On a cool Wednesday afternoon in August, Springfield residents and local leaders gathered around a small corner in downtown Springfield to unveil a marker honoring the life and freedom of Milly Saywers.
"I had never heard the story. I was not familiar with it at all.... and I was saddened a little bit because I didn't know that history," said Charlotte Hardin."
Hardin, a longtime Springfield resident, said Sawyers' story "fills her soul."
"It continues to give me that little push to keep moving forward and to keep fighting for things that are right, explained Hardin."
Before the marker unveiling, there was a brief ceremony at the History Museum on the Square. That's where Greene County archivist Connie Yen shared the story of what happened in 2017, when she stumbled upon a piece of forgotten Springfield history.
"I was going through boxes on the shelf, different subjects - railroads, architecture, African American related. So, I was sorting through this box, and I was reading down a page — John Polk Campbell, Sydney Ingrim, Lucious Rountree, free woman of color. I had no idea there were free people of color in Greene County," said Yen.
She kept seeing the name Milly Sawyers. There were no photos of Sawyers, just yellow sheets of paper with cursive writing, detailing a series of events surrounding a Black woman fighting for freedom in the 1830s.
Following months of further research, and with help from a local journalist, Sawyers' story began to find new life. An article was published in the local Springfield newspaper in 2018. That paper landed in the hands of a high school teacher, and that teacher gave it to one of her students, Adora (Snead) Lorae.
"She brought it to me at school, and she gave me the full newspaper. I still have it to this day," said Lorae.
She would soon learn that Saywers, after two failed freedom suits in St. Louis, would win her freedom in Greene County. But less than a year later, she would suffer a serious injustice, starting at the home of one of Springfield's founders, John Polk Campbell.
"Campbell's house was the courthouse. So she sued for her freedom in his house. She won, because William Ivey, her current enslaver, had skipped town. She went back again and sued for $500 dollars in damages. She was waiting for the damages in an abolitionist's home on the square. She was hiding with another freed woman named Callie Easter," explained Lorae.
Old court records show that on a Friday night in April 1836, a mob dragged Saywers out of the home of abolitionist John Edwards. She was then brutally beaten in the street. Sawyers survived the attack, and members of the mob were charged with rioting and assault, though the verdict of these cases remains unknown. The mob included several influential Springfield leaders, including John P. Campbell, Sidney Ingram, Junius Campbell, and Lucius Rountree.
Learn more about the Milly Sawyers documents in the Greene County Archives
"She was beaten up by the city leaders. People didn't like what she did," said Dr. Lyle Foster.
Foster, a researcher with Missouri State University and chair of the African American Heritage Trail Committee, advocated to install the historic marker at Boonville Avenue and Water Street, close to where Saywers' assault took place.
"So, I think about the tenacity, the audacity, the boldness of these. It's a phenomenal story and I think it's an inspiration to freedom fighters yesterday, today, and in the future," said Dr. Foster.
Eric Claussen, who works with the city's public works department, has partnered with Foster on several of these marker instillations. He said he recognizes their significance in the community.
"I've read each one of the plaques as they've gone into it. And it is an important piece of our history that we have to understand and have to recognize. And we should do things to dedicate time and resources to those things," said Claussen.
For Springfield native Wes Pratt, stories like Sawyers' hit close to home.
"In 2010, I found out that my children are the descendants of the first Blacks in Greene County. They were slaves out of Kentucky. And so, even though there are all of these efforts to erase history, to minimize the contributions of people of color, it is critically important that we keep history alive," said Pratt.
Local NAACP President Kai Sutton said, despite Springfield's dark history, Sawyers' marker unveiling serves as a testament to what a city can become.
"It's bringing people together of all different races, behind one black woman....her story will live on for generations to come," said Sutton.
Dr. Foster said the next marker will recognize the historic Kentwood Hall — a building on Missouri State University's campus, which served a pivotal role in desegregating public accommodations.
Learn more about the Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail
Leonard Horton sits on the board of the Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail.