A crowd gathered Sunday afternoon to dedicate a granite and bronze marker that tells the story of Ruth Cox Adams.

According to a news release promoting the event, Adams escaped from a plantation in Virginia to become a key figure in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States.

Ruth Cox Adams is remembered as a friend of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass. She is also important as a representative of the African Americans who came west to homestead in Nebraska. Her descendants became leading members of the Lincoln African-American community.

Ruth Cox Adams is one of the most significant historic figures who are buried at Wyuka Cemetery, but her grave was unmarked for the century since her death. The memorial was erected through the efforts of community members and her descendants.