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Underground Railroad stops sought in Indiana
By Erin Sullivan Associated Press
Last updated 02:02 AM, EST, Monday, August 14, 2000
The Indianapolis Star INDIANAPOLIS -
A bunch of amateur
historians are on the loose, prowling
through dusty attics, questioning
unsuspecting Hoosiers and
commandeering the microfiche
machines in public libraries throughout the state.
Their mission: find and document
sites that were part of the Underground
Railroad, the 19th century system of
offering refuge to slaves trying to
escape north to freedom.
Seems simple enough. Just look
through history books and library archives, right?
Not quite. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 meant
that people who helped runaway slaves
faced imprisonment and heavy fines. As
a result, most of the history of the
Underground Railroad was passed down orally.
And it's difficult to track down sites
from more than 100 years ago without
much documentation.
But they're trying anyway.
"We're starting from scratch," said
Dona Stokes-Lucas, a project researcher
for Marion County. "We'll start with the
oral history. If we heard this was an
Underground Railroad site, we'll gather
as much information as we can.
Everything has a history, the road and
the trees, and if it has a history, you can research
it."
Seven volunteer researchers like
Stokes-Lucas, plus many assistants, are
working to uncover information about
the Underground Railroad in Indiana.
They will compile information from
newspaper clippings, census records,
property deeds and other sources.
Several Indiana sites, such as Bethel
AME Church, Hannah House and the Levi
Coffin home, have been documented, but
the researchers hope to add to the list.
Indiana is the first state to launch a
comprehensive search for Underground
Railroad sites, said Malia Savarino,
assistant grants manager of the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources'
Division of Historic Preservation and
Archaeology. Other states might follow,
depending on Indiana's success, she says.
The Indiana project is funded by
federal grants ranging from $500 to
$3,000 from the U.S. Department of the
Interior and the National Parks Service.
The historic preservation division
administers the grants.
Some of the sites might be eligible for
the National Register of Historic Places,
depending on their condition and
significance. And the information
compiled by the researchers, each of
whom was given specific areas to
concentrate on so the whole state would
be covered, will be shared with Indiana
Freedom Trails. The private group was
formed last year by Hoosiers interested
in preserving the history of the
Underground Railroad in Indiana and
educating children about it.
"This is certainly a very exciting
program," Savarino said. "The
Underground Railroad movement in
American history is one that needs to be
acknowledged, recognized and
interpreted so the stories aren't forgotten."
A requirement of the grant is that the
researchers provide their newly found
information to the public. Most
researchers plan to give lectures,
conduct slide shows or make brochures,
Savarino said. In addition, researchers
will write papers describing their
findings. The papers will be compiled
into a book by the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources, Savarino said.
Nathaniel Samba, education
specialist with Freetown Village Inc.,
which presents living history
performances to educate people about
black life and culture in post-Civil War
Indiana, and Stokes-Lucas are
coordinating research for Marion County.
They are still trying to organize the
project, Samba said, but they should
start soon. Their deadline is March.
"One of my driving forces is to dispel
myths and learn new information," said
Stokes-Lucas who owns X-Pressions, a
bookstore and gallery in Indianapolis.
"I could work on this every day. I wish
there were three of me because I don't
have the time and arms and legs to do
everything I want to do."
Distributed by The Associated Press
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