What Was The Route Of The Underground Railroad Through Bennington, Vermont? (TOP 5 Tips)

What is the history of the railroad in Vermont?

• Vermont railroads date back to 1843 when the Vermont Central Railroad was chartered to connect Windsor with Burlington, a distance of roughly 103 miles. The first segment was completed in June of 1848 connecting White River Junction with Bethel, and the entire line was opened on December 31st, 1849.

Did the Underground Railroad go through Vermont?

Funded by the Vermont Humanities Council. It is known that many slaves escaped through Vermont to Canada, but until recently there has not been much documentary evidence of who they were, how they escaped, what their routes were, or how they might have been hidden.

Where was the Underground Railroad in Vermont?

In Vermont, in the 1840s, these activities, whether premeditated and planned or ‘random acts of kindness,’ were popularized as the Underground Railroad. The best known and documented site in the state is Rokeby, the Ferrisburgh farm of the Rowland Thomas Robinson family.

What was the underground railway route?

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada.

Where were the stations on the Underground Railroad?

In the decades leading up to the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara Rivers were important terminals of the Underground Railroad. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom seekers resided in what is now Ontario, having escaped slave states like Kentucky and Virginia.

How far did the Underground Railroad go?

Because it was dangerous to be in free states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, or even Massachusetts after 1850, most people hoping to escape traveled all the way to Canada. So, you could say that the Underground Railroad went from the American south to Canada.

Was the Underground Railroad an actual railroad?

Nope! Despite its name, the Underground Railroad wasn’t a railroad in the way Amtrak or commuter rail is. It wasn’t even a real railroad. The Underground Railroad of history was simply a loose network of safe houses and top secret routes to states where slavery was banned.

How long was the Underground Railroad journey?

The journey would take him 800 miles and six weeks, on a route winding through Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, tracing the byways that fugitive slaves took to Canada and freedom.

What year did the Underground Railroad take place?

system used by abolitionists between 1800-1865 to help enslaved African Americans escape to free states.

How many episodes were there of the Underground Railroad?

Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad, won a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Now, it’s a limited series directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk). In ten episodes, The Underground Railroad chronicles Cora Randall’s journey to escape slavery.

Underground Railroad in Vermont — Vermont Historical Society

The Vermont Humanities Council provided funding for this project. All of the resources listed here were compiled in 1997. The state of Vermont was a leader in the anti-slavery campaign prior to the Civil War. It is well known that many slaves attempted to flee to Canada through Vermont, but until recently there has been little written proof of who they were, how they managed to flee, what their routes were, or how they could have managed to conceal themselves. Scholars are unearthing new documents on the Underground Railroad today, and the Vermont Historical Society is bringing these findings to classrooms through its educational programs.

• These standards-based exercises link the essays, case studies, and documents
• They are provided in the Teaching Suggestions. Documents include news clippings, letters, poems, and other primary source pieces, as well as a teaching guide for incorporating these items into the classroom. Example: A brief summary of the Robinson Family of Ferrisburg, who offered refuge to a large number of fugitives
• Case Study: Glossary: An explanation of terminology that are widely used in debates about slavery and the UGRR
• Bibliographical resources include a comprehensive list of secondary sources, children’s resources, town histories (including websites), manuscript collections, and other resources.

Yours, in the interest of the slavebooklet available for download (PDF 1.8MB) Additional resources include the following: Timeline of anti-slavery efforts (PDF 1.2 MB) “The Black Bonnet” is an activity sheet to go along with the book of the same name by Louella Bryant, in which two sisters flee slavery and travel through Vermont on their route to Canada. This page contains a discussion of differences surrounding the UGRR, as well as links to two articles that support opposing points of view. Colonialization of society: This website provides information on the colonization movement.

Free & Safe: The Underground Railroad in Vermont

The story of Simon and Jesse, two fugitives from slavery who sought refuge in Rokeby in the 1830s, are told in this beautiful show. Their tales are told in FreeSafe, which follows them from slavery to freedom, introduces them to the abolitionist Robinsons who lived in Rokeby, and delves further into the volatile decades leading up to the Civil War. Its creative mix of audio recordings and museum theater, along with historical texts, documents, and photos, brings Simon and Jesse to life in a visceral and compelling way.

