[imc-st.louis] Correction on Mary Meachum Event: May 19th Saturday

[Ben]

Correction, this event is on the *19th* not the 18th

Ben West wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Carissa Clark <cclark at gracehill.org>
> Date: May 11, 2007 12:17 PM
> Subject: May 18th Saturday:  North Riverfront Event
> 
> Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing
> 
> C*E*L*E*B*R*A*T*I*O*N
> 
> Missouri's First Nationally Recognized Underground Railroad Site
> 
> 12:00NOON, Saturday, May 19th
> 
> by the Riverfront Trail on the Banks of the
> 
> Mississippi River
> 
> 
> 
> Featuring:
> 
> v    Fully Costumed Reenactment - 3:00PM
> 
> v    Gospel Music/ Other Cultural Acts
> 
> v    Art Exhibit/ Food Vendors
> 
> v    Historical Exhibits
> 
> 
> 
> Take Hwy 70 to Grand; go East toward River to Hall street; continue ¼
> mile to Prairie; look for large Riverfront Trail sign; turn right on
> Prairie to Parking Area
> 
> 
> 
> For More Information:  Doug Eller  314-584—6703
> 
> 
> 
> Grace Hill AmeriCorps Trail Ranger Project Presents
> 
> Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing
> 
> Missouri's First Nationally Recognized Underground Railroad Site
> 
> 
> 
> The St. Louis region with Grace Hill Settlement House as the lead
> organization is in the midst of developing the Mary Meachum
> Underground Railroad site into a national tourist destination and an
> important source of cultural pride that can benefit North St. Louis
> communities.  Over 300 neighborhood people and local leaders have
> attended workshops for this community-driven process. Additionally,
> the AmeriCorps Trail Rangers provided presentations to another 4000
> people. The anticipated site design is near completion with the
> capital campaign phase to start in 2006.  The 150th anniversary of the
> event was celebrated last May with 1500 people attending.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What IS the Underground Railroad?  Occurring before the Civil War in
> 1861, the 'Underground Railroad' was the loosely organized escape of
> 1000's of African American slaves traveling from Southern
> slave-holding states to free Northern states and sometimes Canada.
> The term 'Underground' refers to the secrecy of the activity, which
> broke U.S. law, and often resulted in severe punishment for slaves if
> re-captured.  The term 'Railroad' refers to the most commonly used
> routes that slaves, and the black and white persons who helped them,
> used to reach freedom.  The Underground Railroad's memory is important
> to all Americans who value freedom.
> 
> 
> 
> SUMMARY OF THIS 1855 UNDERGROUND RAILROAD EVENT IN NORTH ST. LOUIS
> 
> The site of a 'flight to freedom' is located on a Mississippi River
> bank in North St. Louis City, "a short distance above Bissell's
> Ferry", where a party of 9 enslaved African Americans launched a skiff
> in the early hours of May 21, 1855.  Their goal was freedom; their
> immediate destination, Illinois, the 'free' state across the
> Mississippi River. The pursuit of freedom had been 'conducted' by Mary
> Meachum, a free woman of color and widow of John Berry Meachum, known
> nationally for liberating slaves.  Contemporary newspapers reported
> that the freedom-seekers were met on the Illinois shore by a sheriff
> and owners. Shots were fired and five were caught. Mary Meachum was
> arrested for running an "underground railway depot" in her St. Louis
> home. Freeman, an "abolitionist agent", was reportedly shot that
> night. Esther, one of the escaping slaves, was re-captured and 'sold
> down river' to Vicksburg without her children by her owner, Henry
> Shaw, the founder of the Missouri Botanical Gardens.
> 
> 
> 
> Today the spot from which that skiff was launched looks much as it did
> in 1855. To the south a railway bridge (Merchants) has replaced the
> ferry, but the site itself is vacant as it was then, largely untouched
> by the commerce the bridge would bring. Its location on the river side
> of a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, the Riverfront Trail, assures
> that it will remain accessible to both local residents and tourists.
> Its size suits it for re-enactments, family gatherings, or other
> celebrations of the Freedom Crossing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (The complete application to the National Park Service with 19th
> century references substantiating the occurrences that night is
> available upon request, based on research provided by Dr. Kristin
> Zapalac of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
> 
> For More Information:  Doug Eller, Grace Hill Settlement House,
> 314-584-6703.)
> 
> 
> 
> Sincere Appreciation goes to the site design supporters:
> 
> Great Rivers Greenway District,
> 
> Confluence Greenway, Edward Jones, and the U.S National Park Service
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> */Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing/*
> 
> *C*E*L*E*B*R*A*T*I*O*N*
> 
> */Missouri/**/’s First Nationally Recognized Underground Railroad Site/*
> 
> _12:00NOON, Saturday, May 19th _
> 
> by the Riverfront Trail on the Banks of the
> 
> Mississippi River
> 
>                                           the AmeriCorps logo
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Americorps.JPG>
> 
> Featuring:
> 
> v    Fully Costumed Reenactment - 3:00PM
> 
> v    Gospel Music/ Other Cultural Acts
> 
> v    Art Exhibit/ Food Vendors
> 
> v    Historical Exhibits
> 
> Take Hwy 70 to Grand; go East toward River to Hall street; continue ¼
> mile to Prairie; look for large Riverfront Trail sign; turn right on
> Prairie to Parking Area


-- 
Ben West
westbywest at riseup.net
http://savetheinternet.org