Alton, Ill., erects marker honoring famed abolitionist

ALTON, Ill. -- A southwestern Illinois city has unveiled a historical marker commemorating its ties to Elijah Lovejoy in time for the 176th anniversary of the death of the famed abolitionist and journalist at the hands of a pro-slavery mob.

The newly installed 22-by-44-inch marker commissioned by the local Lovejoy Memorial group commemorates an area of Alton that was significant to him during his time in the Mississippi River city, the (Alton) Telegraph reported.

Lovejoy was the St. Louis Observer's editor whose editorials denounced slavery and supported emancipation decades before the Civil War. Abolition opponents forced Lovejoy out of St. Louis, and he settled in Alton.

While he was editor of the Alton Observer, pro-slavery groups three times destroyed Lovejoy's printing press before Lovejoy was slain in 1837.

The marker, on a curved bottom, includes photos of the original church where Lovejoy preached, and the current College Avenue Presbyterian Church. The landmark, with "The Anti-Slavery Society is Born" emblazoned in brick-red lettering, also features line drawings of Lovejoy's profile and the historic, two-story Old Rock House that still stands as the place that reportedly served as a stopping point along the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to the North.

The marker also tells how the first two anti-slavery meetings in Illinois were held on consecutive days in 1837 in Alton. Less than two weeks later, an angry mob gunned down Lovejoy over his anti-slavery editorials and tossed his printing press out of a window, breaking it into pieces and throwing parts into the Mississippi.

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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.thetelegraph.com