Cycling the Underground Railroad--Part 2

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 DAy 11: DUBLIN TO DELAWARE, OH

Plaque on the banks of the Olentangy River in Delawares,  Ohio. 


Today's destination was Delaware, Ohio, an "anti-slavery stronghold" near the center of this Free State.

As I pedaled out of Dublin, I was greeted by a gaggle of honking Canada geese.  I had to wonder on this warm (heat index of 95F) and windy day (thanks to hurricane/tropical storm Nick sucking all the air out of the Midwest) if they were rethinking their decision to head south at this point.

A few clicks out of town I took a ride on the Heritage Rail-Trail.  This is a short 2+ mile paved path the runs through corn fields and connects a couple of farm roads. Very curious.

A bit further on I turned on Mitchell-Dewitt Road, and passed several houses with the name Mitchell on them.  I came upon their farm stand.  This family has been here on this very large farm for a long time.  (Duh, the road is named after them!)

Then all of a sudden I'm on a bridge looking at the very wide river, not one that I am familiar with.  The Scioto River runs for 230 miles from north central Ohio to the Ohio River in Portsmouth. 
The Scoito River south of Delaware,  OH.

By this tome I've traveled 27 miles on back roads without seeing so much as a gas station.  A few miles south of Delaware, I see my first convenience store.  I'm hot, so I stop for a cold drink and snack.  On the table in this air conditioned pit stop, I see this placard.
 
It has cyclists on it, so I'm curious.  Pelotonia is an effort in Columbus to raise money for cancer research.  To date they have raised over $231 Million.  As my brother is battling cancer, I am moved to make a donation.  Hang in there, Bro!

Once in Delaware, I hunt down a couple of historical markers.  The Underground Railroad marker is displayed at the top of this post.  The other information I was interested in is about the "Delaware Anti-slavery Stronghold."

Presbyterians, Methodists and Quakers and others in Delaware county became very vocal about their opposition to slavery, and were very active in the Underground Railroad.  The strict Fugitive Slave Law of 1950 incensed these abolitionists.  One advocate vowed to "keep running slaves" and didn't care if Congress or anyone else knew it.  Pro-slavery forces put a price on this man's head--$3,000 (over $100,000 in today's currency), dead or alive.

Interestingly, on the main corner of downtown Delaware is a statue of Rutherford B. Hayes. the Ohio-born 19th President of the United States, who took office in 1877.  Despite his desire to protect the rights of now freed slaves, he promised the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South in order to win a very tight election.  This effectively put an end to Reconstruction and entered in the era of Jim Crow Laws.  Ironically, he is somewhat revered in this "anti-slavery stronghold."

Tonight I'm staying with Warmshowers hosts Jason and Andrea.  Jason does consulting work, and Andrea is a Spanish Professor at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU).

 After they fed me a wonderful homemade dinner, we went downtown and I was given a walking tour of OWU and downtown Delaware. 
Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware,  OH

We landed at "Ciao" and indulged in gelato

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Today's mileage: 37.0
Total mileage this trip: 481.0
Total on the Underground Railroad: 
    1614.4 .miles

Comments

  1. Tim TSeptember 14, 2021 at 11:07 PM

    Sounds like a great day of adventure going north to Delaware. Glad you found the Pelatonia flyer... that is a huge deal in Columbus and they do raise lots of funds for cancer research. It’s raining hard here at 2 am and am praying you get a late start tomorrow to miss the rest of this storm. Ride safe, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AzPedelarSeptember 15, 2021 at 1:50 PM

      Somehow I missed the rain, bately got sprinkled om today (Wednesday).

      Delete

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