Owen Lovejoy

Owen Lovejoy (Jan 6, 1811 – March 25, 1864) was an important and influential person from Princeton and Bureau County. He was a minister, abolitionist, and a congressman.

Two hundred years ago, when Owen Lovejoy was born, things were very different in the United States. Slavery was a fairly accepted practice, especially in the south and it would take a Civil War (1861-1865) between the states to bring slavery to an end. Owen Lovejoy, who was born in Maine, came to Princeton in 1834 and served the Congregational Church as its minister He was very vocal in his antislavery speeches and because of his belief in anti-slavery, Lovejoy opened his house on East Peru St. (US Hwy 6) as a station along the Underground Railway. “It was widely known in Illinois that Lovejoy was “in charge” at Princeton and that the fugitives passing through Princeton from slavery to freedom were riding the “Lovejoy Line.”” (www.nps.gov/nr/ travel/underground/ill.htm). No one knows for sure how many slaves sought the Lovejoy house as a refuge along the way to freedom. By hiding slaves Lovejoy along with others put their lives in danger. Lovejoy’s own brother Elijah, was slain in Alton for his anti-slavery views. Owen Lovejoy was elected as a US Congressman in 1854 where he continued his antislavery speeches. Lovejoy died before the end of the Civil War; however he did live long enough to hear President Abraham Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Owen Lovejoy house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We encourage all visitors to stop by and take a tour of the museum. In the house take notice of the basement and of the large storage area above the stairway, where perhaps the slaves were hidden. The Lovejoy Home was restored in 1972. A dedication ceremony was held with the annual Pork Producers’ barbeque. This event has grown into a four day festival full of class reunions, craft shows, 5K Run, BBQ Rib Cook-off, concerts and a huge parade The 50th Annual Homestead Festival “Rock’n Down the Highway” will be held September 10-12, 2021.