WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the National Park Service’s (NPS) National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program has accepted a listing for Louisa and Henry Picquets’ Burial site at Samarian Cemetery in New Richmond. Louisa and Henry Picquets’ Burials join more than 650 sites, facilities, and programs in the National Underground Railroad Network.

This program honors the legacy of Louisa and Henry Picquet and their contributions in liberating countless enslaved Americans from the South. The Picquets were active on the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati before eventually moving to New Richmond in 1867. While in Cincinnati, Louisa operated a safe house for freedom seekers near the location of today’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Louisa also purchased her own mother’s freedom from slavery in 1860.

“Burial grounds in every culture are considered sacred places where ancestors can be laid to rest and properly honored,” said Brown. “It’s important that we invest in the resources necessary to preserve historic places, like Louisa and Henry Picquets’ gravesite, and honor all these great Black Ohioans did to help others gain freedom. By recognizing their contributions, we can preserve the legacy and struggle of those who bravely risked their lives for freedom.”

Last year, after a visit to Union Baptist Cemetery, another Ohio site in the Network to Freedom, Brown introduced the African American Burial Grounds Network Act to create and maintain a voluntary data base of historic African American burial grounds around the country and provide federal resources for their preservation.

The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program represents over 650 locations in 40 states across the country. The program reviews and accepts applicants twice a year from sites, facilities and programs with verified connections to Underground Railroad history.

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