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ABOUT JAAHM
The Jacksonville African American History Museum is an archived collection of local African American history, stories, and cultural landmarks connected to notable residents, events, and historic sites in and around Jacksonville, Illinois.
Founded in 2022 by Jacksonville locals Ruth Linear and Art Wilson, the museum serves as both a physical and educational space housed within the historic Asa Talcott Home. What began as a dedicated effort to preserve community history has grown into a living archive—bringing together documents, oral histories, artifacts, and research that highlight Jacksonville’s deep and often underrepresented past.
Jacksonville has produced many prominent figures across entertainment, health and medicine, public service, and civil rights. The city also played a pivotal role in the Underground Railroad—both before and after the Civil War—serving as a hub for conductors, safe houses, and community-led resistance in support of freedom seekers.
OUR MISSION
The fabric of freedom was woven by many hands – sons and daughters sold into human bondage, abolitionists, icons and entertainers, philosophers and poets, politicians and the man on the street, dreamers and doers.
The threads that run through our stories are not just those of woe and heartache, but joy, love, and even “good trouble,” when it’s warranted. The Jacksonville African American History Museum is dedicated to gathering and preserving those stories, so we may know ourselves, share our journey with others, and claim our destiny as part of the great quilt that is our nation.
ABOUT OUR FOUNDERS
ruth linear
Ruth Linear is a Jacksonville historian, archivist, and co-founder of the Jacksonville African American History Museum. As the museum’s primary archivist, she has played a central role in researching, preserving, and organizing the materials that form the foundation of the museum’s collection.
Her work reflects a deep commitment to safeguarding the stories, voices, and lived experiences that define Jacksonville’s African American history.
arthur "Art" wilson
Art Wilson was a Jacksonville historian, community leader, and co-founder of the Jacksonville African American History Museum. His lifelong dedication to preserving local history helped uncover and document the stories of African American life in the region—particularly those connected to the Underground Railroad.
Through his work, Wilson ensured that these stories would not only be remembered, but accessible to future generations.
ABOUT THE ASA TALCOTT HOUSE
The Asa Talcott House, built in 1833, is one of Jacksonville’s most historically significant structures and now serves as the home of the Jacksonville African American History Museum.
Originally owned by Asa Talcott—an early settler and abolitionist—the house is believed to have been an active stop on the Underground Railroad. It provided shelter and aid to freedom seekers as a place of residence, resistance, and quiet defiance.
Today, the home stands as both a preserved landmark and a powerful setting for the stories held within the museum’s walls.
