Some of the most important human rights issues in American History trace their origins to a small Madison County Hamlet. The small township and a key figure proved critical in the fight for freedom and equality.
Historian Norman Dann describes the barn on the Gerrit Smith Estate, in Peterboro, NY. “this became an active spot on underground railroad. As man as 1000 runaway former slaves came through here”
The Gerrit Smith Estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001, and by some accounts the town was considered the center of abolition 40 years before the civil war…