Scholar Series-kimberly Simmons, The Caroline Quarlls (watkins) Story February 20, 2013

(as featured in the new “Doorway to Freedom” exhibit)
The freedom seeker Caroline Quarlls (Watkins) is historically noted as the first documented Underground Railroad escape through the state of Wisconsin in 1842. Caroline was sixteen years old when she escaped from St. Louis, Missouri on July 4, 1842. Caroline escaped to Milwaukee by stagecoach after walking away from Sixth and Pine in St. Louis and buying a Mississippi River ferry ticket to Alton, Illinois. She was housed in Wisconsin for about a month and interacted with many of the founders of the city of Milwaukee. She then completed a 1000 mile journey across the Upper Midwest with the help of Lyman Goodnow, a man from what is now Waukesha, Wisconsin. She found freedom by crossing the Detroit River at Midnight (Detroit) in October 1842 to reside in Sandwich (Windsor), Ontario.
Kimberly Simmons, the third great granddaughter of Caroline Quarlls, is immersed in Underground Railroad heritage projects as President of the Detroit River Project, Chair of the Detroit Historical Society’s Black Historic Sites Committee, Vice President of the Essex County Black Historic Research Society (Ontario), and a member on the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission. Her program, “Caroline Quarlls, A Family Legacy of Freedom,” was awarded National Partner status with the U.S. National Park Service UGRR Network to Freedom in 2005.
Some events require registration. Unless otherwise noted, you may register online or call 313.833.1801.
The Film and Scholar Series are supported by the MICHIGAN COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.

Official Website: http://www.detroithistorical.org