Underground Railroad Free Press
News and views on the Underground Railroad • Vol. XVIIII, no. 109, September 2024
Published bimonthly since 2006, we bring together organizations and people interested in the historical and the contemporary Underground Railroad. Free Press is the home of Lynx, the central registry of contemporary Underground Railroad organizations, and the Free Press prizes awarded annually for leadership, preservation and advancement of knowledge, the community's highest honors. Underground Railroad Free Press is emailed free of charge around the 15th of odd-numbered months. Reach us at http://urrfreepress.com/contact.html.
In This Issue
The 2024 Free Press Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge
The 2024 Free Press Prize for Leadership
The 2024 Free Press Prize for Preservation
Sotterley Joins International Underground Railroad Month
The 2024 Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge
The prize recognizes a significant addition to the store of Underground Railroad knowledge and may be awarded for a single contribution such as a landmark publication, or for a body of work or the arts, or for creating or advancing a collection. Individuals, legal entities such as corporations or nonprofit corporations, or informal groups from any nation are eligible.
Hortense Simmons, PhD, a close friend of Free Press, served on the Free Press Prize Panel of Judges advising on winner selection. She died far too young in 2010 of Lou Gehrig's disease. As a child, Dr. Simmons and her brother Ira lived as migrant crop pickers. Hortense Simmons was a much-esteemed Professor Emerita of English Literature and Ethnic Studies at California State University, Sacramento, and a multiple Fulbright Scholar posted to Ukraine.
The 2024 Free Press Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge is awarded to historian Fergus Bordewich for his book Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America, and for his lifelong attention to racial justice.
In our opinion, Bound for Canaan is the unequaled and definitive history of the Underground Railroad and its illumination as the "country's first racially integrated , religiously inspired movement for social change." In 2005, Bound for Canaan was selected as one of the American Booksellers Association's "ten best nonfiction books"; as the Great Lakes Booksellers' Association's "best non-fiction book"; as one of the Austin Public Library's Best Non-Fiction books; and as one of the New York Public Library's "ten books to remember."
Because Bound for Canaan came out in 2005 three years before the first Free Press Prizes were awarded, the book got overlooked in the prizes when it shouldn't have. This year's award is far overdue. Since Bound for Canaan’s publication, Bordewich has been acknowledged as perhaps the leading expert on the Underground Railroad and a go-to source on the topic.
Since the publication of Bound for Canaan, Fergus Bordewich has gone on to write a series of well-received histories on what the United States Congress was doing—or not doing—during times such as the Washington and Lincoln administrations when the executive branch was getting most of the attention. Fergus Bordewich is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated author whose work has also emphasized the plight of the American Indian and the allure of pre-Communist China.
In 2013, Bordewich was awarded the Los Angeles Book Prize for America's Great Debate, which the Times named the best work of history published in 2012. Bordewich’s Washington was named by Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post as one of his "Best Books of 2008."
Since the founding of Underground Railroad Free Press in 2006, Bordewich has been a source of encouragement and good advice to the publication. He served as a judge on the Free Press Panel of Judges, advising on prize nominations and has been the nominator of several candidates who went on to be awarded Free Press Prizes. For all Fergus Bordewich books, visit https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001H6J2QE.
The 2024 Prize for Leadership in the Underground Railroad Community
The Underground Railroad Free Press Prize for Leadership recognizes outstanding present or past individual leadership of a contemporary Underground Railroad entity or cause, or leadership within the Underground Railroad community. Individuals and entities from any nation are eligible.
The 2024 Prize for Leadership is awarded to the National Abolitionist Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro, New York for its entrepreneurship in conceiving and launching its institution and actively involving itself in the modern abolition of slavery.
The Hall's signature activity is the induction into its growing pantheon of historical figures who played major roles in the abolitionist movement of the nineteenth century. Since the first inductions in 2005, 28 men and women have been drafted into the National Abolitionist Hall of Fame. Inductions occur several at a time every two or three years, most recently in 2022. The next induction will be October 19 when Catharine and Levi Coffin, Leonard Grimes, and James Smith will be honored. Visit peterborony.org/events/nahof-induction-ceremony-2024 for more.
