The permanent 474-foot trail with a walking path in the house’s back yard opened to tie into local Juneteenth events the organization sponsors. Gammon House board members, guests and others attended a dedication ceremony Saturday.
A version of the trail with chalk lines was introduced at the 2024 Juneteenth celebration and this expands on that.
“That was a big hit last year and we put in a lot of work for folks to experience it,” said Gail Grant, a Gammon House board member. “It’s another part of your experience here at the Gammon House.”
The trail takes visitors on what a runaway slave’s path may have been, going from Ripley, Ohio up to Toledo. Signs along the way indicate the locations and how they fit into the Underground Railroad story, with area cities including Springfield, Urbana and Xenia among them.
Funding came from the Clark County Convention Facilities Authority and The Hank Jud Memorial Fund. Melinda Barnhardt Jud, Hank Jud’s widow, said her husband was a supporter of diversity and his adopted daughter, Nancy Jud Sampson, is Black, and this type of project was important to him. There is a memorial with his name on the trail.
“He would speak out for everybody,” said Barnhardt Jud, who has friends and family coming from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio coming to view the trail.
Guest speaker Roger Osorio, representing the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument Museum in Wilberforce, Ohio, said the trail is important in recognizing figures who traveled the path, such as Young, a runaway slave who became a Buffalo soldier in the U.S. Army and the first Black colonel.
Osario said it shows some sad and heartbreaking tales, but also strength and resilience on the path and stories that should be preserved.
“Walking this beautiful path will strengthen the history we share,” he said.
The path will be open and one of the highlights of the annual Juneteenth and FatherFest celebration on the grounds of the Gammon House and across from it, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 14. The event is free and there will be tours, vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, kids’ activities and more.
The festivities will also include the annual Together We Rise Prayer Breakfast, 9 a.m. Friday, June 13 at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 34 W. Pleasant St. It will include a time for spiritual connection, unity, and reflection and a guest speaker. The event is free, but registration is requested at gammonhouse.org/events/
Grant said the Discovery History Walk will be open for visitors in the future and hours will be posted. The board plans to add permanent signage to the trail along with a bench for resting. Grant mentioned going around the trail 13 times is equal to a mile.
Board member Dorris Daniel said the Gammon House is next working on adding an interpretive center across the street. They have an architect design for the center that will be revealed at the Juneteenth activities and are looking to work with a general contractor and determine funding costs.
For more information on the Discovery History Walk, Gammon House or Juneteenth events, go to gammonhouse.org/ or www.facebook.com/GammonHouseoh/.
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