As Black History Month begins, an FEH BOCES class is inviting members of the community to learn about Franklin County’s role with the Underground Railroad.
Tracy Edwards’ New Vision Government and Law class has been studying the topic all school year, and this week they are finishing installing a scavenger hunt around Malone and the surrounding area that will be a fun, interactive way for the public to discover information about the local spur of the Underground Railroad. It wasn’t a main route, but for some freedom seekers, it was the last stretch before finding freedom over the border in Canada.
Enslaved people used a variety of methods to communicate with one another in code that enslavers couldn’t understand or wouldn’t notice. One of those methods was quilt squares. For example, the Broken Dishes pattern sewn into a quilt square signaled to freedom seekers that the next path was marked by a broken piece of pottery.
FEH BOCES Government and Law students were fascinated when learning about the codes hidden in quilt squares, so they decided to create a scavenger hunt with them. Students partnered with the Malone Chamber of Commerce to identify 12 sites throughout the area – some local businesses and some sites that had significance in the history of the Underground Railroad – where they could put up posters with coded quilt squares for members of the public to find.
Two of the sites, the Wead Library and the House of History, invite history buffs in to explore other resources about the local spur of the Underground Railroad.
Another location featured in the scavenger hunt is the First Congregational Church of Malone. The church was a stop on the Underground Railroad due to the Rev. Ashbel Parmelee, the church’s first minister and an abolitionist. In the fall, the class was able to tour some of the building and see the secret passageway where freedom seekers hid as they waited to start the next leg of their journey.
Edwards’ class also worked with Franklin County officials to create a display in the front vestibule of the Franklin County Courthouse to share a wealth of information that they discovered. The public can access that exhibit between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. Visitors must enter through the Brewster Street entrance then proceed up one floor and head to the Main Street side of the building. Masks are currently required inside the building.
Here's the full list of quilt square locations:
- Adirondack 1892
- Wead Library
- Focal Point
- House of History
- Malone Chamber of Commerce
- Mark Flack Wells, attorney office
- Northern Adirondack Realty
- Village Furniture
- Centenary United Methodist Church
- Kevin Daniels Agency (formerly Mark Lashomb Insurance)
- First Congregational Church of Malone
- International Border Company
The North Country Underground Railroad Historic Association has very helpful information on Franklin County, as well as other North Country counties.