Mules for Sale near Maywood, IL

About Maywood, IL

There was limited European-American settlement in the Maywood area before a railroad was built after the American Civil War, with the rise of Chicago. But at least one house in what became Maywood was used as a station on the Underground Railroad, to aid refugee African-American slaves in escaping to freedom in the North. Some settled in the free state of Illinois; others went on to Canada, seeking further distance from American slavery. The site of the former house has been nationally commemorated. The plaque is located at today's Lake Street and the Des Plaines River bridge.