Creating Fiction From HIstory: 6/22/2022

Ever wonder what porters did when they weren't working on the Underground Railroad, helping southern blacks migrate to safer climates in the North?

In 1921, the Union persevered and slavery was officially a thing of the past. However, Ohio, as did many of the so-called "border-states," still ran an Underground Railroad of sorts; it had long since emerged into the open air of a newly reunited country.

These porters, while their work was not as dangerous as that carried on by the likes of Harriet Tubman a scant 60 years before their time, their jobs were not totally free from danger. One could not blame them for engaging in a bit of horseplay on their days off.

Though the Underground Railroad had served its purpose, in a manner of speaking, The Hubbard House, affectionately known as Mother Hubbard's Cupboard those 60-odd years ago, still functioned, as it once had, as an end-point for the Railroad, though it was now above ground.

It was on the grounds of this famous house, now a museum, that the sons and daughters of the Railroad built this small corral. Here we may have captured one such moment when one of the porters is trying his luck at riding, not a horse or mule, but one of the estates' several milk cows.

If you would like to create fiction from history with one of the museum's photos, please contact the Ledger at (406) 287-5301 or email whledger@gmail.com.