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Albion, Michigan
| Juliet Calhoun Blakely House
| Samuel Snyder House | Charles Taylor
House |
Juliet Calhoun Blakely House
121 W. Cass and 103 S. Clinton Streets |
Juliet Calhoun Blakely |
Juliet Calhoun
Blakeley (1818-1920) allowed her home to serve as one of the local hiding stations
on the Underground Railroad. The entire Blakely Family was involved in
the operation, hiding fugitives in the bottom of their wagon, under bags
of grain or covered with ears of corn, and transporting them along the
predetermined route. Julia's son Charles (1852-1935) often served as the driver of
this wagon.
According to legend, Ms. Blakely was the
inspiration for Mother's Day. Her prohibitionist sermon in church one
day in 1877 so impressed her sons, Charles and Moses, that they
designated the second Sunday in May in honor of their mother and
encouraged all their friends and associates to do the same. Both were
traveling salesmen, so word spread quickly. The Albion Methodist Church
also assisted in distributing postcards honoring Ms. Blakely. None of
the literature surrounding Blakely includes the words "Mother's Day,"
which was not named a national holiday until 1914. It is most likely a
coincidence that the boys named the second Sunday in May for their
mother, as it was her birthday that year.
The site of the Blakely home is now the
city parking lot across from the fire station. |
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Samuel Snyder House
North side of the 800 block of Irwin Ave. |
Samuel Snyder |
Samuel Snyder
(1811-1857) and his
wife Deborah Whipple (1819-1908) were Methodists and supporters of the anti-slavery
movement. They allowed their land, an ideal location on both sides of
the Kalamazoo River surrounded by woods and swamps for protection, to be
used as the very first stop for the Underground in Albion, when it was
first instituted. He and his wife hid and cared for the first five
fugitive slaves who passed through Albion.
The house was demolished, date unknown. |
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Charles Taylor House
1400 E. Michigan Ave.
This was the house of
local "stationmaster," Rev. Charles Taylor (1804-1848). It is believed that this
house was used as an Underground Railroad site with the help of Taylor's
father, David. The house contained a small closet-sized room over the
stairwell that was accessible only by a narrow ledge, where it is
assumed fugitive slaves would hide before venturing to Detroit and
Canada. The Taylors owned not only the house at 1400 E. Michigan but an
additional 160 acres of land, which extended on both sides of Michigan
Avenue--northwards to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad
line, southwards to the Kalamazoo River, and westwards towards Clark St.
and the city limits.
The house was demolished in the 1960s and was probably
located where Gold Star Park is today. |
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Resources
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