Belt-Gaskin House

Last updated
Belt-Gaskin House
Belt-Gaskin House 01 31 56 322000.jpeg
House in 2022
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location77 Chapman Avenue, Auburn, New York
Coordinates 42°55′13″N76°34′33″W / 42.92016°N 76.57575°W / 42.92016; -76.57575 Coordinates: 42°55′13″N76°34′33″W / 42.92016°N 76.57575°W / 42.92016; -76.57575
Area0.8 acres (0.32 ha)
Built1868
Architectural styleMid-late 19th Century
MPS Freedom Trail, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Central New York MPS
NRHP reference No. 05001135 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 5, 2005

Belt-Gaskin House is a historic home located at Auburn in Cayuga County, New York. It is a two-story, three-bay frame house built about 1868. The house was built by African Americans Thomas and Rachel Belt (or possibly Bell), who returned to the U.S. from Canada after the conclusion of the Civil War. [2]

The National Register nomination document asserts:

Evidence that the Belt family were freedom seekers is circumstantial but compelling. About 1805, Rachael Belt and Thomas Belt were born in Maryland, almost certainly in slavery. In the 1840s, they came to New York State, where their son George was born about 1849. Perhaps as a result of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, they left New York State for Canada, where another son, Isaiah, was born about 1854. Between 1865 and 1870, Thomas and Rachael Belt returned to the United States. On November 5, 1868, they bought a house on Cornell Street (now Chapman Avenue) in Auburn, New York, in a neighborhood near Harriet Tubman's home, where many other freedom seekers, as well as many Irish and U.S.-born people of European-American descent, were also buying homes. The Belt house appeared on an 1868 manuscript map by John S. Clark, from a survey by A.C. Taber, along with a series of small houses built on the north side of Cornell Street. [2]

The property was purchased by Thomas Belt (or Bell) from Horace and Mary Fitch; Horace Fitch was son of abolitionist, industrialist Abijah Fitch. Based on property tax assessments, it appears the house was probably built in two parts, one by 1868 and the other at some point between 1869 and 1874. [2]

The pastor of the Thomson AME Zion Church, Reverend John Thomas, who had been born a slave in Virginia in 1814, was a boarder at the house when he died in 1894. [2]

The house was purchased in 1927 by Philip and Mary Gaskin. [2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Tubman</span> African-American abolitionist (1822–1913)

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auburn, New York</span> City in New York, United States

Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States, at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes, in Central New York. At the 2020 Census, the population was 26,866. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the county seat, and the site of the maximum-security Auburn Correctional Facility, as well as the William H. Seward House Museum and the house of abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Greeley</span> American politician and publisher (1811–1872)

Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the New-York Tribune. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, and was the unsuccessful candidate of the new Liberal Republican Party in the 1872 presidential election against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, who won by a landslide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park</span> National Historical Park of the United States

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park covers about 35 acres (0.14 km2) and includes several sites in Atlanta, Georgia related to the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Within the park is his boyhood home, and Ebenezer Baptist Church — the church where King was baptized and both he and his father, Martin Luther King Sr., were pastors — as well as, the grave site of King, Jr., and his wife, civil rights activist Coretta Scott King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham Manor</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Chatham Manor is a Georgian-style mansion home completed in 1771 by farmer and statesman William Fitzhugh, after about three years of construction, on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg. It was for more than a century the center of a large, thriving plantation, and the only private residence in the United States to be visited by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William H. Seward House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The William H. Seward House Museum is a historic house museum at 33 South Street in Auburn, New York. Built about 1816, the home of William H. Seward (1801–72), who served as a New York state senator, the governor of New York, a U.S. senator, a presidential candidate, and then Secretary of State under presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It is now maintained by nonprofit organization as a museum dedicated to Seward's legacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owens–Thomas House</span> United States historic place

The Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, that is operated as a historic house museum by Telfair Museums. It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast corner of Oglethorpe Square. The Owens–Thomas House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, as one of the nation's finest examples of English Regency architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace King (architect)</span> American politician

Horace King was an African-American architect, engineer, and bridge builder. King is considered the most respected bridge builder of the 19th century Deep South, constructing dozens of bridges in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. In 1807, King was born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation. A slave trader sold him to a man who saw something special in Horace King. His owner, John Godwin taught King to read and write as well as how to build at a time when it was illegal to teach slaves. King worked hard and despite bondage, racial prejudice and a multitude of obstacles, King focused his life on working hard and being a genuinely good man. King built bridges, warehouses, homes, churches, and most importantly, he bridged the depths of racism. Ultimately, dignity, respect and freedom were his rewards, as he transcended the color lines inherent in the Old South of the nineteenth century. Horace King became a highly accomplished Master Builder and he emerged from the Civil War as a legislator in the State of Alabama. Affectionately known as Horace “The Bridge Builder” King and the "Prince of Bridge Builders," he also served his community in many important civic capacities."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rokeby (Ferrisburg, Vermont)</span> United States historic place

