Moncure Conway House - Falmouth, VA
N 38° 19.295 W 077° 28.114
18S E 284200 N 4244379
The significance of this site is its association with Moncure Conway who helped over 40 of the family's slaves escape to freedom by accompanying them to Ohio.
Waymark Code: WM78Q3
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/20/2009
Views: 6
Moncure was born in 1832 in Falmouth, VA to a wealthy gentleman farmer and slave owner. In 1855, he became a Unitarian minister preaching about the moral issues of slavery and advocating the slaves' freedom. He was forced to leave his congregation in Washington, D.C. because of his abolitionist views and joined a church in Cincinnati, OH. He became an active speaker and writer.
In 1862, during the Civil War, Conway returned to the family home in Falmouth and led the family slaves to freedom in Yellow Springs, OH.
The family house, today known as the Moncure Conway House, was designated an Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site on July 16. 2004 and has the distinction of being the first site in Stafford County, VA to receive a UGRR marker. Read more
. The inscription on the plaque reads:
Conway House was the home of Moncure Conway who freed himself from the dogmas of his culture and became an abolitionist. He is the only descendent[sic] of one of our nation's Founding Fathers to actively lead escaping slaves to freedom, thereby taking the initial steps to correct what was not accomplished in the Constitutional Convention. Conway House makes a significant contribution to understanding the desire to achieve freedom of one's own self destiny.
Designated July 16, 2004
The house still stands on River Road in Falmouth. The marker is on the front lawn. It is privately owned and only opened to the public for special events or occasions. See tourstaffordva.com
for an upcoming list of events or visit the nearby Stafford Visitor Center
at historic Belmont for more information. The house can still be viewed from the Falmouth Waterfront Park directly across the street at this location: N 38° 19.267 W 077° 28.075.
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