Occasionally overlooked as part of Vermont’s history are the African Americans who made Vermont their home. Over the centuries, they have tilled the soil, owned businesses, held public office, fought alongside fellow citizens in major wars, and worked to make Vermont—and the United States—a better place.
The Grafton Historical Society pays homage to Daisy Turner, the daughter of former slaves, who spent her 104 years in this Southern Vermont town.
The African American Heritage Trail was created to encourage black travelers to visit the state by offering journeys to exhibits and cultural sites that explore their stories and those of some of their fellow Vermonters.
Many of Vermont’s early African-American citizens left behind little documentation of their lives. But in the case of former slaves Alec and Sally Turner of Grafton, much is known. Alec, a descendant of an African chief and an English merchant’s daughter, was born into slavery in Port Royal, Va. He escaped to join the First New Jersey Cavalry as an assistant cook, and while in service allegedly killed his former overseer.
After the war ended, Turner and his family lived in Maine and Boston before settling in Grafton in 1872. Alec worked as a logger and in a sawmill, and raised money to purchase three lots that eventually totaled 150 acres of land. There he built Journey’s End Farm, where he and his wife would raise 13 children.
Today, visitors can learn about Turner family history at the Grafton History Museum, walk the streets of the village, and visit the church where the Turner family worshiped. At the 595-acre Turner Hill Wildlife Management Area, visit the location where the family once lived. The original Turner homestead no longer stands, but the foundation remains in close proximity to the Turners’ Birchdale Camp.
The camp is not open for viewing while the State of Vermont, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work to find a suitable permanent steward of the building and to raise funds for restoration and interpretation.
In addition to the Grafton Historical Society, the trail includes one of New England’s best documented Underground Railroad sites: Rokeby Museum, the Old Stone House Museum, which includes the school built by African-American Alexander Twilight, and Hildene, the Lincoln family home.
For more information, visit http://www.vermontvacation.com/africanamericanheritagetrail.
