Escape to Freedom/Women of Courage
Posted by: 
two-bit Joe
N 39° 15.973 W 081° 33.960
17S E 451173 N 4346472
Escape to Freedom/Women of Courage Parkersburg, WV
Waymark Code: WM17Q9
Location: West Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 02/14/2007
Views: 34
The Ohio R. was a major gateway to freedom for enslaved Africans via the Underground Railroad, a clandestine network of people, places, routes, and modes of transportation used in their flight from bondage. Network's peak activity was between 1830 and 1865. African American & white men and women, called "Conductors," helped escaping Africans to freedom across to Ohio and points north to Canada.
Aunt Jenny, African American, who blew horn at the "Point" as signal to river boats, served as "Conductor" on the Underground Railroad. Jane, of "Low stature and very fleshy," "lame in one leg," & age 50, escaped Aug. 1843 with seven of her children from the Harness Plantation on Bull Creek near Parkersburg. Two were captured in Marietta and returned; a reward of $450 did not entice return of others.
Marker Title: Escape to Freedom/Women of Courage
Marker Location: Entrance to the Blennerhassett boat dock, Point Park, Parkersburg
County or Independent City: Wood
Marker Program Sponsor: West Virginia Celebration 2000 - West Virginia Division of Archives and History 2003
Marker Number: Not listed
Web Site: Not listed
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