These are just a handful of the overwhelmingly positive remarks given by visitors to FreeSafe during its inaugural season: “We need to understand about history like this in order to prevent anything like this from happening in today’s society.” “I believe this area is magnificent and moving,” says the speaker.

” “Thank you very much.”

FreeSafe: The Underground Railroad in VermontVirtual Tour

This exhibit commemorates the experiences of Simon and Jesse, two fugitives from slavery who sought refuge in Rokeby in the 1830s. Take a virtual tour of the show. Would you want to take a private virtual tour of your own home? To make plans, send an email.

Important Underground Railroad Resources

You may take a virtual tour of this exhibit, which tells the story of Simon and Jesse, two fugitives from slavery who sought refuge in Rokeby in the 1830s.

Want to take a virtual tour of your own home on your own schedule? To make plans, send an email to [email protected]

Could this 18th Century Farmstead Be a Former Stop on Vermont’s Underground Railroad?

Today, 230 years after the bridge’s completion, it is still more probable that you will see horses crossing under than vehicles. Not to mention that the farm is the 83rd mile marker on the Green Mountain Horse Association’s 100-mile ride, which is a nice bonus! You wouldn’t be the first person to have the impression that you’ve walked directly out of The Sound of Music when you strolled out onto the front field. A point that has always resonated with White Fox’s owner, a longtime rider who competed at the Maclay Finals as a youngster and has dreamt of transforming the land into his dream horse farm since he first saw it in his childhood.

• Yet, in addition to all of this latent equestrian potential and rural tranquillity, White Fox Farm offers something even more compelling.
• In the words of the proprietor, “This home is said to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad,” and “a brochure, a copy of which is on display in our dining room,” confirms the claim.
• “This is plausible because of the secret chamber and trap door in the front closet.” When it comes to historical evidence at White Fox Farm, like with so many other owners of old New England properties, there is very little to go on, and most of it is anecdotal in nature.
• Dr.
• Historian Ray Zirblis said on VPR’s Brave Little State that he would prefer people speak their tales rather than simply shut up.
• “Friends of Freedom,” a paper written by Zirblis in 1996, is considered to be one of the most authoritative assessments on Vermont’s Underground Railroad participation.

It will be explained more in a moment.) “Maybe—maybe—a there’s little bit of fire,” Zirblis speculates, referring to the thick cloud of smoke.

Historical fictions

There is anecdotal evidence at White Fox Farm that is backed up by tales from the property’s prior inhabitants that the farm was abandoned. And it is at this point that things become even more fascinating. An ancestor of the previous owner, Ellsworth Hinton, said that there was a secret closet where slaves were hidden, as well as a secret passage, beneath White Fox’s grounds. I was there the weekend my Uncle Ellsworth Hinton detonated the dynamite in the tunnel that led down to the home and served as part of the Underground Railway, recounts the relative.

1. But let’s take a step back for a second.
2. It remains to be seen whether or not this is correct.
3. During the mid-1800s, abolitionist-Quakers Rachel and Rowland Robinson ran a farm in the area, offering assistance and occasionally sanctuary to scores of escaped slaves on their journey north to freedom.
4. That’s not the case.
5. Even in Vermont, free blacks and their children were under risk of being abducted or re-enslaved during the 18th and early 19th centuries, to name a few of periods.

“Friends of Freedom,” a book written by historian Ray Zirblis, claims that fugitives in Vermont were “usually safe and secure while on the run.” This was especially true during the mid-nineteenth century, when the great majority of Vermonters were adamantly opposed to slavery, for reasons that were both economic and moral in nature.

Vermonters were never convicted of concealing fugitive slaves, and there is just one credible instance of slaves being recovered or returned to their owners while within the state’s boundaries, which occurred in 1850, the year after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Zirblis, on the other hand, cautions that the “Railroad,” as it would come to be known, and as most of us think of it now, was not the well-organized, stop-by-stop highway to freedom that it is sometimes depicted as being.

