Burkle Estate
Encyclopedia
The Burkle Estate is a historic home at 826 North Second Street in Memphis, Tennessee
. It is also known as the Slavehaven. Although disputed by some historians, the Burkle Estate is claimed by some to have been part of the Underground Railroad
, a secret network of way stations to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states. The house was constructed in 1849 by a German immigrant by the name of Jacob Burkle.
Since 1997 the estate is home to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.
for runaway slaves. Publicly, Mr. Burkle was a livestock trader and a baker
. Privately, some claim, he was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Many believe his home was the last stop in a series of Memphis homes connected by underground tunnels. The house included a small cellar which might have been used to hide escaping slaves. Slaves could then get on boats to take them upriver to other way stations in the free states north of the Ohio River
.
, would provide a good material for tunnels, there is no evidence of tunnels under the house. The escape network was solely underground in the sense of being an underground resistance
, in which the term underground would refer to the secrecy of the operation rather than its literal meaning as a network of tunnels.
Some local historians go even further and state that there is no evidence to substantiate the claims regarding the Underground Railroad and the use of the Burkle Estate as a part of any effort to assist runaway slaves.
heritage of Memphis. The museum documents the history of the Underground Railroad and the possible role of the house in that secret escape network. Slavery, slave trade, slave auctions and the every day life of slaves in the wider Memphis area are also documented in the museum.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. It is also known as the Slavehaven. Although disputed by some historians, the Burkle Estate is claimed by some to have been part of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, a secret network of way stations to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states. The house was constructed in 1849 by a German immigrant by the name of Jacob Burkle.
Since 1997 the estate is home to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.
Underground Railroad
The Burkle Estate is claimed by some to have served as a way station on the Underground RailroadUnderground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
for runaway slaves. Publicly, Mr. Burkle was a livestock trader and a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
. Privately, some claim, he was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Many believe his home was the last stop in a series of Memphis homes connected by underground tunnels. The house included a small cellar which might have been used to hide escaping slaves. Slaves could then get on boats to take them upriver to other way stations in the free states north of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.
Controversy
The role of the home as a part of the Underground Railroad is subject to debate. Although a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Memphis states that the soil, which is made up of loessLoess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
, would provide a good material for tunnels, there is no evidence of tunnels under the house. The escape network was solely underground in the sense of being an underground resistance
Underground resistance
Underground resistance may refer to*Underground Resistance , a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan*Underground resistance during World War II, the inhabitants of various locales resisting the rule of the Nazis, the Empire of Japan, and Mussolini...
, in which the term underground would refer to the secrecy of the operation rather than its literal meaning as a network of tunnels.
Some local historians go even further and state that there is no evidence to substantiate the claims regarding the Underground Railroad and the use of the Burkle Estate as a part of any effort to assist runaway slaves.
Slavehaven Museum
The house opened as a museum in 1997 and tours of the one-story, white clapboard house are available. The house is decorated with 19th-century furnishings and artifacts and served as part of the overall civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
heritage of Memphis. The museum documents the history of the Underground Railroad and the possible role of the house in that secret escape network. Slavery, slave trade, slave auctions and the every day life of slaves in the wider Memphis area are also documented in the museum.
See also
- List of Underground Railroad sites
- List of museums in Tennessee
- History of Memphis, TennesseeHistory of Memphis, TennesseeThe area around Memphis, Tennessee, was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. European exploration came years later, with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.The modern city of Memphis was...