Jacksonville Mural to Honor Ben Henderson, Underground Railroad Conductor

Ben Henderson bought his freedom in 1837. Nearly two centuries later, his story will cover the west wall of one of Jacksonville's most prominent downtown buildings.

Jacksonville Main Street announced it has secured roughly $30,000 in grants to fund its 13th downtown mural, a large-scale work planned for the exterior of the Rammelkamp Bradney law offices at 232 W. State St. The mural will trace Henderson's life as a free Black man who went on to serve as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, weaving in recognizable local landmarks connected to the region's historical escape routes.

Funding came from three sources: the Illinois Arts Council, Healing Illinois, and Dot Charitable, with additional dollars set aside for miscellaneous costs. Artist Carl Scott Lindley, who has completed several prior historical commissions for Jacksonville, was selected to paint the mural.

Judy Tighe, executive director of Jacksonville Main Street, said the design will draw directly from Henderson's story and the city's geography. "Sites well known in Jacksonville will be featured and then, obviously, parts of the Ben Henderson story," Tighe said. The artistic approach centers on a pathway motif symbolizing the Underground Railroad journey, depicting movement "from darkness into the light of freedom."

Jacksonville Main Street is targeting a public unveiling by Juneteenth, with the Fourth of July as an alternate deadline. The organization plans to coordinate the reveal with the Jacksonville Area Museum's Underground Railroad exhibit opening. Nick Little, a member of Main Street's design committee and a Jacksonville Area Museum board member, said aligning the two would create a stronger public education moment for the community and for visitors.

The placement on West State Street was deliberate. Its visibility on the downtown square positions the mural as a natural stop on guided tours, a destination for school field trips, and a backdrop for expanded Juneteenth programming. Jacksonville has long incorporated its Underground Railroad history into local heritage tourism, and this mural adds a permanent, large-scale anchor to that narrative at the city's civic center.