In advance of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society’s Summer Exhibit, The Hidden History of the Roe Jan Region, Jon Strom will provide a preview of how seemingly unrelated topics like maps, lawlessness and prizefighting coalesced to literally shape the history and geography of the area.
As part of this hidden history, learn why the triangular piece of land originally called Boston Corner became a “city of refuge” for criminals fleeing the reach of the law, and how a long narrow tract of land, known as The Oblong, abolished slavery nearly 100 years before the Emancipation Proclamation.