” “People, families, and small groups of friends took in runaways and passed them around to others who would do the same for them.” “Fugitives moved across Vermont on their own schedules and agendas,” says the author.

Friends of Freedom

Zirblis’s “Friends of Freedom” sought attempted to calculate the number of real Underground Railroad stations functioning inside the state of Vermont, relying on first-person written reports as well as oral histories. They were classified as follows: A to E, in order of most verifiable to least verifiable. He came up with 25 candidates, out of a total of 174 candidates, who could produce “concrete proof” that they were involved in the Underground Railroad. At this point, the situation at White Fox Farm may get a little hazy.

1. That walkway, which runs north from Bennington to St.
2. It takes approximately an hour to drive east from this main byway to White Fox Farm, which is located near Sheddsville in West Windsor and is even by 21st century automobile standards nearly an hour away.
3. The eastern fugitive transit route in the state did, according to one main source from 1897, Joseph Poland, run along the banks of this specific waterbody.
4. Citing White Fox as one of 63 putative Underground Railroad places “discovered to be connected by a believable source” in “Friends of Freedom,” Zirblis claims that the town’s oral histories were trustworthy enough for it to get the prestigious ‘Class C’ rating.
5. The blasting of a hidden tunnel by prior owner Ellsworth Hinton is not mentioned in Zirblis’s book.
6. All of this is to suggest that we wanted to probe a bit more into the situation.

Bridging the gap

An further reference of the farm’s previous owner, Bezaleel Bridge (1808–1863), was found in Zirblis’ research, and a web search for his name turned up a number of results. ” Underground Railroad: Management Concepts/Environmental Assessment,” published by the United States Department of the Interior in 1995, said that Bridge was the mill operator at Sheddsville. From 1848 until his death at the age of 55 in the middle of the Civil War, Bridge’s farm on Cemetery Road served as a safe haven for fugitives on their way to South Woodstock or Hartland Four Corners prisons in the surrounding area.

According to Snodgrass, Bezaleel Bridge married his second wife, Emily Sophia Bagley, around 1842, making her the third wife of the family.

That’s all there is to it: At the very least, there is a compelling argument for White Fox Farm being an Underground Railroad station.

In the absence of the discovery of a long-lost collection of letters written by Bridge, his wife Emily Sophia, or their children, it is possible that we will never know the full extent of the truth about White Fox Farm’s legacy.

Hiking along the farm’s nearby Cow Shed Trail at dusk, warming your hands by the crackling study hearth, or maybe, just maybe, hacking out on your own horse in the sunny front field: there’s no shortage of fuel for the imagination here, whether you’re inside or outside enjoying the farm’s many amenities.

What should they do? We’re not going to be the ones to complain. Be a part of history and help to create new memories for others. White Fox Farm is for sale. Contact us for more information. Please contact luxury real estate agent Dia Jenks by email or phone at 802-238-1549 for further information.

Aboard the Underground Railroad- Rokeby

Home to four generations of the Robinson family, Rokeby, built in 1793,is significant for its role in the Underground Railroad and for the many letters,account books, and diaries kept by the family while they lived in the house thatdocument the first two generations’ involvement in the antislavery cause. A NationalHistoric Landmark, Rokeby was constructed by Thomas (1761-1851) and Jemima (1761-1846)Robinson, Quakers who were active members of the Vermont and Ferrisburg Anti-SlaverySocieties. Their son Rowland Thomas Robinson (1796-1879) made abolition the causeof his life and sheltered fugitive slaves at Rokeby. Hundreds of letters writtento Rowland Thomas between 1830 and 1865 are now located at the Sheldon MuseumArchive and Research Center in Middlebury, Vermont. With abolition as the mostcommon theme, these letters were written by local and regional antislavery activists,as well as national figures such as Lucretia Mott, William Lloyd Garrison, andIssac T. Hopper. These letters show Rowland Thomas’ involvement in the UndergroundRailroad and are proof that he harbored fugitive slaves at Rokeby, negotiatedfreedom papers for former slaves from their masters in the South, and helped freedmenfind employment. Family letters not only validate Rokeby as a stop, they add toour knowledge, correcting and sharpening our understanding of the UndergroundRailroad and providing insight into how “the legend outgrew the reality.”Now a museum, Rokeby is fully furnished with Robinson family belongings, includingfurniture, clothing, dishes, books, art, and other artifacts.Rokeby islocated in Ferrisburg, Vermont on US Route 7 at the corner of Robinson Road justnorth of Ferrisburg. It is open to the public.Previous|List of Sites|Home |Next

