A RESOLUTION recognizing February 21, 2026, as Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

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A RESOLUTION recognizing February 21, 2026, as Historic St. Paul A.M.E. 1
Church National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Day in the Commonwealth 2
of Kentucky. 3
WHEREAS, the National Park Service has officially designated Historic St. Paul 4
African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church as a site on the National Underground 5
Railroad Network to Freedom. Historic St. Paul A.M.E. is located at 251 North Upper 6
Street in Lexington, Kentucky; and 7
WHEREAS, built in 1826, Historic St. Paul served as an active Underground 8
Railroad station, featuring a concealed upper room and a stairwell behind the pulpit 9
where freedom seekers found refuge; and 10
WHEREAS, to help prevent freedo m seekers from being discovered by tracking 11
dogs, the church purchased the adjacent city stray pen in order to mask human scent; and 12
WHEREAS, oral tradition affirms that Lewis Garrard Clarke, Lewis Hayden, and 13
others were aided through this network of protection and faith; and 14
WHEREAS, after escaping enslavement in Madison County, Lewis Garrard Clarke 15
became an internationally recognized abolitionist, freedom seeker, lecturer, and author 16
whose firsthand accounts of slavery helped shape nineteenth century an tislavery thought 17
in both America and Europe; and 18
WHEREAS, Lewis Garrard Clarke spoke at Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church in 19
1892; and 20
WHEREAS, documented newspaper accounts have established a connection 21
between Lewis Garrard Clarke and Historic St. Paul A. M.E. Church, affirming the 22
church's role within the broader freedom network. This was a key contributing factor in 23
the National Park Service's approval of Historic St. Paul's designation; and 24
WHEREAS, the Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church served as the site of the 1897 25
funeral for Lewis Garrard Clarke. His life inspired the character George Harris in Harriet 26
Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin; and 27
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WHEREAS, at the time of his death, Lewis Garrard C larke received unprecedented 1
honors. By order of then -Governor William O'Connell Bradley, his body lay in state at 2
the Lexington City Auditorium (now the Lexington Opera House), the first tribute of its 3
kind ever accorded to an African American in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; and 4
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2026, the church will host a Community 5
Commemoration Service featuring Dr. Carver Clark Gayton, historian, descendant -6
scholar, and great -grandson of Lewis Garrard Clarke, to celebrate this prestigious 7
national designation; and 8
WHEREAS, today, Historic St. Paul A.M.E. remains one of Kentucky's few 9
surviving Underground Railroad -era sites, preserving tangible links to faith, resistance, 10
and freedom; 11
NOW, THEREFORE, 12
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 13
Kentucky: 14
Section 1. The members of the Senate hereby recognize February 21, 2026, as 15
Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom 16
Day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 17
Section 2. When the Senate adjour ns this day, it does so in honor, recognition, 18
and celebration of Historic St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church being officially 19
designated by the National Park Service as a site on the National Underground Railroad 20
Network to Freedom. 21
Section 3. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 22
Resolution to Senator Reginald Thomas for delivery. 23