Springfield and Central Illinois African-American History

The museum celebrates the African-American history of Central Illinois. Exhibits and presentations include the presence of quasi-legal slavery in pioneer Springfield starting in 1819, the founding of the Pike County free village of New Philadelphia in 1836, and the construction of the Lincoln Colored Old Folks and Orphans Home in 1904.

The museum and its volunteers have collected more than 700 oral histories of Central Illinoisans.

The museum is backed and supported by the Springfield African American History Foundation.