Women of the Underground Railroad in Northeastern North Carolina 

The premiere of our video "Women of the Underground Railroad in Northeastern North Carolina" was a signature event of last year's celebrations. Locally, Wanda Hunt McLean, Ben Speller and other historians have done years of primary research on the subject. Hours of microfilm records had been mined to find names and locations of enslaved people who escaped through the forests, rivers and swamps. The history of the Underground Railroad is complex, but there are few tangible artifacts to tell the story. Just as preservation and interpretation of artifacts are important goals of museums, research and teaching also belong among the objectives.
This is a meaningful story about the region and tells a portion of the history of the Albemarle.
With assistance from Sen. Bob Steinburg, funds for assistance with the project were acquired through a grant from the NC General Assembly. Bill McCrea, MOA's former director, and Barbara Putnam, Operations Manager, helped secure the grant and direct the funds to the project.
With the funding and the stories, videographer, Angie Staheli, was called to script and assemble the creation. The animatics style employed by Ken Burns for his documentaries is the format used. Still prints which the camera brings to life when photos or artifacts are not available, with voice over added results in an easy to understand historic statement.
The digital story will be available to regional schools.
Written by Nancy Bailey Muller, former Executive Director of MOA/5Oth Anniversary of MOA Chairman.
The Museum of the Albemarle is a branch of the North Carolina Museum of History, a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). "Underground Railroad in Northeast North Carolina" is the property of DNCR and intended for educational use by public schools and libraries. In providing this footage to your school or library, DNCR is not granting permission for any other use; specifically, DNCR is not approving any commercial use. To obtain permission from DNCR for any other use, please contact the Museum.