Post Residence (Historic Marker)

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Isaac and Amy Post were prominent figures in many movements, including abolition, women’s suffrage, and spiritualism. Their house was a station in the Underground Railroad, holding as many as 15 escaped slaves at a time.<sup>3</sup> The Post residence was located in Rochester. A marker currently stands in the house’s approximate location and serves as a reminder for the Posts' significant contributions in the reform movements of this region. Amy Post helped establish the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society in 1842, and many anti-slavery lecturers stayed at her home when coming to Rochester to speak.<sup>5</sup> Frederick Douglass was one of the many people to visit the Post home.<sup>3</sup> This entry is a part of a public history project developed by the RIT Museum Studies program in celebration of the bicentennial of Frederick Douglass’s birth (February 1818). Two photographs representing the item (Post residence) are taken from a scrapbook that is one of two in the collections of the Local History and Genealogy Divisions of Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County Library. An image of the exterior of the Post residence is part of the Monroe County Library System. A fourth image, depicting the historical marker standing today, is a part of the Freethought Trail project.


Images

  • This image depicts the exterior of the Post house in its original location on 36 Sophia Street. Source: Link #2
    This image depicts the exterior of the Post house in its original location on 36 Sophia Street. Source: Link #2
  • This undated photograph is of the parlor in the old Post residence. The figures are unidentified. The image of the parlor is captioned, "In this room Douglass held meetings with his friends and planned the safety of runaway slaves." Source: Link #1
    This undated photograph is of the parlor in the old Post residence. The figures are unidentified. The image of the parlor is captioned, "In this room Douglass held meetings with his friends and planned the safety of runaway slaves." Source: Link #1
  • This undated photograph reveals the cellar in the old Post residence. The figures are unidentified. The image is captioned, "The famous underground railway for the protection of escaping slaves." Source: Link #1
    This undated photograph reveals the cellar in the old Post residence. The figures are unidentified. The image is captioned, "The famous underground railway for the protection of escaping slaves." Source: Link #1
  • This historical marker represents the once standing Post house. The sign is located on approximately 60 Plymouth Avenue North (what was once Sophia Street), although the number of the house was 36 Sophia Street. Source: Link #4
    This historical marker represents the once standing Post house. The sign is located on approximately 60 Plymouth Avenue North (what was once Sophia Street), although the number of the house was 36 Sophia Street. Source: Link #4

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

This entry is a part of a public history project developed by the RIT Museum Studies program in celebration of the bicentennial of Frederick Douglass’s birth (February 1818). Two photographs representing the item (Post residence) are taken from a scrapbook that is one of two in the collections of the Local History and Genealogy Divisions of Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County Library. An image of the exterior of the Post residence is part of the Monroe County Library System. A fourth image, depicting the historical marker standing today, is a part of the Freethought Trail project.

Sources

1 http://www.libraryweb.org/~digitized/scrapbooks/rsc00001color.pdf pages 23-24

2 https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116800024&currentIndex=2&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab

3 http://nyhistoric.com/2012/10/post-house/

4 http://www.freethought-trail.org/site.php?By=Cause&Page=7&Site=44

5 https://rrlc.org/winningthevote/biographies/amy-post/