St. Paul's Museum offers presentation on the Underground Railroad

St. Paul’s August program will present a guest speaker who is an authority on the Underground Railroad in Piedmont North Carolina. 

Dr. Adrienne Israel, Professor Emerita of History at Guilford College, will talk specifically about the Underground Railroad in Guilford and Randolph counties. (The real Underground Railroad, of course, did not include actual underground railways as portrayed in Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad published in 2016.)

While much has been written about the Underground Railroad, getting accurate information is quite difficult. How many slaves actually made successful escapes? Who enabled these escapes? How were they actually accomplished? 

The most enlightening and informative article I know of is Dr. Israel’s January 2018 article in The North Carolina Historical Review entitled “Free Blacks, Quakers, and the Underground Railroad in Piedmont North Carolina” which also includes photographs. (You can find this article online by going to The Carolina Historical Review.)

Restoration resumes this month

The museum is also pleased to announce that the next stage of the restoration of St. Paul’s interior painting will begin later this month. This section will include the walls below and above the balcony on both sides of the apse which will complete the restoration of the front of the church. At the August meeting you will see scaffolding and perhaps even a beginning of the restoration.

As always we look forward to seeing first-time visitors as well as longtime members. If you are interested in local history, St. Paul is a museum you will want to visit, not only to see exhibits but also to learn from people knowledgeable in local history who can answer your questions.

All of this happens on Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul Museum, 401 High Point Street (corner of High Point and Stout Streets), Randleman.