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Jackson County Historical Society unveils its first historical marker

The DeLand family participated in the Underground Railroad, transporting formally enslaved people to safe houses along their journey.
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The DeLand family participated in the Underground Railroad, transporting formally enslaved people to safe houses along their journey.

The Jackson County Historical Society is using a $10,000 dollar grant to put up its first set of historical markers.

The first is being unveiled Monday at “DeLand Point.”

It's located on the southwest corner of Mechanic and Franklin streets in downtown Jackson.

Maurice Imhoff is the director of the society. He says the site was once a part of the Underground Railroad.

The DeLand family who lived at the intersection helped formerly enslaved people seeking freedom. The family's patriarch, Charles DeLand was an anti-slavery writer and edited the newspaper, "The American Citizen."

“Jackson is filled with a lot of hidden history [and] stories that haven’t been told, so it’s really, really good to highlight those stories there," Imhoff said.

Other sites up for consideration for markers include an amusement park which operated during the early 20th century and a former Civil War camp.

The society plans to open up an application process in the future for citizens who want historical markers at certain places in the county.

Funding for the project comes from the Michigan Humanities and the National Endowment for Humanities.

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