SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - There might be a new national park in Springfield. 

The site would display artifacts uncovered by recent construction in the area of  Madison Street and the 10th Street Rail Corridor. The National Park Service (NPS) is working through preliminary steps to see if a new park would be a possibility. 

Local activists are hoping this new park would increase local knowledge of the event. 

"You talk to many Springfield natives, and they will say I didn't know anything about it," said Carolyn Farrar, President of the Board at the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum (AAHM) "It was Mr. Lincoln's hometown. How in the world that this occur in the place that we should be, you know, cradle for emancipation here in our, in our country?"

The site would display artifacts uncovered by recent construction in the area, and tell the story of an event that changed Springfield history. 

"It's hard to talk about race relations in America still right now in 2022," said Tokey Boswell, Associate Regional Director of Facilities at NPS. "The events of 1908 were very traumatic. We're just now as a country coming to grips with what it means to come back to these sites and really tell their stories."

Farrar says the city is still divided by the same racial lines that were present in the 20th century. The AAHM has an exhibit on the race riot already, but wants to see an expansion of city-wide exhibits covering the event. 

"There has been an opening up of neighborhoods in Springfield," said Farrar. "So there has been progress, there certainly has. But there's still overtones, I will say not just from the race riot but from early interactions in race relations."

The National Park Service is holding an in-person meeting at the NAACP office in Springfield tomorrow at 6pm. If you can't attend the event, you can go to the NPS website. 

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