JACKSON, Mich. — Jackson’s Amtrak station, said to be the oldest continuously operating rail passenger station in the United States, is about to receive additional historical recognition.
The news site Mlive.com reports ceremonies this Saturday, May 13, will place two sets Michigan historical markers at the building to note its role in the Underground Railroad, as well as other milestones in the building dating to 1873.
Ceremonies planned for 1 p.m. that day will begin with the unveiling of a state historical marker on the station’s north grounds, then move inside for unveiling of five wall-mounted markers commemorating events including the station’s opening and presidential visiits.
The station, built by the Michigan Central Railroad in 1872-73, played a role on the Underground Railroad route helping Black slaves from southern U.S. escape to Canada, according to Maurice Imhoff of the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society.
More information on the ceremony is available on the society’s Facebook page; more on the society itself is available at its website.
Someone needs to review their history. The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy (i.e., the southern states) in 1863, at least according to the very cynical Mr. Lincoln. The Thirteenth Amendment, I think it was, ended slavery after the Civil War in the rest of the states. Don’t remember the year it was ratified, but I believe it was before 1872-73. The point being, it would have been difficult for the station to be a stop on the Underground Railroad when the station hadn’t been built when the Underground Railroad was operating.
Lincoln deserves more credit than you give him. From https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment
“The 13th Amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War before the Southern states had been restored to the Union, and should have easily passed in Congress. However, though the Senate passed it in April 1864, the House initially did not. At that point, Lincoln took an active role to ensure passage through Congress. He insisted that passage of the 13th Amendment be added to the Republican Party platform for the upcoming 1864 Presidential election. His efforts met with success when the House passed the bill in January 1865 with a vote of 119–56.
On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures.”
Most so-called “stations” on the undergrund railroad didn’t exist before the Civil War. My county (Waukesha, Wisconsin) two supposed “stations”. Yeah, right. Before the civil war this county barely existed and, look at any map, we’re not on the way to Canada.
The Rock Island/Metra station in Blue Island, Ill., that is still in use today was built in 1868. To my knowledge, it was never been out of service, so I’d say it would be the oldest continuously operating rail passenger station in the United States.
Jackson is probably the oldest continuously operating *intercity* passenger rail/Amtrak station. The article should have made that distinction.