CEREDO Little did Debbie Wolfe know when she began a renovation at the ZD Ramsdell House she would crack open a trove of Civil War treasures revealing more fully the significance of the house to American history.
Wolfe was asked to oversee the rehabilitation of the house, built in 1858 by Zophar Ramsdell, a New England abolitionist recruited to the area to establish an anti-slavery colony. She began the process in January 2019; a dedication ceremony took place in September.
“As we got into renovating, I was thinking it was just going to be patching holes in the walls and the roof and doing wiring, but as I got into it, I started finding all of these original handwritten Civil War documents and letters and relics that haven’t seen the light of day in 150 years,” Wolfe said. “It’s turned into an archeological site.”
Who was Ramsdell?
Ramsdell was a successful businessman in Boston, whom abolitionist Eli Thayer recruited to the area to live in a slave state (Virginia at the time) that bordered a non-slave state (Ohio). Ramsdell moved his family to what is now Ceredo and built the two-story, red brick and frame house on what some say was an Adena Indian mound. He built a shoe and boot factory and served as the Quartermaster during the American Civil War and a post office inspector after the war. He also was a representative in the West Virginia State Senate during 1868 and 1869.
Thayer recruited 500 anti-slavery business leaders, church leaders and community leaders who brought non-agricultural business to the area, businesses not dependent on slavery, but businesses that provided jobs. His goal was to form an anti-slavery colony.
“(Thayer) also brought people here to start a cultural dialogue about slavery,” Wolfe said. “Slavery had been around for generations. It was just the way it was and it has always been that way, so he would bring these folks into the area, maybe sitting around in the parlor having tea or at the hardware store, and he’s just bring it up on his own: ‘Have you ever thought about this thing, owning slaves?’ He also knew when slavery did come to a vote, he had 500 ringers. It was just a well-thought-out strategy.”
Lacking evidence
The house’s position along the Ohio River, among other things, suggests it was a stop along the Underground Railroad; Wolfe said there is a good reason there is no definitive evidence to support the theory.
“The whole thing is, there is no proof because nobody recorded anything,” she said. “They didn’t want to be discovered. These people were risking everything, including their lives, to help slaves escape. They were super careful not to leave evidence.”
Despite the lack of clear evidence, Wolfe said during the “archaeological harvesting” at the house, letters and journals were found that caused her to ask questions.
“I started networking with a couple of pastors of churches in Burlington, Ohio,” she said, noting several churches in that area were founded by free slaves. The little-known story of the Burlington 37 has 37 newly freed slaves, owned by James Twyman of Madison, Virginia, crossing the Ohio River into Burlington, which hints at the possibility of the group traveling through Ceredo and perhaps visiting the Ramsdell house.
Modern-day visitors have given her reason to believe the house might have been part of the Underground Railroad, too.
“There is a window in the top floor of the house. This is the only original opening to the river,” she said. “There was not a door on the back of the house that faced the river other than the root cellar, which is where we do believe the slaves could’ve waited. On the third floor, the window appears you could shoot or signal out of it’s oddly shaped.
“We had some descendants of slaves who came through this way visiting the house,” he continued. “We were on the top floor and I heard something, so I turned around and this man was sobbing. He said his great-great-grandfather told him the only way they communicated was by lantern signal. If those on the Ohio side could see there were no slave hunters, they’d hang a lantern, or when the people at the Ramdell house saw a lantern, they’d hang one safe houses in the area, but the Ramsdell house is the only one left standing and it represents the others used for that purpose.”
The house’s root cellar is often referred to as the “doorway to freedom,” Wolfe said. It’s been through many changes over the decades and the entrance is much bigger than it used to be.
“From everything we have read, in journals and letters, when there might have been a visitor, they ate at the dining room table with the family and they stayed upstairs and they were schooled with the rest of the children.” But the cellar could have been a place to hide or to prepare to flee.
Dangerous journey
Escaped slaves headed across the border might have had only the Ohio River separating them from freedom, but Wolfe pointed out there were many factors controlling when they made the final leg of the journey, including conditions on the river, the weather, the degree of slave hunting activity.
“They could have stayed at the house for moments or for months,” she said.
Meanwhile, children making the journey were educated and prepared for life as a free person.
Wolfe said they discovered a great deal of educational material, including a McGuffy Eclectic Speaker, a book that contained guidance on behavior, from handshakes to posture to projecting self-confidence.
“Not much attention was given to adult education,” Wolfe said. “And the Ramsdell children didn’t need that kind of instruction. They studied Latin, German, literature. This is a kind of rudimentary book that provides a foundation in how to meet and greet. … The Ramsdell children didn’t need that. They were a product of Boston society.
“All of this is hypothesis because that’s all we have to go on. Those are the kind of puzzle pieces we have no choice but to utilize to piece together the story, but we’re trying to build an accurate story. It doesn’t need to be exaggerated or embellished. What went on in that house and that community is so off-the-charts, profoundly courageous.”
Wolfe stresses there is no solid evidence the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad, but many pieces of evidence point to that possibility.
“I tell people, look at what is here and our strategic location on the river and some of the journal entries, and you draw your own conclusions,” she said.
Plenty of artifacts
Many great artifacts have been found, including handwritten letters from Gen. William McKinley (eventually President McKinley) to Ramsdell; a letter from McKinley to Rutherford B. Hayes (president from 1977 to 1881); Ramsdell’s journal, in which he wrote every day, including the day before he died; a picture of Ramsdell in his uniform; collar, buttons and epaulettes from the uniform; Ramsdell’s saddle blankets, unspent bullets, folding chairs and pieces of crates used to ship supplies to the front line. Wolfe said she discovered many of these items in the attic, some damaged and some dirtied by chimney fires.
“When the Ramsdells started renting the house, I assume they put family memorabilia in the attic and told the renters not to go into the attic,” Wolfe said.
The end of the Civil War wasn’t the end of the house’s community presence. It was the site of church meetings, schooling, caring for the sick, birth of babies and burial of the dead.
Wolfe said she’s still researching Mrs. Almeda Ramsdell and hoping to find some artifacts about her.
“The Ramsdells maintained a lifelong commitment to human rights and wanted everyone to have access to education and the opportunity for progression and growth, so after the war, he was a founder of the Ceredo Independent School District and oversaw the beginning of three ‘colored’ schools ,” she said. “I have no doubt Almeda was up to her eyeballs in suffragettes in the parlor making posters. … Their involvement in human rights spanned decades of service and it’s been a real privilege for me to work in that house and come to appreciate what these are folks done there.”
The property remained in the Ramsdell family until 1977. In 1982, the Ceredo Historic Landmark Commission purchased the property, and the American Legion joined in its restoration and opened as a museum.
Wolfe said he encouraged everyone to tour the house, and they are doing just that.
She said since the grand opening in September, visitors have come from Colorado, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and the Philippines.
“It’s not just going to see a cool house, and it is beautiful now, but it’s more experiencing the story and what really went on in that little town of Ceredo. It was building for good,” she said. “It’s really a fascinating situation to find myself in. I’ve had some pretty interesting gigs, but this one has really been something.”
(606) 326-2661 |
The Ramsdell House is at 1108 B St. in Ceredo. Free tours are available from 10 am to 2 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those interested are urged to call the house to make an appointment so social distancing may be observed. Those interested in volunteering may also call the house at (304) 908-9696.