The Old Slave House

Known as Hickory Hill Mansion, the Old Slave House was built in 1834 on top of Hickory Hill overlooking the Saline River near the town of Equality in southeastern Illinois. Hickory Hill Mansion was not only designed to be the dream home of John Crenshaw, his wife, Sinia Taylor and their five children; it was also built to house an illegal slave trade and establish a breeding program. The outside of the mansion was designed in a pseudo-Greek revival style, having both upper and lower verandas, all which were supported by massive columns spreading the width of the mansion. The first two floors had six rooms each, where the Crenshaw family enjoyed a life of privilege and were looked upon as model citizens of their community. The attic, just above the family's living quarters, had thickened walls and consisted of 12 tiny rooms not much bigger than horse stalls and a hallway with two whipping posts. Although Illinois was constitutionally a free state, slaves worked on Crenshaw's 30,000 acres, his own private empire. There had been a labor shortage at about the time Illinois became a state, so the state constitution had a provision to allow slaves on the saline land it leased. Crenshaw leased slaves from Kentucky. In 1830, he leased 746 slaves. John Hart Crenshaw got his start in running a salt refinery, begun by his father, who died when John was in his teens. By 1834 he had made a small fortune. Because he now had money to invest, John was able to lease several salt springs from the government and also applied to be authorized to lease slaves from their owners, as it was an old established legal practice in Illinois. Back In 1817, because it was getting harder and harder to hire laborers, Illinois, a slave-free state, had given employers permission to lease slaves from their owners in slave territory and bring them to Illinois to work in businesses (such as salt mining) suffering from labor shortages. But why spend money leasing slaves when you could kidnap freed blacks in Illinois and other states? Why not breed your own slaves and sell them on the southern market? With ideas in mind, John Crenshaw had a carriageway built that entered directly into his new mansion. By 1838, when the house was finished, carriages full of slaves and kidnap victims could be driven right into the mansion and secretly hustled up the back stairway to the infamous attic; a place of imprisonment, suffering, rape, birth and death. It is said that at least 300 babies were produced from the efforts of one sire slave alone. Pregnant slaves or a slave woman with a child brought a high price in the slave states. Crenshaw found the Saline River to be a very convenient way to transport his cargo to and from the slave states interested in his business. Slaves were shackled to the floor of their stall-like rooms. Ventilation was poor and there was little light. They had to endure many indignities, torture, bad treatment, and a doomed existence. At one time some of the male slaves rose up against their master and hacked one of his legs off. Later pictures of Crenshaw with his wife show him with a crutch across his lap. In 1842 Crenshaw was arrested and accused of selling into slavery a family of freed blacks who owed him services. Because of his financial and political standing in the community he was found not guilty. His mill was burned, though, as public sentiment turned against him. No one found out what had gone on in the attic until after Crenshaw and his wife died.