- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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Legends & Lore®
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Folklore
- 3019 NY-98, Franklinville, NY 14737, USA
- 42.321047, -78.463037
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Ischua Valley Historical Society
ISCHUA CREEK
Inscription
ISCHUA CREEKBELIEVED TO BE ROUTE ON
UNDERGROUND RR. FREEDOM
SEEKERS RAFTED HERE, THEN
HIDDEN BY STATIONMASTERS.
CONDUCTED NORTH BY ALFRED RICE.
NEW YORK FOLKLORE
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2021
Prior to the Civil War, the subject of slavery in the United States divided the country. In New York State, many men and women openly opposed slavery and its expansion to other states. The Underground Railroad was a secret and complex network of individuals and homes dedicated to help enslaved peoples on their journey to freedom. Traveling under the cover of darkness, freedom seekers were guided by “conductors”, traversing the diverse geography of the U.S. to different “stations” or “stops” along the Underground Railroad. Since this network was highly secretive, few primary sources exist for such “stops”, leaving many such locations to rumors or otherwise lost to history.
Ischua Creek, in Cattaraugus County, New York is believed to have been a route on the Underground Railroad. A brochure submitted with this application, entitled, “The Routes: The Paths to Freedom” details some of the complexities of the Underground Railroad and notes the importance of Ischua Creek:
Fugitive slaves from the South used waterways through Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to travel to New York State. The Susquehanna River, the Allegheny River and Ischua Creek played major roles as escape route. The slaves travelled in the dark from one Underground Railroad station to the next, usually a distance of ten to fifteen miles. Their goal was to reach Buffalo or Rochester where they could find transportation to Canada and safety.”
The publication continues:
One route crossed the Pennsylvania border into Weston Mills. From there they continued to Olean where several stations were located, such as The Olean House. They were rafted to the Cadiz station by means of the Ischua Creek.
It is believed that many freedom seekers who traveled along the creek were hidden by stationmasters and then conducted North to Canada by local schoolteacher and farmer Alfred Rice. Maggie Frederickson, the Village of Franklinville Historian and representative of the Ischua Creek Historical Society wrote the following about Alfred Rice in an essay titled “The Underground Railroad in Cattaraugus County”:
Alfred Rice was the Underground Railroad’s last surviving Conductor in Western New York. His father had a tavern in Nichols Brook and the family would hide slaves in a tangle of cherry trees and vines. In an article, Rice’s son relates that his father, Alfred, would hitch his wagon at dusk and head toward the hiding place of the slaves who had arrived in Franklinville.”
The essay continues:
These fugitives carried their possessions in a calico cloth tied to an end of a stick. They would lie in the bed of the wagon covered by hay or canvas during the three hour ride to East Aurora. Once slave catchers attacked his wagon at Protection, but he was able to beat them off with his whip.
Alfred Rice passed away at the age of 90 in 1923.