Reflections on the Railroad
Journal entries from trip participants, posted from the road...

"I learned about the huge role a whole community played in freeing escapees from the South. Many residents of Oberlin, Ohio, signed a document of morality called the 'Oberlin Covenant' wherein they pledged to help all people be free. The best example of their attitude is shown in the story of John Price, escaped slave who lived in Oberlin and was kidnapped by men who were going to take him South again. By the time they got to Wellington, hundreds of people -- black as well as white -- came from Oberlin to retrieve him. Forty people were arrested and later tried and fined for their efforts. The obvious care that these people had for people, not whites or blacks, but people was exciting for me. To imagine a town with so much compassion at that period in time is incredible."

"One of the most interesting places thus far has been Oberlin, Ohio. A town that stood for freedom. In 1858, a black man named John Price was caught by a slave catcher and two US Marshalls. He was kidnapped in Oberlin and was taken to the Wadsworth Hotel in nearby Wellington. The town heard of the situation and 200-500 people stormed the hotel, angered at the kidnapping and demanded that price be freed. After many words, men were able to get him out the back door. He was hidden in the home of Oberlin professor James Fairchild and finally escaped to Canada. . . . I loved the story telling at the gravesite of the four-year-old orphan. I hope to integrate the same kind of reenactments into my presentations."

"Students and most people do not realize how extensive the Underground really was. It is an important thing to see, touch, feel, smell, etc. those things which are still intact from such a period of our history as the Underground Railroad and slavery. . . . Awed at the emotions and knowledge, first-hand knowledge, of what enslaved people went through in the pursuit of self-determination."

"Crossing the river, seeing the auction block, and the square where the buyers and spectators stood was a meaningful and emotional experience. Standing where H.B. Stowe stood and watched the dehumanizing taunts gave me a greater appreciation for her book."

"What a day. Getting off the bus, walking down the road to view the well and learn of the holding area for slaves was mind-boggling! I imagined the fear of the slaves as slave catchers were nearby. Also, the area seemed so small that size must have been a consideration for escaping on the this route. Would I have been stuck if I'd attempted to climb down into the well's hideaway area?"

"Wow! What a great deal of history! I didn't know Oberlin was such a hub for the UGRR. The people of Oberlin were advanced in their ways of thinking. The feelings in the Monroe House were that you were experiencing history and the original owners were glad. The 'skit' at the cemetary was really moving and informative."

"I think the citizens of Oberlin should be (and seem to be) proud of their past. They were certainly ahead of their time, with regard to their views about racial equality. What a great heritage! . . . The role playing at the cemetary was an important demonstration of ways to reach people, with information they will retain. I already role play some in my classes. I think new characters will be coming on board in my classroom. Kids remember information from my characters."

"[To many slave owners and slave catchers] Oberlin had been named 'Nigger Town' because of their tolerant beliefs. The Quakers had much to do with perpetuating the Absolutionist movement. They believed and questioned, how could one call for the brotherhood of man and treat blacks differently? Oberlin was a terminal point and became a haven to African American refugees."

"The stories of Oberlin gave new meaning to the second great awakening -- people of Oberlin signed a contract which included helping the Absolutionst -- they were idealist no doubt. They wre important in the process of raising the nation's concern about slavery."

"It would be good to have Oberlin all over America . . . today!"

"Oberlin was a town that had a conscience. It is an important town as far as our history. The city was open to black people. Oberlin was important in the things that led to the Civil War. . . . I was moved by the fact that racially mixed city would come together and go after 'their' own."

"Oberlin is a city of Freedom with 1/3 of the population of fugitive slaves and free blacks, they worked alongside with business and industry. With the event of the Wellington-Oberlin rescue the town made its mark on history."

"In Ripley, Ohio, we toured Front Street where John Parker, a black abolitionist resided near the bank of the Ohio River on "Abolitionst Row." Other abolitionists included Thomas C, a coffin maker who hid slaves in coffins, Senator Campbell (one of the most famous abolitionsts in the state), Levi Collins, and others. John Rankin lived atop a stepp hill with his family who were also actively involved in the UGRR. John Rankin was a Prebysterian minister. He shielded many slaves from slave catchers. Many former slaves settled in Ohio until the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was passed. Then any slave caught in the U.S. could be returned to their masters. Some freed men were returned unlawfully. Phillips' Folly had slave holding pens and a false wall to protect slaves trying to escape to freedom."

The "Footsteps to Freedom 1999" Route

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