John Brown, Farmer, Surveyor, Tanner: Hero or Villan

150 Years Ago and an Elusive Verdict

Freedom fighter or home grown terrorist – the verdict is still elusive as the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry approaches October 16, 1859. There have been many commemorative events held at or near Harper's Ferry marking what many believe to be the opening shots of the tragic American Civil War. There are many more events planned in the upcoming weeks.

John Brown lived in New Richmond, Crawford County for nearly ten years. He was executed by hanging weeks afterwards on December 2, 1859 for the ill fated raid on the arsenal which Brown hoped would spark a general uprising against the slave owners He became an instant folk hero for the north, a despised murderer in the south.

His plan was to conduct a guerrilla war based in the Appalachian Mountains to fight against the institution of slavery. It was a plan which sent shock waves of fear among the rich plantation owners who stood to loose much of their wealth created by human slavery.

Brown's farm, has a a small museum, and parts of the old tannery are still standing; it is located off of Route 77, on John Brown Road, not far from Meadville, or Cambridge Springs or from Canadohta Lake. Brown's first wife and two small children are buried at the place; and Brown married his second wife, who was from Meadville and worked in his tannery at the farm.

Brown was the first Post Master in that region, turned his farmhouse into a church on Sunday mornings; other days of the week the farmhouse served as the community's first school. He was also the area's surveyor and many of the roads today in that region were the result of his work. He was also a major player in the area's Underground Railroad activity, something highly illegal back in the day. The government would arrest the activists and the supporters who faced stiff fines and a jail sentence. The Underground Railroad was a civil disobedience movement against the immoral institution of slavery.

The small museum is owned and operated by Gary and his wife, Donna Coburn. Both live on the property. Gary Coburn's grandfather built the museum in 1951. There is no entrance fee.

“My grandfather, Charles Olsen, didn't believe it was right to charge people a fee to learn about slavery and the Civil War, Gary said. “We've kept the same attitude. We not going to have any special events here to remember Harper's Ferry. That is their thing. The events happened there. But we will be open if people want to visit.”

Donna Coburn is the person usually running the day to day museum operations in between working as a waitress at the Riverside Inn. Donna spends countless hours every year organizing a traditional “John Brown Freedom Day Picnic” every week, held in early June. It is always, like this past June, a well attended event. “It is an event that has happened at the farm for about as long as anyone can remember,” she told me, “no one is sure exactly when the Freedom Day picnic started.”.


It is important to remember. Hundreds of thousands of American were killed during the bloody Civil War. Freedom came at a terrible price; the graves are in cemeteries large and small such as this grave in a lonely isolated spot. Luke Quinn, a US marine was the first and only US soldier to be killed at Harpers Ferry in defense of the arsenal, October 16, a 150 years ago.

Buy a Book

Learn more about John Brown and the Civil War. Buy a book from your independent book store. Recommended is Blessed Abduction by Vincent di Fondi and also the novels by Sam Hossler on some of the history of northwestern Pennsylvania. Check the authors out by clicking on search found in the link below.
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Container Herbs to Consider


Parsley, sage, basil and thyme are all good herbs for containers. They are great cooking herbs and used fresh have many health qualities. Parsley, thyme and sage all all winter hardy; basil can either be dried or frozen; it can also be grown indoors during the winter as a houseplant. If purchased this spring and planted in the soil, they can be dug and planted in containers with drainage holes. It is a good way to save money, eat well, and good for health.For more Fall agrden suggestions, click here.

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For the Heck of It

October is the last full month of Daylight Savings Time. Clocks back on November 1.

September 25 is Native American Day. Learn more about Sitting Bull.


