Freeing Charles At The Poestenkill Historical Society

The Poestenkill Historical Society will be celebrating Black History Month with a special presentation on Tuesday, February 22, at the Poestenkill Town Hall on Rt. 351 at 7 pm. Author Scott Christianson from Sand Lake will discuss his book Freeing Charles and the history of the Underground Railroad. The public is welcome.
Freeing Charles unlocks the story of an escaped slave, Charles Nalle, born in 1821 into slavery in Stevensburg, Culpeper County, VA. The story begins on a plantation in Stevensburg at a time when slavery was a way of life supported by most churches in Culpeper, and it reaches fever pitch 450 miles away in Troy on the eve of the Civil War. Christianson follows Charles Nalle’s escape via the underground railroad to Troy. His story tells about Charles’s life as a slave and conveys a sense of how terribly difficult and complicated it was to free a slave before the Great Emancipation.
Christianson is an author, journalist and human rights activist. His interest in American history, particularly slavery, dates back to his boyhood in upstate New York when he discovered some of his ancestor’s Civil War letters.
Christianson will have copies of his book the night of his program available to purchase.
Refreshments will be provided by Gail Bentley. Call Pat at 283-5223 for directions.