We placed this cache while in the area in honor of the new federal holiday Juneteenth. This cache is a small container with a log. Bring your own pen. Park in the parking area and take the bike trail until you are within a few feet. You may wish to have a walking stick for support as the ground is lose around the cache.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. September 22, 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclimation which announced that January 1, 1863 all persons held as slaves in any state would be free. It would take the Civil War and the 13th ammendment to the constitution to end the institution of slavery.
After the war ended in April 1869 many slaves in Texas were unaware of their freedom. Union troops started arriving in Galveston, Texas and on June 19, 1865 Maj. General Gordon Granger read "General Order No.3'. The order stated that, in accordance with a proclimation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free.
Freed African Americans observed "Emancipation Day" as it was first known as early as 1866 in Galveston. As community gatherings grew across Texas celebrations included parades, readings of the proclimation, singing, and prayer. In 1979 Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas. As of June 17, 2021 Juneteenth is now a national holiday.
Before the Civil War and the emancipation Clarion County was involved with the underground railroad. All the slaves that came through Clarion were males from Virginia. Despite that aiding a fugitive slave was illegal, the punishment being up to a thousand dollar fine and six moths in jail, agents of the underground railroad were willing to take the risk. The first assisted fugitives arrived in Clarion County in June of 1847. The runaways would come from Armstrong County into Porter Township. Under the cover of night they would be moved on to Rimersburg. From there they would go by wagon to Licking Township then on to Venango County.
Clarion County has a very detailed history on it's involvement in the Civil War. There is page after page of enlistments as well as battles that the regiments and companies in the area were involved with. You can read about it here, https://archive.org/details/historyofclarion00davi/page/10/mode/2up