Burkle Estate
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| The Burkle Estate | |
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| Established | 1997, built in 1849 |
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| Location | 826 North Second Street Memphis, Tennessee |
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The Burkle Estate is a historic home at 826 North Second Street in Memphis, Tennessee. It is also known as the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum or the Slavehaven/Burkle Estate. The house was constructed in 1849 by a German immigrant by the name of Jacob Burkle and is believed to have served as a way station on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves.
Publicly, Mr. Burkle was a livestock trader and a baker. However, privately he was a conductor on the Underground Railroad.[1] Many believe his home was the last stop in a series of Memphis homes connected by underground tunnels. The house included a small cellar entered through a trap door where slaves apparently waited to escape. The cellar connected to a tunnel leading to the Mississippi River.[2] Slaves could then get on boats to take them upriver to other way stations in the free states north of the Ohio River.
Although the role of the home as a part of the underground railroad is still subject to debate,[3] the house opened as a museum in 1997 and tours of the one-story, white clapboard house are available. The house is decorated with 19th-century furnishings and artifacts and served as part of the overall civil rights heritage of Memphis.[4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ Lorne Blumer (2005-01-26). This Train Traces the Route of Black Migration North. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Mississippi Learning. The Sunday Times (2005-01-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ James Busbee (1997-02-27). The Persistence of Folklore. The Memphis Flyer. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Ruth A. Hill (2004-02-01). In Memphis, a Crash Course on the Civil Rights Movement. The Record. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ African-American Heritage in Memphis. Frommer's. MSNBC (2006-10-09). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
[edit] See Also
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