Columbiana library to offer program on John Brown

By D.A. WILKINSON

wilkinson@vindy.com

COLUMBIANA

John Brown will come to life next week to discuss the events that helped spark the Civil War.

Frank Dunkle, the program officer for the Ohio Humanities Council, will portray Brown in period clothes at the Columbiana Public Library from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Brown was best known for his raid on Harper’s Ferry, W.Va., in October 1859 in an attempt to steal weapons to help establish a colony for runaway slaves.

At the time, Harper’s Ferry was the site of one of the two federal armories. The raid failed, and many of the group were either killed or tried and hung.

Dunkle said his talk will focus on Brown’s early life up until a few months before the raid.

Brown, who was born in 1800 in Connecticut, became involved with the anti-slavery movement in about 1835. He moved to Kansas, which was a territory that was divided over slavery. In 1856, Brown and his sons murdered five men who supported slavery but didn’t own slaves.

His parents opposed slavery. And though there is a widespread notion that Brown “was a nut job” he also ran tanneries and was involved in a number of businesses. Dunkle said he also had “two wives and twenty children.”

Brown was also a shepherd.

“As a shepherd, he would hold the sick lambs and bring them back to health,” Dunkle said.

Dunkle said he is the same height as Brown. In a question-and-answer period that will follow the talk, he expects there will be interest in the raid Brown led on the armory at Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Two local brothers took part in the raid. Edwin Coppock was hung, and Barclay Coppock escaped.

Flora Doraski, the adult-services librarian at Columbiana, said she watches the humanities council Web site for programs and asked Dunkle to appear.

“It provides a mixture of education, enrichment and enjoyment for the people,” she said.