Photography > Essays

The first group of photographs were taken in Fort Ann. The first sign is believed to be a reference to Fort Ann's place on the Underground Railroad.

Found in a ravine a short distance from the sign was a chair carved out of stone. The back of the chair contains directional markers that are believed to have been used by fugitive slaves. The stone chair was recently moved to a more public location beside the road.

The church in Cossayuna was used as a hiding spot by fugitive slaves.

The Quaker Meeting House in Easton (located on Route 40) was used as meeting place for local Abolitionists.

The slave cane pictured here was used by a fugitive slave to beat off a slave catcher who tried to pull him out a local farmhouse attic. Many years later, the now free slave returned and presented it to the family that sheltered him.