 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |
| A list of the events planned for October is listed below, and we are excited to share them with you. From renewing old friendships to ground breaking discoveries, there is truly something for everyone who loves Laurel history! Across the Tracks: Uncovering the History and Persistence of the African-American Community in West Laurel Tuesday, October 26, 2010 6:30 p.m. Library's Second Floor Reading Area FREE; No Registration Required The Laurel Public Library is honored to present a slide talk on a previously unknown segment of Laurel's history. Kim Toney of Worcester, MA, will be on hand to present the findings of her 2009 University of Delaware Master's degree thesis. While researching Underground Railroad activity in Delaware, Kim made the connection between water transportation and other known escape routes the slaves took through the state. Noting Laurel's proximity to Broad Creek and the Nanticoke River, she took a look at the earliest days of west Laurel and was surprised to see that African-American settlement had been there at least 40 years before the Civil War freed the southern slaves. Long before the Emancipation Proclamation, free black farmers, sailors, and merchants were conducting business in the same area now known as west Laurel. During the course of her project, Kim studied original documents at the Delaware Public Archives, poured over early maps and resources of Little Creek Hundred. She also conducted oral histories with local residents in order to uncover and explore the previously unknown stories of the 19th century African-Americans who settled here along with their white counterparts. This unprecedented research has never before been publicly presented and, as such, will help to tell the complete story of Laurel's history, and the men and women who lived it. A reception and social time will follow the slide show. |
 |