Summary: Devin and Lauren dive into the history of Timbuctoo, an African American settlement founded by philanthropist Gerrit Smith in response to an 1846 law requiring all Black men to own $250 worth of property in order to vote in New York state. To counter this racist policy, Smith decided to give away 120,000 acres of land to 3,000 free, Black New Yorkers, hoping to enable them to move out of cities and work the land to its required value. Lyman Epps and other Black pioneers relocated to the wilderness near Lake Placid, New York — as did abolitionist John Brown, who based his family in North Elba to assist the Black pioneers in their farming. Marker: Timbuctoo, Lake Placid, Essex County, NY Guests: Amy Godine, historian and curator of the Dreaming of Timbuctoo exhibit; Paul Miller, director and producer of the upcoming film Searching for Timbuctoo; Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, director of the Timbuctoo Archeology Project; and Russell Banks, bestselling author of Cloudsplitter. A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC, and Archivist Media, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Jesse King, with original music from Sean Riley. Our theme is "Begrudge" by Darby. Further Reading: Blacks in the Adirondacks: A History, Sally E. Svenson (2017) “Race and Remembering in the Adirondacks: Accounting for Timbuctoo in the Past and Present,” Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, in The Archeology of Race in the Northeast (2015) Timbuctoo: African American History in the Adirondacks, Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake Promised Land: An Adirondack Folk Opera Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform, Norman K. Dann (2009) John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights, David S. Reynolds (2006) Cloudsplitter: A Novel, Russell Banks (1999) Teaching Resources: Columbia University: Mapping the African American Past Follow Along Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute In History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York state historian. Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. Devin: Today we've got a scoop from the Pomeroy Foundation. We're starting with a marker that will soon be up in Essex County. Lauren: The marker will be located on Old Military Road in North Elba, just south of the village of Lake Placid. The text reads: "Timbuctoo. Lyman Epps and other Black New Yorkers settled nearby to join 1846 voting rights scheme of justice established by abolitionist Gerrit Smith. William G. Pomeroy Foundation, 2021." So some of us may have heard the word "Timbuctoo" before. But if you're like myself, it might not have always occurred to you that Timbuctoo was a place in North Elba, in Essex County. So we're diving a little bit deeper into the history of this sign to find out exactly what was Timbuctoo, where was it, and what was the impact in New York state at the time. Devin: Yeah, there's a lot going on with this episode. I think one of the first things we need to talk about, when we talk about Timbuctoo, is to contextualize it within the history of slavery — not only in the country, but in the state of New York. Most people don't realize, or many people don't realize, that New York was a slave state. In fact, it was the largest slave-holding state north of the Mason Dixon line. According to the New York Historical Society, during the colonial period, 41% of New York City's households owned enslaved people, compared to 6% in Philadelphia and 2% in Boston. Only Charleston, South Carolina, rivaled New York in the extent to which slavery penetrated everyday life. And it wasn't until the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1799 that things began to change. Lauren: How did the Gradual Emancipation Act work? Devin: Well, we have to remember it was basicall