Good Blogs to Read

Vincent di Fondi

On Your Way to the Top

New York's Southern Tier

Urban Veggie Garden

Simply Snickers

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Juneteenth: Get Involved

Juneteenth (June 19th) is a very important day locally in northwestern Pennsylvania and throughout the nation and actually throughout the world. On this day in 1865, which falls on a Friday this year, federal troops announced to a group of people in Texas they had been freed years earlier on January 1, 1863 when President Lincoln abolished slavery when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. There are a lot of theories regarding the long-time delay.
Meadville, Pennsylvania will commemorate the day, on the 19th, with a number of activities as the community has done for many, many years. Melissa Burnett of the NAACP has been working hard on getting the events organized and will be sending a schedule of events has soon as it becomes finalized.
For several years, the day was marked by a long march from downtown Meadville to the John Brown Farm and Museum some 12 miles away in New Richmond. There was always a good turn-out and a nice picnic after the long walk Freedom Walk. Events this year, as last year, will be held at Diamond Park in the city.
John Brown was a leading abolitionist just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. He is perhaps best known for his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. Brown, prior to that, had established a tannery and farm at New Richmond.
He was active, along with many other Meadville residents and churches, in the Underground Railroad, one of the largest civil disobedience movements in American history. Thousands of slaves found their way to freedom with the help of many farm families, churches and other organizations despite the strict penalties for helping the slaves. It was flat out illegal.
Historically, Meadville was a hotbed of unrest over the issue of slavery. The Civil Rights movement in the city and throughout the northwest Pennsylvania region, was always very active. There are many notable events such as early school desegregation, voting and property rights and political opportunities.
Thousands from this area served in the Union forces and thousands were killed, just visit any of the local cemeteries. These unsung and often forgotten heroes sacrificed for us today and helped to create the ongoing process of complete equality and civil rights, a struggle, while advances have been made, needs to be furthered. Juneteenth is the day to celebrate those folks and renew our efforts.
Once the schedule is set, it will be posted here, hopefully in a couple days or so. Get involved in the struggle, there is more to be done. For more information on some of the history click on any of the underlined links or click the title.

Memorial Day, the Civil War and the Oyster Plant

I wanted to do a post about the Jack in the Pulpit plants now blooming in the woods. However, the plants can wait a day or two since it is Memorial Day, one of America's most important national holidays.
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those military people who fought, served and died for this great country. Over the years, it has also become a time to remember everyone who has reached the “other side”, both family members and friends. Graves are decorated and there are quiet visits to cemeteries.
Originally, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day; a solemn day to remember those who were killed in the bloody and tragic American Civil War. Slavery was certainly one of the key issues in that tragic conflict.
It was an important day in many communities of northwestern Pennsylvania just after the formal hostilities ended. And it remains a solemn day today in many of those same communities; Meadville, Erie, Girard, Wattsburg, Union City, Phillipsville and so on.
Northwestern Pennsylvania is rich in Civil War history. The cemeteries, large and small, are filled with the graves of those who served, marked with GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) plaques and flapping American flags. Many were young men from farms in rural areas of northwestern Pennsylvania who have been long forgotten.
Northwestern Pennsylvania is also rich in Underground Railroad History, perhaps the largest civil disobedience movement in the nations history. Untold numbers of slaves were housed, fed and clothed in many rural farm houses and churches and then taken into Canada and freedom. It was a secretive movement because it was illegal to help a slave escape; persons caught were jailed and fined. It was a serious federal offense.
John Brown who led the ill fated raid on Harpers Ferry just prior to the Civil War spent nearly ten years in New Ricmond just north of Meadville. He was active in the Underground and other anti-slavery actions. For more information, click on the title.
Every rural community had a GAR post, an organization formed to help the veterans of that horrible period in American history. The GAR was the center of a town's cultural and social life for decades until the veterans slowly died off and the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Affairs organizations stepped forward as the advocates for veterans after World War 1.
I have read some of the minute books (1880-1910) from a GAR post from the Cranesville, PA area, the Colonel Lytle Post. Several times a year, usually in late winter or early spring, the post had an “oyster supper” for members and townsfolk. It is likely they didn't have real ocean oysters back in the late 1800's but more likely used salsify, a vegetable root crop which is also called the oyster plant.
Salsify is an old time vegetable favorite worth planting. It grows like a parsnip and can be harvested like a parsnip in late winter and early spring. Freezing weather makes this root crop much sweeter. Here is the recipe for oyster soup. So yes, Memorial Day is particularly important this year. We have elected Barak Obama as our president, something unthinkable even a decade ago; we need to support our troops who are fighting two separate wars; and vegetables gardens have taken on a new importance as we struggle through one of the worst recessions since 1929. Salsify is worth the try, it really is pretty darn good and healthy as well as historic.