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About the
PURE Center
9-10-04
PROJECT INFORMATION
The Putnam Underground Railroad
Education Center (PURE) and the Muskingum County Community Foundation (MCCF)
have completed the restoring of the residence at 522 Woodlawn Avenue, Zanesville,
Ohio to
its original condition. Thanks to the generosity of the community and
friends, the Center opened to the public on August 25, 2004.
The building has been converted from a multifamily residence
and will be a first-class educational center and museum that will permanently serve the area’s schoolchildren
and
community. In addition, this Center will be of great interest to tourists and will preserve
important local and national history.
The PURE Center is a new education center and
landmark for Southeastern Ohio; and, PURE will
network with freedom centers and museums across Ohio and the nation.
Background and Historical Importance of Property:
The house at 522 Woodlawn Avenue in the Putnam Historic District was constructed
circa 1838. Initially, it was a single-family residence. Prior to the Civil War,
the New Englanders in Putnam organized the Muskingum County Abolition Society
and 522 Woodlawn was in the middle of abolitionist activity. The house is
directly across from the George Guthrie House at 521 Woodlawn, a documented stop
on the Underground Railroad, next door to the S. H. Guthrie House where
abolitionist Stephan Guthrie slept with a pitchfork and two guns at the head of
his bed, and diagonally across from the Putnam Presbyterian Church where the
Reverend William Beecher (brother of Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet
Beecher Stowe) preached anti-slavery sermons.
The home, when built, was approximately
two-thirds of its present size. Currently, it is vacant, and most recently it
was a four-unit apartment building that was in a state of disrepair. It was deeded to the Putnam Restoration Fund
of the MCCF in December of 1998 by the Schultz Mansion with an appraised value of
$24,500.
Description of the PURE Center Activities:
The
Center provides a positive learning environment and promotes harmony
among diverse groups. Area schoolchildren and the surrounding area
will benefit from the free educational programs and services designed and
provided for them by the PURE Center. PURE will also share resources and will
network with other freedom centers, museums, and libraries across the state and
nation.
Activities include a museum with artifacts
from Africa as well as from pre-Civil War and post-Civil War Zanesville. A library on the Underground Railroad and the Abolitionist movement
is housed at the Center. Children and adults are invited to from the surrounding area to
experience films and live presentations related to the Underground Railroad.
The Center is working closely with area
educators to enhance the Ohio and American History curriculum in our local
schools. A sixteen-station state-of-the-art computer lab serves visiting schoolchildren in interactive learning about the Underground
Railroad. The PURE Center promotes digital literacy with state-of-the-art
technology and telecommunications for our schoolchildren, provides a
positive learning environment.
HOW TO MAKE A GIFT TO
THE PURE CENTER
The PURE Center has received
generous grants, gifts, and
pledges from many businesses, organizations and private citizens to
restore the building. We are currently raising funds to build our
operating endowment fund.
Donations
are tax-deductible and may be mailed to:
The
PURE Center
522
Woodlawn Avenue
Zanesville,
Ohio 43701
phone:
(740) 450-3100
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