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The second meeting of the Putnam Underground Railroad (UGRR) Forum will explore the historic significance and physical characteristics of five pre-Civil War structures in Zanesville’s Putnam Historic District. Featured properties are all National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom (NTF) sites. Included are the Stone Academy; the Putnam Presbyterian Church; and the homes of prominent UGRR operatives George & Sarah Guthrie, A.A. Guthrie, and Horace & Lucinda Belknap Nye.
The Network to Freedom (NTF) was established by an act of Congress in 1998. According to the NTF website, “Its mission, through collaboration with local, state and federal entities, as well as individuals and organizations, is to honor, preserve and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. Through its mission, the Network to Freedom helps to advance the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression.”
In addition to providing programs about “Old Putnam,” the Forum offers regular updates on the progress of efforts to update Putnam’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places to include national significance. This second meeting will be at the historic Putnam Presbyterian Church. Retired Muskingum County History Museum Director and presenter Jim Geyer authored the NTF applications. He indicated that “the second program in the series will be all about verifying the UGRR connections of Putnam’s Network to Freedom Sites. The National Register update will focus on the physical characteristics of pre-Civil War structures still standing in Putnam, including the NTF sites.”
The Putnam UGRR Forum series is open to the public and free of charge. Each meeting will feature a program about Putnam history as well as information about the National Register of Historic Places update including related Q&A and discussion. The program theme for the Forum’s Inaugural Season is Old Putnam: Stories That All Americans Can Relate To, Regardless of Where They Live.
The Putnam UGRR Forum is funded in part by the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation. Muskingum County History (MCH) Board President, Pete Cultice, indicated that “the MCH Board is very thankful for the generous financial support from the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation. We have worked many times with the Straker Foundation, and we appreciate their involvement in the Putnam district.”
Forum Program – second of series.
Date: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Putnam Presbyterian Church, 467 Woodlawn Avenue
Cost: Free, no registration needed
Speaker: James Geyer, Retired MCH Museum Director, author of Putnam NTF Applications
Info about future programs: www.muskingumcountyhistory.org/events1, 740-454-9500
MAIN PHOTO CAPTION: Putnam Presbyterian Church, 467 Woodlawn Avenue, Zanesville, Ohio
