Gibson County Sites Noted for Underground Railroad History
This former depot is home to Gibson County Visitors & Tourism Inc. (photo courtesy: Wes Mills/IIB)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTwo cemeteries in Gibson County are now designated as important historical markers for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom by the U.S. National Park Service.
The Underground Railroad helped slaves escape to northern states in the 1800s.
Gibson County Visitors and Tourism Inc. says the Charles Grier Burial site at Antioch Cemetery near Owensville, and the David and Mary Hartin Stormont Burial site at Archer Cemetery in Princeton have been evaluated by the NPS as making a significant contribution to the understanding of the Underground Railroad in American history.
The visitor’s center says Grier was one of Gibson County’s earliest African American settlers. He and his wife, Keziah, are reported to have helped over 600 people successfully escape into Canada.
David and Mary Stormont were also active participants in the Underground Railroad. Tourism officials say the Stormont’s were white settlers who farmed just west of Princeton.
The Gibson County Visitors and Tourism Commission hired a researcher from Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research to find potential Underground Railroad sites in Gibson County.
The work was submitted to the National Park Service for review. The two sites were accepted this month into the Network to Freedom, joining 600 other different sites and facilities that played a role in the Underground Railroad.