Locations

1) Bennington Bennington Museum|75 Main Street, Bennington|802-447-1571| Veterans’ Home|325 North Street, Bennington|802-442-6353| Monument|Old Bennington Village Green, Monument Avenue| Veterans’ Home|325 North Street, Bennington|802-442-6353| Monument Civil War stories and memorabilia, including those belonging to George Stannard, may be seen in the Bennington Museum, which also houses Clyde du Vernet Hunt’s famous monument “The Lincoln Trilogy.” The Vermont Troops’ Home, built in 1887 and including a cemetery that includes veterans from every Vermont Civil War regiment, is located immediately north of the Museum on Route 7.

• 2) The city of Manchester Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home|1005 Hildene Road, Manchester|802-362-1788|
• residence of Robert Todd Lincoln.
• They had already visited the area on their vacations the previous two years.
• 3) RutlandBardwell Hotel|142 Merchant’s Row,1|Rutland (Now Bardwell Apts.) Rutland Fairgrounds|US Route 7 South, Rutland|802-775-2006|
• There are several historic sites in Rutland, including the residence of General Wheelock Veazey, and the Fairgrounds, which served as the training area for Lt.
• William Y.W Ripley’s famed 1st U.S.
• Brig.
• Edward Hastings Ripley, Ripley’s younger brother, led the Union Army into Richmond, the Confederate capital, during the American Civil War.
• The itinerary for the tour is as follows:

• Provides an overview of downtown Rutland before, during, and after World War II
• Draws attention to some of the numerous notables who have both served the country with distinction and helped to shape the town into what it is today
• This scenic, quick drive and stroll allows guests to see the rich Civil War history of the downtown Rutland region in a nice, relaxed setting.

Provides a view of downtown Rutland before, during, and after World War II. This book draws attention to some of the numerous notables who have both served their country with distinction and also helped to shape the community into what it is today. To display the rich Civil War heritage of the downtown Rutland region, tourists may enjoy a pleasant, brief drive and walk around this area.

The Weare NH Historical Society

Weare is the most populous town in Hillsborough County, with a total land area of fifty-seven square miles. It is located in south central New Hampshire and has four mountains, fifteen hills, lakes, ponds, and brooks, as well as more than fifteen miles of river length, primarily along the Piscataquog, which is an Indian word that means “a place where there are many deer.” It is also home to the University of New Hampshire. Nature’s wealth may be seen everywhere, from Dustin Meadow in South Weare to the distant vista of Kearsage as one enters Weare Center to the sloping fields as one departs town toward Dunbarton, and everywhere in between.

1. Weare has a history that is both industrial and rural in nature.
2. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the town expanded to encompass the whole township (Riverdale).
3. Tavern Settlement is the first village met when one enters South Weare on Route 77.
4. William Dustin operated an inn here in the late 1700s during the peak of the farmers’ excursions to Salem, Massachusetts, for the sale of their produce.
5. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, Weare soldiers fought with General Stark at Bennington, Vermont, and again in New York.
6. The byway will pass slightly west of the site of Quimby’s Inn, where it occurred.

Along with its association with the Pine Tree Riot, Weare is also notable for its role as the site of the first Quaker Seminary in New Hampshire, as a stop on the Underground Railroad, which provided safe passage for slaves en route to Canada, and for the presence of a number of well-known visitors, including John Stark, Frederick Douglass, Henry Ford, and Richard Nixon.

