Crouse Memorial Park 5 Crouse Park, 21629 410-479-2050 Moses Viney fl ed his enslaver Richard Murphy in 1840. The plantation’s hounds tracked him and two other men in his party, but Moses relied on a carefully made plan. He had been feeding Murphy’s dogs and treating them well. When the dogs charged him, Moses greeted them and ordered them home. The three men then crossed the Choptank River. carolinemd.org/ facilities/facility/details/ Daniel-Crouse-Memorial-Park-42 Denton Steamboat Wharf 10219 River Landing Rd, 21629 • 410-479-0655 At this wharf, captured Underground Railroad agent Hugh Hazlett and seven freedom seekers boarded the steamer Kent for return to Cambridge, from which they had fl ed. The group had left Town Point in Cambridge, but were betrayed by a free African American named Jesse Perry and were captured between Henderson and Templeville in northeast Caroline County. The group was placed in the Caroline County jail in Denton prior to their return trip to Cambridge for trial. The freedom seekers were re-enslaved and Hazlett was convicted and sent to prison for 44 years. harriettubmanbyway.org/ denton-steamboat-wharf Museum of Rural Life 16 N Second St, 21629 410-479-2055 Museum depicts historic rural lifestyle of townspeople including a free black sailor and an enslaved girl. Exhibits highlight Harriet Tubman, who passed through the area along the Underground Railroad. carolinehistory.org/places/ museum-of-rural-life Richard Potter Home Site 9 N 4th St, 21629 410-479-2730 In this post Civil War residence of Richard Potter, he wrote his kidnapping narrative. Born free around 1838 in Greensboro, Delaware, Richard was indentured in 1848 by his mother, Sydney Potter to Batchelder Skinner, a farmer near Greensboro. Skinner leased him illegally to Edward Taylor, another Greensboro farmer around 1852, who was cruel and abusive. Richard’s parents sued to cancel their son’s indenture, and Taylor schemed to sell Potter as a slave. In 1853, in a trap set by Taylor, Potter was kidnapped and sold to a man named Vaughn, who lived near Concord, Delaware. With search parties hot on his trail, Vaughn decided to kill Potter. Potter fl ed from Vaughn and found refuge with a sympathetic neighbor, Mrs. Short. Potter was rescued and brought back to Denton to be greeted by his joyful parents and cheering crowds. Richard Potter Rescue Celebration Site 4 N 2nd St, 21629 410-479-0655 This site is the location of the former hotel where Richard Potter was brought after he was rescued from being kidnapped into slavery in 1853. At this site, Richard Potter’s freedom began. African American and white residents celebrated the rescue and return of Richard John Potter, a free black youth who had been kidnapped from Greensboro, MD and sold into slavery in Delaware. Potter’s indenture, kidnapping and rescue are vividly documented in his memoir, The Narrative of the Experience, Adventures, and Escape of Richard Potter , published in 1866. Tuckahoe Neck Meeting House 24820 Meeting House Rd, 21629 • 410-479-0655 Built in 1803, this was one of fi ve Quaker meeting houses in Caroline County whose members sustained a local Underground Railroad network. Quakers also supported women’s equality and the end of slavery. Abolitionist Hannah Leverton from the Linchester Mill area spoke here also. harriettubmanbyway.org/ Tuckahoe-neck-meeting-house William Still Family Interpretive Center 4-H Park, Detour Rd, 21629 410-479-0655 William Still, famous Underground Railroad agent and author of The Underground Railroad , has family roots in this area. His mother, Sidney Still, and four of her children lived in a house similar to the one found here on Alexander “Saunders” Gri th’s plantation. Sidney fl ed around 1806, but had to leave her two sons, Levin and Peter, behind. Gri th sold the boys to slave traders from Kentucky. Sidney joined her husband in New Jersey and renamed herself Charity. Eventually Peter was reunited with his family with the assistance of Still. harriettubmanbyway. org/William-still-interpretive-center Choptank River 3 Crouse Park Lane 21629 410-479-4950 Site of numerous escape attempts by freedom seekers relying on their own maritime skills or secreted aboard vessels. More than 15 public access points, including Martinak State Park, Choptank Boat Launch, the Choptank River Heritage Center and Joppa Steamboat Wharf in West Denton. https://choptankriverheritage. org/wp3/ Maryland’s Underground Railroad & African-American Heritage Travel Guide 33
African American Heritage Guide 2022 African American Heritage Guide: Page 33
