1400 block of Thirteenth Street

Peter & Nancy Hudlin lived with their family at the 1400 block of Thirteenth Street, just south of the old Greyhound bus station, in a home used for the Underground Railroad. He used church “prayer meetings” as a cover to teach enslaved people to read. There he sheltered, fed and helped transport the runaway enslaved under nightfall. Working with Elijah Lovejoy, he carried them in crates to the Alton side of the river.

For many people, it is not easy to understand why Peter and Nancy would risk their lives and the lives and property of their family to help strangers they had never seen before and would never see again. They did not tell fugitives their names, address, or anything about themselves for fear the fugitives would be captured, tortured, and forced to give them up, as well as other conductors. They could not brag about it to friends or relatives lest they be discovered. They accepted nothing from the fugitives, who generally had little or nothing to pay with, and they spent their money feeding and caring for them. Their motivation was neither fame, fortune, or any other motives which drive most Americans. This was unselfish love for fellow human beings. Peter and Nancy were willing to lay down their lives for total strangers. [HudlinEntertainment.com]

Richard Hudlin Sr. (1858-1918) was a respected writer, publisher, actor, and postmaster of Clayton, Missouri. His mother, Sarah, grew up in the family that risked their lives for freedom. (Richard’s grandfather, Peter Hudlin, was the conductor on the Underground Railroad.) Peter’s brother, Joseph Hudlin, was also a conductor and became known as one of the “Angels of the Chicago Fire” for sheltering displaced families. These stories of courage and resistance shaped Richard’s deep commitment to justice and education. he became a member of the National Negro League during and after Reconstruction, and worked with Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois to resist the return of white supremacy. Meanwhile, he wrote for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, where he mailed in his articles so they wouldn’t know his race. Finally his editor insisted he come into he office to collect his paycheck since he was such a good writer and he wanted to meet him in person. There was quite shock when Richard showed up. He also wrote for a German language paper in St. Louis. Since he grew up near the Germantown part of the city, he spoke the language fluently. Richard later became the postmaster of Clayton, a very well to do neighborhood of St. Louis.

There is a book which is contemptuously entitled The Colored Aristocracy of Saint Louis and which criticizes various members of the family for secretly bankrolling the all-white Progressive Party associated with Teddy Roosevelt so that blacks could achieve by money and influence what they could not achieve by the ballot. For example, when the family moved to large home on Cook Avenue, in a white neighborhood, their door was guarded around the clock by white policemen.

Richard A. Hudlin, Jr. (1905–1976) was a pioneering African American educator, tennis coach, and civil rights advocate based in St. Louis. Richard played tennis for the University of Chicago from 1926 to 1928. He served as captain of the 1928 team, establishing himself as the first African-American to serve as captain of a tennis team at a “Big Ten” college. This accomplishment is made even more remarkable when one realizes that Richard was the only Black man on the team from 1926-1928. Hudlin’s activism extended beyond the classroom. In 1945 he filed a lawsuit against the MUNY Tennis Association of St. Louis to open public tennis facilities to all players, most particularly to players of color. He won the legal battle, thus enabling Blacks to participate in tournaments at St. Louis municipal facilities. Best known for his tenure at Sumner High School, Hudlin mentored generations of students and helped shape the careers of tennis legends Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. His coaching transformed Ashe’s game at the historic Armory courts, helping develop the serve-and-volley style that would carry Ashe to Grand Slam titles. His life’s work blended education, athletics, and social justice, using tennis as a platform to expand opportunity for Black youth in St. Louis and beyond.

Richard A. Hudlin lived long enough to witness both Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, symbols of the doors he helped open. His legacy continues through tennis courts named in his honor and the generations of students he inspired. A descendant of freedom fighters and educators, Hudlin carried forward a legacy of empowerment and access, making him a towering figure in St. Louis’s Black history. Richard lived at 1221 Laclede Station Road.