Alton, Ill., erects marker honoring famed abolitionist

ALTON, Ill. -- A southwestern Illinois city is honoring its ties to famed abolitionist and journalist Elijah Lovejoy with a new marker.

The (Alton) Telegraph reported the newly installed, 22-by-44-inch marker commemorating Lovejoy has been unveiled in time for the observance of his death 176 years ago.

Lovejoy was the St. Louis Observer's editor whose editorials denounced slavery and supported emancipation decades before the Civil War. Abolition opponents forced Lovejoy out of St. Louis, and he settled in Alton.

While he was editor of that Mississippi River city's Alton Observer, proslavery groups three times destroyed Lovejoy's printing press.

He was slain by a proslavery mob in 1837.

Alton Mayor Brant Walker calls the marker "a wonderful testament to the history of Alton and its stance against slavery and standing up for freedom."

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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.thetelegraph.com