John Crenshaw facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Crenshaw
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John Hart Crenshaw
November 19, 1797 North Carolina
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| Died | December 4, 1871 (aged 74) |
| Resting place | Hickory Hill Cemetery, Equality, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | salt maker |
| Known for | Illegal slave trader |
| Spouse(s) | Francine "Sina" Taylor |
| Children | 6 |
John Hart Crenshaw (born November 19, 1797 – died December 4, 1871) was an American landowner and salt maker from Gallatin County, Illinois. He is known for his involvement in the salt industry and for his connection to the illegal practice of forcing free Black people into slavery.
Even though Illinois was a free state, meaning slavery was not allowed there, Crenshaw rented salt-making operations in nearby Equality, Illinois from the government. This agreement allowed him to use enslaved people for the very hard work of getting and boiling salty water to make salt.
Crenshaw was widely believed to be involved in taking free Black people from free states and selling them as slaves in the Southern states. This extremely profitable activity was later called the Reverse Underground Railroad. Crenshaw faced legal challenges twice for these actions, but he was not found guilty.
Because Crenshaw kept enslaved people and illegally took free Black people, forcing them into slavery, his house became known as The Old Slave House.
The Old Slave House and Its History
In 2004, the National Park Service recognized the Crenshaw Mansion, also called "The Old Slave House." It was included in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. This acknowledged its importance in the "reverse underground railroad." It also recognized John Crenshaw's role in forcing free Black people into slavery for money.
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A photograph from the 1970s of the "Old Slave House" built by John Hart Crenshaw.
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The Saline River in southeastern Illinois. John Crenshaw leased the Illinois Salines in Equality, Illinois. Here, enslaved people from Kentucky boiled salty water from wells and the river to make usable salt for sale.
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This 1834 image shows the illegal act of taking a free Black person from a non-slave state to be sold into slavery. John Crenshaw was known to be involved in such activities.
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James Ford, a ferry operator across the Ohio River in western Kentucky, knew John Hart Crenshaw. It is thought that Ford's group may have helped illegally transport kidnapped free Black people from Illinois to the South to be sold into slavery.
See also
In Spanish: John Crenshaw para niños
