John Brown and the Adirondacks

In 1848, a wealthy abolitionist bought a huge chunk of land in Northern New York and gave it away to freed slaves. He asked Brown to move there in order to help the new community get on its feet. John agreed in part because he thought that the colony in the Adirondacks might be able to act as a subterranean passway for his guerrilla army. But unfortunately, John Brown's economic realities forced him to push this plan on hold while he traveled to Europe to sell a huge pile of wool for his failing business. His wife Mary was left alone in the relatively primitive conditions of their New York farm. Her frequently absent husband acknowledged the hardship she endured in an unusually tender