For any interested in Iowa history, there is a new book at the library for you. It is Necessary Courage: Iowa’s Underground Railroad in the Struggle against Slavery, by Lowell Soike, former director of the Iowa Freedom Trail project dedicated to recovering the history of the Underground Railroad in Iowa.
The author begins in the years before the Civil War and struggle, especially in the southern counties, between those who opposed slavery and others who were neutral or believed that since slaves were considered property they should be returned to the owner. Slave owners rode into southern Iowa in search of their runaway slaves while Iowans, including Joshua Grinnell, were shuttling the slaves to safe places as they were finding their way farther north.
The book includes sites on the Iowa Freedom Trail that you can visit today, including the Jordan House in West Des Moines. This was the home of James Jordan and offered a sanctuary to runaway slaves and shelter for men like John Brown when he was traveling to Kansas and later to Harper’s Ferry. Iowans were involved in both of these conflicts and were in the midst of the struggle with slavery with individuals and groups on both sides of this monumental struggle. (Note: some of the sites may not be open yet this summer.)
-Nancy Hanaman