Lillion Batchelor founded Buffalo Quarters Historical Society in 1995. Her purpose was to increase national and international awareness of the significant role Buffalo played in the Underground Railroad movement. The Society presents annual recreations of historical events through drama and music culminating in the Niagara River Crossing into Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.
Ms. Batchelor has worked to bring about a sense of hope, pride, and recognition to Western New York by presenting historical truths, honoring unsung heroes, expanding historical research to include the significance of Buffalo in the Underground Railroad. She has brought this about through the sharing of this rich history in drama, music, and literature.
Through her research she had begun the development of the Broderick Park Project, which lies at the foot of West Ferry Street, and was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before slaves crossed the Niagara River into Canada. The continued effort to transform Broderick Park into an International Freedom Memorial Park has been taken over by several groups including Buffalo MicroParks.
Buffalo Quarters Historical Society utilizes the Niagara River to promote the history of the Underground Railroad in the Buffalo area in partnership with the Canadian government. Under Lillion Batchelor’s leadership, the organization has received accolades from United States and Canadian leaders.
Among her numerous awards, Ms. Batchelor has received the Civic Empowerment Award (2000); Outstanding Planning Project - Underground Railroad Freedom Memorial (1999); The Municipal Council of the Town of Fort Erie Award of Appreciation (1998); the William Wells Brown Award (1996); Proclamations from the State of New York (1997), City of Buffalo (1995), and City of Fort Erie, Canada (1995).
