HISTORICAL PLAQUE

HISTORICAL PLAQUE
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On May 8, 1847, the citizens of Randolph defended John and Harriet, two escaped slaves, from the clutches of Virginian slaveholders. Randolph was a center of radical abolitionism. Prominent abolitionists in Randolph included: William and Elizabeth Steadman, T.P. Mead, Dr. Joseph and Cynthia Price, Thomas Dundon, Oliver C. Dickinson, Chauncey Harmon, Nathan C. Sears, John W. Glasgow, J.C. Brainerd, Truman Case, Austin Collins, Joseph Jerome, H.D. and Cordelia S. Smalley, Caldwell Anderson, Justin Belding, Editha Wadsworth and Rev. Joseph Meriam.
The Congregational Church on this site fostered the anti-slavery fervor and was a meeting place for the Portage County Anti-Slavery Society. In November 1850 the members resolved to "openly invite all who are now in slavery or may have made their escape, if need be, to throw themselves into our arms and houses for protection, and we pledge ourselves that come what may -- loss of property, or even life -- we will give them the same protection we would our wives, husbands, or children." In the face of large fines and jail terms, the Randolph abolitionists boldly flaunted Randolph as a station on the Underground Railroad.
Source: Randolph Historical Society