INVESTIGATOR
Your job is to research relevant and important information that deals with the book you are reading in Literature Circles. I have provided you with some information about slavery and the Underground Railroad in Ohio. Please answer the following questions that are listed below the paragraphs. There are helpful websites that you should visit to learn more about the Underground Railroad.
Many heroic men and women joined forces with others in a vast network that helped runaway slaves secure freedom. Three groups of people were most active in the Underground Railroad efforts in southern Ohio. They were the Presbyterians, the Quakers, and Free People of Color. These brave people risked the loss of property, money and imprisonment if caught hiding or helping fugitives. Some people were caught by Pro-Slavery forces and beaten because of their commitment to helping runaways to freedom.
Three or four Underground Railroad trails or routes were used by fugitives in Ross County. Trails began at the Ohio River and ended at Lake Erie, though for some, the trail ended in southern Ohio. Fugitives sometimes stayed in African American Settlements in southern Ohio, while others found freedom in Canada. Escapees crossed the Ohio River at Ripley, Portsmouth and Gallipolis.
1. How many Underground Railroad site were estimated to be located in Ohio. Do they all remain standing? Name two houses and the city they are located in that still remain?
As of November, 1999 the Ohio Underground Railroad Society has documented over 600 Underground Railroad sites throughout Ohio. Of these sites, over 150 have already been destroyed! The Fountain House is located in Fitchville, Ohio and the Lathrop House of Sylvania, Ohio still remain but are endangers of being torn down.
2. What are the Friends of Freedom Society?
The Friends of Freedom Society is a grassroots, all volunteer non-profit organization in Ohio.
3. What is the purpose of the Friends of Freedom Society?
Their sole purpose is to research, identify, document and preserve Underground Railroad sites throughout Ohio.
4. Name another abolitionist that helped the slaves escape from Ohio to Canada or other free places.
The Smith farm Underground Railroad Station operated the underground station called "Station No. 1" which assisted fugitive slaves from Virginia that crossed the Ohio River twelve miles to the south at Sawyer-Curtis Station in Little Hocking. Their house was located 1 mile south of Cutler in Decatur Township, Washington County, Ohio, on State Route 555, about 12 miles north of the Ohio River. James and Margaret Smith settled the property in 1834 and built a log cabin. They were abolitionists that helped the slaves from 1834 through 1860.
5. Research Underground Railroad ghost stories and write a brief summary about one story that interested you.
The McConnelsville Opera House is one of the state's most haunted theaters. The building was used a stop on the Underground Railroad, prior to the Civil War, and renovations in the early 1960's stirred us some ghostly activity. Workers reported the sound of a woman singing and piano playing. A man in a white suit appears in the auditorium, along with a white apparition who was once seen by more than forty witnesses.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohafram/index.html
http://www.seorf.ohiou.edu/~xx057/parker
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/chillicothe/ugrr.html
http://prospectplace-dresden.com/hauntings.htm
http://www.fofs-oura.org/preserve.htm#Endangered%20Underground%20Railroad%20Sites%20in%20Ohio
There is no darkness like
ignorance....
"If you have no Confidence in self
You are twice defeated in the race of life.
With confidence you have won even
Before you have started." - Marcus Garvey.