The Abolition Road

The Abolition Road. . ”One hundred four of us emptied right out on brink of the canal.” , On October 21, 1835, about 600 men, black and white, gathered at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on Bleeker Street in Utica. They came from every corner of New York, intent on establishing the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, when a crowd of anti-abolitionists stormed the building, threatening violence if the meeting was not disbanded. When the abolitionists refused to leave, a riot ensued. , Gerrit Smith immediately stood before the delegates and invited them to reconvene at his Peterboro estate, 27 miles away. The next day about 350 of the delegates met at Peterboro Presbyterian Church and established the New York State Anti-Slavery Society. , How did these men get to Peterboro? , A few walked. Some stayed the night in Utica and rented horses or carriages early the next day. Some quickly rented carriages and drove to Vernon, where they stayed overnight. Continuing their journey the next day, they faced “rotten eggs, potatoes, and stones.” , A group of 104 commissioned an Erie Canal lumber boat to take them to Canastota. They left Utica at 3 pm and arrived 12 hours later at Canastota. Delegate James Jackson wrote, “One hundred four of us emptied right out on the brink of the canal.” They then walked 9 miles from Canastota to Peterboro on the Oxbow Road.