Field Notes for Sections 1 & 2 --Alabama to Kentucky

2006-07-13T18:46:44Z

As I discovered from reading the Overview document (attached), this project differs from other AdventureCycling routes in that "the guiding principal for mapping this new route was more symbolic than geographical." Because the slaves took multiple and intricate routes in their journeys northward, mapping out a meaningful route was more challenging than usual. So the organizers decided to use the "Follow the Drinking Gourd" song as the basis for route selection.

The historic song was deliberately encoded with "information about an escape route through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky to freedom at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers."

The river ends between two hills,
Follow the Drinking Gourd.
There's another river on the other side,
Follow the Drinking Gourd.

Read more about this fascinating oral map in the Field Notes for Section 1: Mobile, AL to Fulton, MS. The notes include stories about the history of locations along that first leg of the route. Find more stories in Section 2: Fulton, MS to Owensburg, KY. All of these can be the basis on which to build programs at your libraries.

The first maps are heading for the printer as I write this, so they will be available soon. I can feel the momentum building!