Rokeby Museum is a historic farm property and museum at 4334 United States Route 7 in Ferrisburgh, Vermont. The 90-acre (36 ha) property includes a 1780s farmstead, and eight agricultural outbuildings with permanent exhibits. Hiking trails cover more than 50 acres (20 ha) of the grounds. Rokeby is open from mid-May to mid-October each year. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997 for its association with Rowland T. Robinson, a Quaker and ardent abolitionist who openly sheltered escaped slaves at Rokeby as part of the Underground Railroad. Robinson's extensive correspondence is an essential archive giving insight into the practices of abolitionists and the operations of the railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton D. Baker House</span> Historic house in Washington, D.C., United States

Newton D. Baker House, also known as Jacqueline Kennedy House, is a historic house at 3017 N Street NW in Washington, D.C. Built in 1794, it was home of Newton D. Baker, who was Secretary of War, during 1916–1920, while "he presided over America's mass mobilization of men and material in World War I. After the assassination of president John F. Kennedy in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy purchased the house and lived here for about a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlawn (Columbia, Maryland)</span> Historic house in Maryland, United States

Woodlawn, is a historic slave plantation located at Columbia, Howard County, Maryland. It is a two-story, stuccoed stone house built in 1840 with wood frame portions constructed about 1785. It was part of a 200-acre farm divided from larger parcels patented by the Dorsey family. The design reflects the transition between the Greek Revival and Italianate architecture styles. The home is associated with Henry Howard Owings, a prominent Howard County landowner and farmer, who also served as a judge of the Orphan's Court for Howard County. Owings purchased the property in 1858 and died at Woodlawn in 1869. The former tobacco farm produced corn, oats, hay, and pork. The majority of the property surrounding Woodland and its slave quarters were subdivided by 1966 and purchased by Howard Research and Development for the planned community development Columbia, Maryland, leaving only 5 acres surrounded by multiple lots intended for development of an Oakland Ridge industrial center and equestrian center. The summer kitchen, smokehouse, corn crib and stable built about 1830 have been replaced by a parking lot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Cottage</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Georgia Cottage, also known as the Augusta Evans Wilson House, is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1972, based on its association with Augusta Jane Evans. She was one of the most popular American novelists of the nineteenth century and the first female author in the United States to earn over $100,000 for her work, but has been largely forgotten in recent times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts)</span>

Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called the "King's Highway" or "Tory Row" before the American Revolutionary War, is the site of many buildings of historic interest, including the modernist glass-and-concrete building that housed the Design Research store, and a Georgian mansion where George Washington and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow both lived, as well as John Vassall and his seven slaves including Darby Vassall. Samuel Atkins Eliot, writing in 1913 about the seven Colonial mansions of Brattle Street's "Tory Row," called the area "not only one of the most beautiful but also one of the most historic streets in America." "As a fashionable address it is doubtful if any other residential street in this country has enjoyed such long and uninterrupted prestige."

John Hawkins Rountree was an American farmer, businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the founder of Platteville, Wisconsin, and was instrumental in the early development of that village. He was also one of the founders of the Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, and remained a director in the company until his death. In politics, he represented Grant County for five years in the Wisconsin Legislature, and was a delegate to Wisconsin's 2nd constitutional convention in 1847.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall</span> Historic complex in Pennsylvania, United States

Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall is a group of historic buildings in Plymouth Meeting, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In the decades prior to the American Civil War, the property served as an important station on the Underground Railroad. Abolition Hall was built to be a meeting place for abolitionists, and later was the studio of artist Thomas Hovenden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus Gates</span>

Cyrus Gates was an abolitionist, cartographer, and owner of the Cyrus Gates Farmstead in Maine, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith-Culhane House</span> United States historic place

The Smith-Culhane House is a private house located at 8569 Lake Street in Port Austin, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. It is now operated as a bed and breakfast, the Lake Street Manor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell-Spalding House</span> United States historic place

The Bell-Spalding House, also known as the Tuomy House, is a single-family home located at 2117 Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Nathan M. Thomas House</span> United States historic place

The Dr. Nathan M. Thomas House is a single-family home located at 613 East Cass Street in Schoolcraft, Michigan. The house is also known as the Underground Railway House, due to its use as a stop in the Underground Railroad. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nancy L. Todd (June 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Belt-Gaskin House". NARA . Retrieved 2009-11-10. Includes photo from 2005.