'Eliza' imagines life of woman enslaved, and freed, by prominent St. Louis family

For decades, no one knew that the Campbells, a prominent 19th century couple, held an enslaved woman named Eliza Rone in their St. Louis mansion. This dark secret was only recently uncovered by researchers at the Campbell House Museum.

Now, there is a short historical film that imagines a pivotal moment in Eliza’s life.

“I had passed by the Campbell House many times while driving and I just thought, ‘That place is suspended in time,’” said co-writer and co-director Delisa Richardson. “When I heard the story of Eliza, I was very intrigued.”