From Native American Trail to Railroad to Underground Railroad: the Michigan Central Railroad and its Relationship to Abolitionist Theodore Foster

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The relationship of present day roads to Native American trails is a common theme in transportation history. Less common may be the study of railroad footprints in relation to these trails. A portion of the Michigan Central Railroad in Washtenaw County, Michigan appears to be one such line. It arrived in 1841 at the town of Scio, which was platted in 1835. Theodore Foster, a known conductor on the Underground Railroad and editor of the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society’s newspaper, Signal of Liberty, built his store and home in 1835 on what would become the route of the Michigan Central in Scio. A recreational trail is planned that will bisect his properties. This paper looks at Foster’s life, efforts to preserve and understand portions of the sites associated with him, and the relationship between the Underground Railroad and the Michigan Central Railroad.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 244