Friday, November 23, 2018

new Underground Railroad marker in Kalorama for enslaved woman Hortense Prout, who fled a Kalorama farm in 1861 and was subsequently captured at the Beale estate in Bloomingdale

See these messages:

From: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2018 1:12 AM
To: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [HistoricWashington] New Historic Marker: Kalorama Park and the Underground Railroad
  

Hi Neighbors:
If you take a walk through Kalorama Park this holiday weekend, be sure to check out the new historical marker honoring the 1861 flight to freedom from slavery by 20-year-old Hortense Prout.  Kalorama Park is a National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site because of her courageous act of resistance. 

The new marker sits just inside the grassy oval at the central part of the park; it faces the Columbia Road entrance, where the stairs are. It’s hard to miss.

On the marker you’ll see a photograph of the very large house that sat on the grassy oval, which was the manor house for the slave-holding farm of John Little. The house was razed in 1937, but the sign faces the spot where the house stood.

The sign—which is in both English and Spanish—was installed by the Kalorama Citizens Association with a grant from the National Underground Railroad program and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and with the support of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, the DC Historic Preservation Office, and the Adams Morgan ANC.

When you visit the sign, don’t forget to take a brochure (also bilingual) which tells you more about Hortense and her daring bid for freedom. Happy Thanksgiving! 
Mary Belcher 





And see this article from the Current Newspapers:

...


 ...

No comments: