Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
READFIELD — A program on the town’s role in the underground railroad will be presented 6:30 to 8 :30 p.m., Wednesday, June 7, at Maranacook Adult and Community Education by Dale Potter-Clark and a history walk related to the program will take place in Winthrop Friday, June 16.
Potter-Clark has been researching old homes and families in Readfield for several years and has found many clues that indicate underground railroad activity must have existed in town, said Susan Simons, MACE program assistant, in a news release. Potter-Clark’s first discovery was that Dr. Ingalls Kittredge, the major landowner and developer of Readfield Corner from 1835 to 1845, was also the manager of the underground railroad in Essex County, Mass.
The underground railroad is the name for the route that escaped slaves took to Canada before slavery was abolished in the United States in 1861.
“For sure there were politicians and businessmen living in Readfield at the time who were also active in the anti-slavery and abolitionist movement” said Potter-Clark. The underground railroad passed through Augusta, Hallowell and Winthrop, and on to Farmington and Jay towards Canada. “Look at the map and you will see that Readfield falls right in the middle of that route,” she said.
Potter-Clark will share photos, maps and clues that have helped form her theory.
As a followup, there will be a history walk from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, June 16, cosponsored by the Readfield and Winthrop Historical Societies, that will focus on Rev. David Thurston and the underground railroad in Metcalf Neighborhood, Winthrop. Thurston served the Winthrop Congregational Church from 1807 to 1851. His anti-slavery views and efforts began in the 1820s and an underground railroad route was established through Winthrop because of his advocacy, the release said.
The June 6 presentation was also given in April, and there have been many requests to repeat it, Simon said. To register for MACE classes call 685-4923 x 1065 or visit maranacook.maineadulted.org. Proceeds from the classes will help fund the creation and placement of historical site markers in Readfield.
There is no fee for the history walk, which will include some driving as well as easy walking. Participants should meet in the parking lot behind the Congregational Church, Main Street, Winthrop, by 10 a.m., and the tour will begin from there.
For more information, email crossings4u@gmail.com, call 441-9184 or visit readfieldhistorywalks.blogspot.com.
PHOTO CAPTION: In 1825 Peter Kittredge, of Readfield, and his brother, Dr. Ingalls Kittredge, of Beverly, Mass., developed the eastern section of Readfield Corner in the 1800s.. Ingalls Kittredge was a strong anti-slavery man who helped many escaped slaves flee into Canada and he managed the line of underground railroad through Essex County, Mass. The brothers will be part of the focus of a June 7 Maranacook Adult and Community Education program about clues to the underground railroad in the area.
