Lakeview-East End Historic Preservation Society
Learn more about the work of Lakeview descendants' efforts to preserve and celebrate our heritage.
LAKEVIEW-EAST END Historic PRESERVATION SOCIETY, INC.
About
Our History
Our History
The Lakeview-East End Historic Preservation Society, Inc. was founded in 2024, by cousins -- descendants of original Lakeview settlers (Irvin Allen) -- who believe that this former freedman's settlement during the era of slavery and a place of refuge in dangerous decades thereafter, was something special in the nation's African-American
The Lakeview-East End Historic Preservation Society, Inc. was founded in 2024, by cousins -- descendants of original Lakeview settlers (Irvin Allen) -- who believe that this former freedman's settlement during the era of slavery and a place of refuge in dangerous decades thereafter, was something special in the nation's African-American heritage. We believe this community needs to be celebrated and its history preserved for future generations to truly understand the greatness from whence they come.
Mission
The mission of Lakeview-East End Historic Society is to build and share the historical record of the founders and descendants of the Lakeview “Pond” freedmen’s settlement and East End of Carrier Mills, Illinois by documentation, preservation and display of the oral, written and physical history of the community, so that the example of love, humanity, valor and courage exhibited by these forbears helps to fill in the suppressed historical record of African Americans’ freedom struggle, achievement and contribution to the growth and development of the United States and the world.
Purpose Clause
As filed in the Articles of Incorporation with the Illinois Secretary of State on March 12, 2024, the Purpose is "to preserve the history and secure the legacy of the people, community and structures of the historic Lakeview settlement and East End of Carrier Mills, Illinois. Said corporation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purpose under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code."
The corporation filed for nonprofit status on March 25, 2024 and expects for federal designation as a nonprofit organization to be granted by early summer. Though we eagerly anticipate that designation as another step forward for our mission, the wait for such official designation does not delay the organization's volunteer activities from beginning.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: ABOUT NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Nonprofit Organizations are managed by "trustees" who are guardians of the organization's mission--but who are not its owners. They serve on a rotating basis, with terms that typically last a few years at which point new trustees are recruited and the Board refreshed.
The Original Incorporators of the nonprofit corporation -- some lifetime residents and some relatives from other parts of the country with fond memories of childhood summers spent in the love of this community and participants in the loving reverence paid our military veterans each Memorial Day -- will serve as initial "trustees" through 2024. They will soon adopt Bylaws, which are the internal rules of how the Board is organized, at which point a full Board of Trustees will be formed.
Lakeview-East End ("LEE") will begin seeking nominations for its operating Board of Trustees by the fall of 2024. As required by federal law and as affirmed by our Articles of Incorporation, all Trustees are volunteers, and no Trustee becomes an owner of the organization or its assets -- we hold these in trust for our beloved community.
INITIAL INCORPORATORS
Hilary A. Beard (Jones/Lanton)
Jonathan C. Beard (Jones/Lanton)
Leah Denise Drue (Jones/Lanton)
Richard A. Drue (Jones/Lanton)
Brendan Hope Jennings (Allen/Taborn)
Sophia L. McGrew (Allen/Taborn)
Jeffrey A. Morgan (Jones/Lanton)
Our History
Our History
Our History
The following is taken from Wikipedia: "Lakeview is an unincorporated predominantly African American community in the Carrier Mills township, Saline County, Illinois, United States. Lakeview was originally called "Pond Settlement." It was named after the Cypress swampland and wetlands that surrounds the area of Carrier Mills.[1] It is one
The following is taken from Wikipedia: "Lakeview is an unincorporated predominantly African American community in the Carrier Mills township, Saline County, Illinois, United States. Lakeview was originally called "Pond Settlement." It was named after the Cypress swampland and wetlands that surrounds the area of Carrier Mills.[1] It is one of the oldest settlements in Illinois, and holds the oldest predominantly African American cemetery in Illinois. Similar to the Maroon Communities in Louisiana, it is presumed to be the oldest community in Illinois founded by both runaway slaves and Freed men. The community is drained by the Saline River.
