KEESEVILLE — In honor of Juneteenth this year, members of the community embarked on a mini-tour of some of the North Country’s key locations where escaped slaves were helped or stopped on their way to Canada known as the Underground Railroad.
“Juneteenth means freedom,” Jackie Madison, president of the North Country Underground Railroad Association, said.
“This is a day we can say celebrate freedom for all, like the Fourth of July celebrates the independence of the country.”
KEY SITES
The event began at the North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm and wound its way through the southern part of Clinton County and beyond to see several key historical sites where people made their way to freedom.
At each stop, visitors learned about how those locations helped escaped slaves gain freedom.
The Ausable Chasm Horse Nail Works at Birmingham Falls; St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Congregational Church and Arthur House, Old Baptist Church and Cemetery in Keeseville, and in Peru, the Quaker Union and Cemetery were all stops on the tour, followed by a historical reenactment at the Stephen Keese Smith Farm.
“We are really delighted to have these visitors along with us today,” Madison said.
“Everyone here is a local, but some did not know of some of these locations. One woman was telling me she lived down the street from one of the stops for much of her life and never knew it was there. It is a way to learn and understand.”
Direct descendant Neal Burdick took the role of his Underground Railroad agent ancestor, with his wife, Barbara Burdick, portraying Catherine R. Keese, Quaker preacher, educator and missionary to Dannemora Prison.
JOHN BROWN FARM
Immediately following the tour, the group made their way towards the John Brown Farm in Lake Placid where the celebration continued with a barbecue lunch.
At the John Brown Farm, attendees heard Brown’s last speech to the court by reenactor Bob Andrews, the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir performed “Songs of Freedom”, reenactor Evan Beech presented a speech given by Gerrit Smith and other research on the Peterboro, N.Y. based social reformer, abolitionist, and philanthropist.
Amy Godine, author of “The Black Woods: Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier” (Cornell, November, 2023) and curator of the exhibit, “Dreaming of Timbuctoo,” in the Upper Barn at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, presented “An Unsettled Debate” at the John Brown Farm’s Barn Meeting Room.
The event closed out with a healing circle behind the barn.
“One thing is, people need to understand what they should know,” Madison said.
“This event is not only about the freed slaves, it is also dedicated to all those individuals who helped and sacrificed for freedom seekers.”