1. The hamlet of Weare Center is not only the administrative center of the municipality, but it also has a number of historically significant structures.
2. The Simons Store, as well as the Stone Memorial Building, are both listed on the State Register of Historic Places in New York.
3. Old Home Day, which began in Weare in 1900 when a seven-car train brought people back from Manchester, is also a significant annual celebration.
4. Berdan’s Sharpshooters, a Civil War reenactment organization, has set up camp on the town green and marched to a neighboring cemetery, where some of Weare’s original sharpshooters are buried, to commemorate the anniversary.
5. The Farmers’ Market, in conjunction with the recently formed agricultural committee, is helping to resurrect Weare’s long-standing tradition as a farming town.
6. A state marker commemorates the historic community of East Weare, which was destroyed by a federal flood control project in 1960.
7. The Weare Historical Society has maps, guides, and visual histories of the flood and the community that are available for purchase.

Since 1971, the Weare Historical Society has been dedicated to preserving and disseminating the town’s past. Several historic districts have been developed by the municipality in recent years, and the Weare Heritage Commission has been founded.

Fourth-Graders Learn Local History of Underground Railroad

WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts — Students at Williamstown Elementary School spent the last week learning about remnants of the Underground Railroad that can be found around Massachusetts. During their trip, they passed through forests where fleeing slaves previously trekked to freedom, and they stopped to visit a monument near the Berkshire Mall that commemorates those long-ago freedom searchers. According to the children, if they had been born between the 1860s and 1870s, they would have become abolitionists.

• “We had no idea there was so much to see and do right here,” said Krissy Morin and Simone Rodriguez, class members who spoke with a reporter yesterday at their school about their trip last Thursday.
• “We came across tombs where slaves were buried,” Krissy recalled.
• Kevin Varney was taken aback by the fact that the memorial was located right outside the Berkshire Mall.
• The memorial dedicated to “Black Americans who lived in or traveled through the Gulf” may be found immediately off the mall’s ring road, on the Route 8 side of the building, very close to the mall’s northern access road, on the north side of the building.
• As a consequence of their journey and their research, the children all expressed delight in learning more about their hometown.

The History Fair will feature projects and performances by students from all four schools in town: the elementary school, Mount Greylock Regional, which will include participation by the private schools Pine Cobble and Buxton, and Mount Greylock Regional, which will include participation by the elementary school.

and Saturday from 9 to 12 on both Friday and Saturday.

“Meet Addy” was written by a young girl who had escaped from slavery.

and why?’ and we carried out more investigation “Agostini expressed himself in this way.

Kevin Varney explained to this reporter the history of the phrase Underground Railway, which dates back to the advent of the steam railroad engine and the escape of a fugitive slave named Tice Davids, who escaped over the Ohio River from Kentucky and vanished into the woods in 1850.

Cheshire Harbor, located north of Cheshire Lake on the Hoosac River near the train lines, is thought to have gotten its name because its residents were notorious for harboring runaway slaves during the American Civil War.

Everyone who assisted the fugitive slaves was in violation of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which meant that they ran the possibility of paying a fee or being imprisoned, and the fleeing slaves ran the chance of being returned to slavery.

History has it that Dr.

Sabin of Williamstown would covertly care for fleeing salves and provide them with a guide to meet the next conductor, Dr.

Phillips of North Adams, according to historical sources.

Phillips made certain that they were conveyed securely across Hoosac Mountain by night to Dr.

Desperate fugitives were driven by young Berkshire lads, notably Alonzo Cummings of Cheshire, who hid behind blankets in the carts they were driving.

John Ashley in 1781, testing the constitutionality of slavery under the new Massachusetts constitution.

After Williamstown lawyer David Noble unsuccessfully defended the slave owner, Elizabeth Freeman became one of the first African-Americans to be emancipated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States.

Robinson is credited for “making himself wings and flying away,” eventually arriving in Williamstown in 1855 and operating a barbershop there.

According to Agostini, “When we strolled through the trees at Cheshire Harbor, the youngsters had the impression that it was a heavenly area.” In addition to the House of Local History, Agostini acknowledged the assistance of the Berkshire County Historical Society and Williams College in the course of his study.

She also mentioned that a large number of folks were helpful. Tags:historical sites,historical significance, subterranean railroad