Oswell Wright - Corydon, IN
N 38° 12.624 W 086° 07.276
16S E 576930 N 4229524
History marker about Oswell Wright and the Bell brothers in Corydon, IN
Waymark Code: WMJ04P
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2013
Views: 7
This Indiana History Marker is placed to tell the story of Oswell Wright. Wright was a free black man in Corydon, IN in the 1850s. He was arrested along side David and Charles Bell for helping a fugitive slave escape from Kentucky to Indiana on the Ohio River. Wright was not present in the helping of the slave, but Charles Bell was. They were arrested in Kentucky. A group of men from Kentucky crossed the Ohio River and went to the home of Charles Bell where they found Oswell Wright. Wright did not have his "free papers" and was arrested by the posse. They also told David Bell that his horses were in the Ohio River so when he went to check on them and was on Kentucky soil (below the high water mark of the river on the Indiana side), he was arrested as well. The Bells were freed from prison on a jailbreak but Wright was convicted and spent 5 years in the Kentucky prison in Brandenburg, KY.
The marker is located on E Chestnut St in downtown Corydon, IN. It is not clearly stated on the marker or on other information found online the significance of the home where the marker is located. It is presumed that it is either the home of the Wright or the home of one of the Bell brothers, but it is not stated which. This home was a location of the Underground Railroad, which the marker speaks of on the reverse.
Address:
423 E Chestnut St
Corydon, IN USA
47112
Site Details: not open to public
Open to the public?: Private
Name of organization who placed the marker: Indiana Historical Bureau
Web site: Not listed
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