Mar 4, 2021
BEVERLY The history of the Underground Railroad in West Virginia is still something of a mystery even after all these years. A series of safe points from the Deep South leading into Canada, spirituals such as “Follow the Gourd” were integral to guiding enslaved men, women, and children to a life of freedom up north. While certain routes along the Underground Railroad are well-known in the Northern and Eastern Panhandles and along the Ohio River, the heart of the Mountain State has not been examined in great detail.
On Feb. 20, Dr. Christopher Mielke, the Executive Director of the Beverly Heritage Center in Randolph County, presented a digital lecture on the topic. The focus of his talk was the role of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, an east-west route from the Shenandoah Valley to the Ohio River finished in 1845.