Announcing the
Underground Railroad Project at Sassafras Ridge
& Carolina Vistas
Background
Research
revealed that that one of the corridors of the underground
railroad actually arose in our community, Sassafras Ridge. (www.schormburgcenter.org
) We know that Africans used to escape from the plantations
of Georgia and find safe haven with the Cherokee Indians in the
Tennessee mountains. Some stayed with the Cherokee community.
Others stayed until they were able to connect with the underground
railroad and escape to free states or leave the country altogether.
There were many corridors to the underground railroad. Slaves
escaped south to Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. They
took boats out South Carolina to Philadelphia, New York and Canada.
They went over land from the Appalachians to Ohio, New York and from
there to Canada. ( Hard Road to Freedom, James R. Horton & Lois
Horton, Rutgers University Press, July 2001.)
What we want to do
Several
members of Sassafras have decided to honor and commemorate these
courageous women and men who risked their lives time after time to
rescue others from the horrors of slavery. We want to tell their
names and their stories. We want to create a monument at Sassafras Ridge to acknowledge their contributions
and let all know their stories. We intend to create a small
museum on the grounds of Sassafras. The museum will immortalize our
story for our children and all to know.
How you can participate
You can sign up for
active participation, or you can make a contribution.
We are at the ground floor. All levels of
participation are open. Others may choose to support this
effort by donating money. Everyone who
makes a contribution of $50 to the project will have their name on the
monument/ or brick walk/wall as a supporter of this project. Contributors of $200 or
more will have more prominent representation as "gold
circle" contributors. Of course the names will remain here for
perpetuity -- in a place where you can bring friends, children, grands and great grands for generations to come.
Copyright © 2005 Sassafras Ridge, LLC. All
rights reserved.
Revised:
11/28/06
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