The Jackson Purchase Historical Society will meet on November 14 via Zoom at 10:30 a.m. To register for the meeting, please send an email to bruce.dobyns@gmail.com. Our speaker will be Richard Parker, a local historian, who will speak on the steamboat’s role as a means of escape in the Underground Railroad. The program is entitled “Escape to Freedom: The Role of the Steamboat in the Underground Railroad.” Parker said, “The Jackson Purchase is surrounded by the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers,” Parker continued, “which acted as an interstate for slaves moving North seeking their freedom.” “Thousands of slaves worked on…

Due to the continuing public health situation, the Jackson Purchase Historical Society will hold its September meeting by zoom rather than in person. The program will be held September 19, a Saturday, beginning at 10:30 AM. In addition to the presentation there will be time for questions and discussion after the presentation. The program will focus on Chauncey H. Cooke, who enlisted in the Union Army at age 16 and found himself in Columbus, Kentucky. His letters home tell the story of his experience in the Army and experiencing life away from home the first time stop he came from…