Let Freedom Sing – Songs of Emancipation

Join the Ashtabula County Choral Music Society and the Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum for the 46th Annual Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum Pilgrimage. A free talk and concert will be presented on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 41 E Jefferson St., Jefferson, Ohio, at 1:00 p.m. Hear music reflecting citizen-led emancipation efforts from the 1840–1860 period.

The first half of the 19th century saw great changes come to the United States. The new nation, no longer stifled by Britain, found itself at the inception of the Industrial Revolution, fueled by the cotton harvested by enslaved African Americans in the South. As a result of this economic boon, an American middle class emerged, complete with the trappings of leisure. Steam-powered printing allowed, for the first time, entertainment to reach people en masse. 

Singing was one such form of entertainment. Bulk sheet music coupled with the availability of upright pianos made singing a popular pastime for the American people. This made song an attractive medium for the burgeoning antislavery movement. Countless abolitionist meetings included antislavery songs. In northern Ohio, the Cowles family singers, from Ashtabula County, found wide demand for their performances. 

Prior to the concert, Andy Pochatko, Hubbard House docent and pilgrimage organizer, will give a brief talk on antislavery song and its meaning to Ashtabula County residents. No reservations or tickets required. Donations are accepted. For more information, please call the Hubbard House at (440) 964-8168 or Andy at the Harbor-Topky Library at (440) 964-9645.