Hickory Hill

The lifelong friendship of Lilly and Celeste has lasted almost one hundred years. One black, one white, both born and raised on Hickory Hill in the shadows of slavery in Illinois, where slavery was illegal. Their end plan was to live out their last remaining days together after their husbands had passed. So far, it's been thirty-six years of remembering the romance of life and memories shared. Since it was built, many people have come and gone through the gates of Hickory Hill, but if they were people of color, they usually left in chains to be sold into slavery in Kentucky or traded out as payment of debts. A well-trained slave was as good as cash, sometimes better. It was a way of life that didn't die easily.

Hickory Hill tells stories of the 1840 salt plantation in Southeastern Illinois, officially named Hickory Hill when the cornerstone was first set. It is now owned by the State of Illinois but it is more commonly known as The Old Slave House.