Marietta College hosting Underground Railroad plaque dedication

by Gi Smith

Marietta, Ohio (10/11/2022) — The city and College both played meaningful roles in helping enslaved people escape their captors before and during the American Civil War.

From students and professors helping to fuel the abolitionist movement to the Marietta community providing shelter for people escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad, the actions that this historic city and College and its people had in the fight against slavery and those who supported it truly affected change in the lives of those who needed it most.

A new historical marker will be unveiled at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, October 15th, along Putnam Street near Fifth Street to honor the efforts of Marietta College and community activists who worked to support the escape of enslaved people and help them to freedom.

Tony Mayle, Director of Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Dean of Students, will speak during the dedication, as will President Bill Ruud and the donors for the project. Ada Woodson Adams, a historian and activist who has spent decades preserving Black history in Southeast Ohio, will also be in attendance.

"She worked closely with Henry Burke in the past," Mayle said. Burke was an Underground Railroad historian, lecturer, and author who lived in Marietta until his death in 2012.

Mayle said the plaque would recognize local heroes of the abolitionist movement and provide details of the extent of their commitment to helping people escape slavery.

"During the ceremony, we will ring the bell in Erwin Hall nine times," Mayle said. "When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed (in 1854), students protested by flying the American flag upside-down and (Erwin's) bell rang for 90 minutes straight."

Mayle said he really would like the community to attend the ceremony, read the plaque and learn more about local abolitionists.

"A lot of research went into this plaque, and it was made possible with a donation by an alum and with the help of Linda Showalter and the Special Collections Department," Mayle said.

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.

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Marietta College

Marietta College hosting Underground Railroad plaque dedication

Marietta College

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