As the young nation expanded westward, so did slavery and the need to escape it.

From the 1830s through the Civil War, more than 4,000 enslaved people are said to have escaped to Detroit and Canada by way of waterways and trails traversing the Chicago region.

Across the nation, many freedom seekers made it on their own, according to the National Park Service. But others were aided by a secret network of abolitionists and sympathizers who maintained what came to be known as the Underground Railroad.

Local Underground Railroad networks relied upon the efforts of many, including Dutch settlers who in 1848 established the First Reformed Church of South Holland.

Over a century and a half later, the church, at 15924 South Park Ave., is providing a historic setting for a Black History Celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.

The free program includes performances by the South Holland Master Chorale, as well as dance, drumming and storytelling.

It’s also intended to celebrate an effort spearheaded by the Midwest Underground Railroad Network, formerly called the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project, to obtain national recognition for points along Underground Railroad routes running from Chicago’s South Side and suburbs across northwest Indiana and Michigan to Detroit and Canada.

Those locations would form the backbone of a historic trail with the potential for recognition as a National Black Heritage Trail by the National Parks Service, said Tom Shepherd, secretary of the Midwest Underground Railroad Network.

National historic status would facilitate establishment of walking, biking and driving tours connected by historic markers, as well as promotional brochures.

Points of interest would include places in downtown Chicago’s Bronzeville, Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Roseland and Pullman neighborhoods, along with spots in northwest Indiana and Michigan.

Since the passage of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act in 1998, the National Park Service has worked with local community groups to preserve the heritage of local Underground Railroad networks across the nation.

Among those giving voice to local Underground Railroad history is Lana Lewis, a retired registered nurse and member of the South Holland Master Chorale.

Singing spirituals from the era of the freedom seekers, Lewis has incorporated her vocal talents at area schools, libraries and historical societies during historical presentations hosted by Larry McClellan, a retired Governors State University professor and author of several books about the Underground Railroad in the Midwest. McClellan also is president of the Midwest Underground Railroad Network.

“I just think doing the songs brings so much strength to the stories Larry tells,” Lewis said. “These songs convey the feelings of enslaved people — the angst they experienced. More than words alone, deep down, music touches people in a way that historical information on its own cannot.”

For the First Reformed Church celebration, Lewis and the South Holland Master Chorale will sing “Wade in the Water,” “Your Tired Child,” “Lift Every Voice,” “Storm is Passing Over” and “’Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”

Of the last song, Lewis said, “If an enslaved person heard it, they knew it was time to prepare for escape.”

In real life the “chariot” may have taken the form of a farmer’s wagon, with a rough ride beneath a load of corncobs that provided cover, according to McClellan’s book, “Onward to Chicago.”

Referring to another famous line in “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” Lewis said, “’A band of angels coming after me’ refers to conductors of the Underground Railroad.”

Among those “conductors”—abolitionists, helpers and sympathizers—was Dutch farmer Jon Ton, who helped to establish the First Reformed Church of South Holland.

A monument on the church grounds honors Ton and his wife, Aagje, for having helped freedom seekers.

Made of stone from Thornton Quarry, the marker came to the church in 2011, thanks to an eagle scout project taken on by LeRone Branch, now a South Holland-based tax consultant.

Four miles to the north of the church, the Ton farm was located on the north bank of the Little Calumet River. It no longer exists, but the property now owned by Chicago’s Finest Marina, a Black-owned business, bears a National Historic Marker.

That marker identifies the location as one of several points in Illinois that make up the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

More information about the celebration at First Reformed Church of South Holland is at www.under groundrailroadproject .org/.

Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.