Increased interest in UGRR and Abolitionist activity in Putnam and a recommendation from the National Park Service has resulted in an effort to update Putnam’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NR). The original 1975 listing recognized the historic impact of Putnam at the local level. It was amended in 2004 to include Putnam’s importance at the state level. The 2024 update seeks recognition of Putnam’s national significance.

Each meeting will feature a program about Putnam History as well as an update on the status of the NR update including related Q&A and discussion. The program theme for the Inaugural Season is Old Putnam: Stories That All Americans Can Relate To, Regardless of Where They Live.

The Putnam UGRR Forum, made possible by the generosity of the community-minded J.W. and M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation, is open to the public free of charge.

NATIONAL REGISTER UPDATE: The focus will be on the Statement of Significance including Putnam’s role in America’s First Civil Rights Movement.

PROGRAM TOPIC: Coming to Blows: Mob Violence in Putnam in the 1830s

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Stories about anti-Abolitionist violence prior to the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society state conventions held in Putnam in 1835 and 1839 including “The Battle of the Bridge” and attacks directed at Quaker activist Henry Howells.

SPEAKER: Charlotte McElroy, MCH Trustee and Treasurer