Coming up on October 5, 2024 is the group's annual Abolition Walk. nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org/events.html
The Hall could not be housed more appropriately than where it is in the building in which the inaugural meeting of the New York State Antislavery Society was held in 1835. Twenty years ago, the building had long been vacant, was in disrepair, and had become a candidate for demolition. Led by Judith Wellman and others, a local group set about fundraising to restore the old piece of history and succeeded grandly as in the photo here. Wellman is Professor Emerita of History at State University of New York at Oswego and is the author of the Wellman Scale, today's gold-standard tool for rating the likelihood of authenticity of Underground Railroad site claims. She is a previous Free Press Prize laureate.
The National Abolitionist Hall of Fame and Museum doesn't stop with the past. In addition to honoring the work of antislavery abolitionists, the organization, its words "strives to complete the second and ongoing abolition—the moral conviction to end racism." Kudos!
The 2024 Prize for Preservation
The Underground Railroad Free Press Prize for Preservation recognizes a significant restoration of an Underground Railroad safe-house or route; or discovery or rediscovery of an important Underground Railroad site or sites; or significant promotion or advancement of the methods of Underground Railroad site preservation; or significant preservation or restoration of art, music, literature or other forms of remembrance of the Underground Railroad. Individuals, legal entities such as corporations or nonprofit corporations, or informal groups from any nation are eligible.
The 2024 Free Press Prize for Preservation is awarded to the Mansion House 1757 in Fairfield, Pennsylvania for its diligence in preserving the inn's Underground Railroad safe-room and keeping alive the history of the property's Underground Railroad involvement.
In 1755, Maryland colonial notable Charles Carroll sold 247 acres to Squire John and Isabella Miller of New Castle County, Delaware. That year, the Millers began building the earliest portions of Mansion House. The original portion of Mansion House was completed to provide shelter for the Miller family while they built the four additional sections of their home. The inn opened for business when completed in 1757. The inn's original lock and key can be seen in the door of the room today called the Chef’s Table. Colonial meetings began taking place at the inn immediately after it opened.
As the Millers’ nephew Patrick Henry made frequent visits to Mansion House, one of the inn's guest rooms is named for him. Another is the Harriet Tubman Room adjacent to the attic where the inn sheltered freedom seekers headed north. Being only five miles above of the Mason-Dixon Line and Maryland, a slave state until 1864, Mansion House 1757 was the first stop in free territory along its Underground Railroad route. But, even in Pennsylvania, a free state, there was risk. An account handed down through the years tells of an instance that, while Confederate Officers were dining downstairs, freedom seekers were being hidden in the attic at the same time.
With its 267 years of rich history, Mansion House 1757 is one of only four inns or hotels in America that has been in continuous operation since the 18th century. The inn's restaurant was awarded Open Table’s Diner’s Choice awards for 2022, 2023, and 2024. The address is 15 West Main Street, Fairfield, Pennsylvania. https://www.mansionhouse1757.com
The inn until very recently had always been known as simply the Fairfield Inn. However, when the Marriott chain built one of its branded Fairfield Inns in Fairfield, the old inn from 1757 needed to change its name to Mansion House 1757 to maintain its livelihood.
Sotterley In Action Again
On August 24, Historic Sotterley held its celebration of International Underground Railroad Month with its annual Day of Unity and Healing. https://sotterley.org
The opening ceremony featured keynote addresses from Mary Elliott of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and Montpelier Descendants Committee Inaugural Executive Director George Monroe of the President James Monroe National Historic Site.
The day also saw the unveiling of the new Middle Passage Marker for Historic Sotterley prior to the installation of the marker near Maryland Route 235.
In addition was the dedication of Historic Sotterley’s newly recognized Sacred Space, which feature quilts from documentary story quilter Joan Gaither, displays, demonstrations, and local authors. The day also included open-house tours of the Manor House, living history performances, and live music.
Historic Sotterley was the 2021 winner of the Free Press Prize for Leadership for its exemplary Common Ground Initiative that brought together Black and White descendants of people who lived at Sotterley Plantationin the era of slavery. Historic Sotterley is also listed in Free Press Lynx, the nexus of modern Underground Railroad organizations. http://urrfreepress.com/lynx.html