Local college a fountainhead for underground railroad

Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer

CADIZ—Harrison County is a staple in the Underground Railroad system of Eastern Ohio. One of the most prominent abolitionists in the area was a Presbyterian minister, Rev. John Walker. He was involved in a number of public discussions, one of which was with Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Campbellite Baptists. Walker wished to establish a school in Harrison County, and as none of the villages were on board with establishing a new school, Walker, along with a neighbor, laid out a town on the adjacent portions of their farms, which they named New Athens.

It was there that Walker started a classical school and did not rest until he succeeded in getting the charter of Franklin College, which was initially named Alma College in 1818, and the name changed to Franklin College in 1826. In 1919, the college became a part of Muskingum College, located in nearby New Concord. It is now the Franklin Museum and is still located in New Athens.

Walker was a man of deep conviction on the subject of equal rights. He entered into the anti-slavery contest with all of the passion of his impulsive nature and, during that long controversy, was one of the leading anti-slavery spirits of the time. The people who attended the ministries of Rev. John Walker were strongly anti-slavery. Franklin College was long recognized as the fountainhead of the abolition sentiment of Eastern Ohio. He also had a safe spot for slaves at Unity Presbyterian Church in Hopedale.

Rev. Walker and his faculty taught abolitionist doctrine, and many of the graduates carried the message forward in their careers as ministers, teachers, or attorneys. Graduates of this small institution included eight United States Senators, nine members of the House of Representatives, several governors, and 20 state legislators. The most well-known is Rev. Titus Basfield.

Titus Basfield, a former slave and one of the first African Americans to graduate from college in Ohio, was a Franklin College graduate. His classmate and friend, John A. Bingham, went on to become a member of Congress and served as floor manager for the legislation that gave rise to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Correspondence from Congressman Bingham to Rev. Basfield states that the congressman ensured the inclusion of the equal protection clause with Rev. Basfield and his family in mind. This clause is the basis for much of the civil rights progress achieved in this country over the past century and a half. He also published a book about his life titled, “An Interesting History of the Life of the Rev. Titus Basfield, a Colored Minister in the Associate Presbyterian Church.”

Located in Hopedale, Delaney House is a farm homestead that is documented to have served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The building contains a dry cistern, which is connected to the main house by a tunnel. The cistern served as a hiding place for runaway slaves, and the tunnel provided access from the main house without the need to go above ground and risk capture. Eastern Ohio’s proximity to the Ohio River and local Quaker and Presbyterian influences made this region an important stop on the route to freedom. Delaney House was purchased several years ago by a local resident. Members of the Friends of Freedom are dedicated to the preservation of Delaney House.

Those who harbored fugitives in those days did so at great risk, the penalty being a $1,000 fine and imprisonment. Numerous underground stations were established in the valley.

The Franklin Museum in New Athens is staffed by volunteers and open during limited hours and by appointment. Please call 740-968-1042 or 740-968-4066 for an appointment. Additional information is available on the museum website: www.harrisoncountyohio.org/franklinmuseum.

There is an Underground Railroad Museum located in Flushing, Ohio, if you would like to learn more. They are open February through October on Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. November through January they are open by appointment only. Please call 740-391-3135 for an appointment.