single comprehensive source for information on Underground Railroad activities in Muscatine and Muscatine County. This project focused on use of primary source information to document and verify connections to this history.
A historic context was developed for this report related to Underground Railroad activities in Muscatine and Muscatine County, with additional context included around this specific topic related to African American residents, emancipation, and antislavery themes. This historic context was then utilized for the identification and evaluation of resources and sites associated with the Underground Railroad for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as well as in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. Evaluation of extant resources and non-extant sites related to potential listing in both programs was designed to assist in more fully capturing and recognizing the history related to the Underground Railroad and related themes in Muscatine and Muscatine County. Through the research for this project, no extant historic resources with integrity dating to the period of Underground Railroad activities with documented connections to the Underground Railroad were identified. Thus, no properties were evaluated for their significance for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under this specific area of significance.
Through this project, several sites were identified with non-extant resources and recommended as potential future applications for listing in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom (NTF) program by the Muscatine Historic Preservation Commission, Muscatine County Historic Preservation Commission, or another organization or person. It was recommended that the information documented through this project be provided for further consultation with NTF staff to identify which locations might be the best potential applications for NTF listing. Locations associated with events, places, and people with documented connections to the Underground Railroad were identified through research for this project. Four events related to Underground Railroad activity in Muscatine County were identified, with potential sites noted in Muscatine associated with the Jim White case, potential sites noted in Goshen Township associated with the Van Pelt family, a potential site noted in Orono Township as Brockway Cemetery, and a potential site noted in West Liberty as the location of Keith’s Mill. Additionally, Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine, Oak Ridge Cemetery in West Liberty, North Prairie Cemetery in Wapsinonoc Township, and Timberlake Cemetery in Goshen Township were noted as potential sites for association with people with verifiable connections to Underground Railroad activities, including both white and black residents in Greenwood Cemetery. Additional information on these sites, associated people, and recommendations from the project are found in the report.
Through the course of this project, significant research was completed on the black residents of Muscatine and Muscatine County from the 1840s to the 1890s, with an overview provided for the legacy of this early history through the 20th century. Federal and state census records from 1850 to 1900 were researched in detail to identify all African American residents (black or mulatto per census records) in Muscatine and throughout Muscatine County in this period. Additional research was completed in city directories and in historic newspapers to identify further information on these residents. A significant African American community was identified in Muscatine in the 1850s, particularly in comparison with other towns in Iowa. This community grew with migration to Muscatine during and after the Civil War, with new residents likely attracted to this existing black community. Residents who were former slaves and arrived in Muscatine via the Underground Railroad or other migration trends were identified in this project, along with those residents who were born free and moved to Muscatine County. Thus, the report for this project also includes extensive information on the African American history of Muscatine and Muscatine County in the 19th century, particularly as it was connected to themes of emancipation. Due to the scope of this project, the properties associated with these residents were not fully identified. Preliminary research completed revealed that these residents lived in multiple locations over several years, so further research on which location might be best associated with the residents and confirmation of existing addresses/locations through property records and other research would need to be completed. A historic context related to African American residents in Muscatine and Muscatine County was recommended to be developed as part of a future project, including the 19th century information and extending in further detail into the 20th century history.
The full report entitled A Survey of Underground Railroad, African American, Emancipation, and Antislavery Themes in Muscatine and Muscatine County, Iowa can be downloaded by clicking here.
Information contributed by Rebecca Lawin McCarley, SPARK Consulting, July 2025