Free to the public.

DG Historical Society is pleased to announce Isrel Larry Blackburn as the Founder of the Year for 2024.

Isrel Larry Blackburn was born into slavery on a plantation in Kentucky in 1818. He lived there until 1864 when he was sold to the Union Army where he was assigned to a “Colored Infantry.” He earned the rank of sergeant before his discharge in 1865.

Blackburn then moved his family north to Downers Grove.

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