Lakeview was established as a Freedmen's town by a group of African-American runaway slaves and freedmen who migrated from North Carolina shortly after the War of 1812. They arrived between 1818 and 1820. This area had been ideal for the Native Americans who had lived, hunted, fished, and farmed this region. Around 1800, however, most of the Native American families there had contracted Small Pox and were all but wiped out. According to one account, only 13 Native American families remained and they welcomed the freedmen with open arms."
Next Steps
Our History
Next Steps
The Board has developed the following tentative action agenda is support of its mission. The organization encourages input and volunteer assistance through a committee structure to be formed. After reviewing the proposed activities, click here if you would like to rank the relative importance of these items, or propose other action items
The Board has developed the following tentative action agenda is support of its mission. The organization encourages input and volunteer assistance through a committee structure to be formed. After reviewing the proposed activities, click here if you would like to rank the relative importance of these items, or propose other action items consistent with the organization's purpose, or if you may be interested in volunteering to support one of more of these action items.
- Oral Histories: We seek to record oral histories recounting lives and learned experiences in our historic community. We know that another generation is slipping away to eternal reward, and we seek to ensure their lives, experiences and history are documented. We will begin taking oral testimonies around the 2024 Memorial Day celebration. Click here to schedule a time over Memorial Day weekend to tell your family stories and share them for posterity (our schedule is in 1/2 hour blocks): https://calendly.com/leehistoric/lakeview-and-east-end-oral-histories
- Documentation of Artifacts: We seek to locate the presence and potential availability for display in a museum of artifacts related to life in Lakeview and the East End, from the 1820s to the 1970s. We will be asking residents to catalogue items that may be noteworthy to history, so they are not lost and destroyed without evaluation. We would like to start this process in the summer of 2024.
- Submission for National Historic Designation: We believe there are likely three periods of "historic significance," as that term is defined by the National Parks Service for national historic district designation: 1820 - 1865 (the period during the era of slavery), 1866 - 1910 (Reconstruction), and 1911 - 1970 (Growth of the community) . We expect to define boundaries and places of historic significance and ultimately hope to submit a formal nomination for designation of those areas as a National Historic District. Such a designation can help attract additional funding for the preservation of historic structures and places and travel and tourism dollars that could flow to the local community. This process has been started. We would like to provide additional eyes on and reinvigorate this process in 2024.
- Identify Elements of a Driving Tour with Historic Markers: We would like to consider working with property owners in being able to tell our story through a driving tour with audio and historical markers telling more about each site. We believe this is likely a 3-5 year process, to include securing funding for markers. Subject to availability of other volunteer community leaders, it can begin in 2024.
- Create Branding for the Historic District and its Signage: We believe that having a community-approved brand will be important in the long-term storytelling we seek to do. Subject to availability of other volunteer community leaders, it can begin in 2024 and should likely be completed by late 2025.
- Support the stabilization, rehabilitation and improvement of historic properties: we believe that the Historic Society with its anticipated 501(c)(3) status, working in support of the trustees of historic properties, can help raise funds to support capital improvements to stabilize or improve key historic structures, such as Zion Baptist Church and Lakeview Cemetery, and Baber AME Church. We believe the funding possibilities for those individual structures are improved when they are recognized as being part of an historic district. The Historic Society has applied for nonprofit designation and must establish a track record of success with increasingly larger projects (see 1 - 5 above) to be able make a strong case for grant funding at such scales. In any case, any such efforts would and must be done with the full support and coordination of those entities' owners/trustees.
- Evaluate Creating a Museum: Historic tourism is real, and we believe our story is worthy of national recognition. We seek to evaluate the feasibility of creating a museum to display artifacts and tell the story of this community which had a unique place and moment at the heart of the pivotal story in American history: the story of race and freedom. We believe this is a likely a five-ten year effort, for which volunteer leadership would again be critical.
Again, we hope you will join this work. More hands make for lighter work, and make the story of our community most compelling.
To Join Us, please: click here