The Passport to Freedom is dedicated to the lives of brave men and women who believed that any type of slavery was wrong. At the risk of being fined and arrested, they willing aided enslaved people in their quest to find safety and freedom. As these freedom seekers traveled north through Indiana County, they were sheltered and moved from one safe place to another.
Blairsville's location along the Conemaugh River at the southern edge of Indiana County provided many opportunities for growth. From its beginning in the early 1800s, the town benefited from road, canal and railroad traffic. Many of the people who settled in the area had strict religious convictions and they became a strong force in the Underground Railroad movement.
In those days, the bounty hunters tracking the freedom seekers often made comments about how swiftly the runaways moved and were able to disappear. It was almost as if they had an underground railroad. The various methods used by abolitionists to hide and move the freedom seekers made their pursuers is now referred to as the Underground Railroad.
Records were seldom kept due to the severe fines and threats of jail terms that accompanied anyone found guilty of breaking the law. At that time, the law forbid aiding and abetting any slave trying to reach freedom in Canada.
We trace the travels of the brave freedom seeker who traveled through Indiana County, beginning in Blairsville and moving northward, one hiding place at a time…
B.Y.O.P.
Determine the NORTH Coordinates:
Go to the Stage 1 coordinates, and you should be standing in front of " The Kidnapping of Richerd Newman" interpretive trail educational panel. Answer the following questions based on what you see on this panel.
The NORTH coordinates for this cache are: N40 25.ABC
A = Second # of the year the old canal covered bridge was erected ?
B = last # of the year Robert Stump crossed the coverd bridge ?
C = Number of letters in the town that Peter Heck was from ?
COMPLETE CHECKSUM FOR THE NORTH COORDINATES = 25
Determine the WEST Coordinates:
At Stage 1 coordinates, you'll still be standing at the same educational panel. Answer the following questions based on what you see on this panel.
The WEST coordinates for this cache are: W 079 1D.EFG
D = Last number of the year on the street map ?
E = # of men that came to town in search of Richard Newman ?
F = Third number of the visible canal year in the photo ?
G= Last number of the year the old covered bridge was erected ?
COMPLETE CHECKSUM FOR THE WEST COORDINATES = 13
CONGRATS TO Reflector2 ON THE FTF