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PaigeBooth · 12-11-2015, 04:16 PM

I had lunch yesterday at The Back Porch; this restaurant is housed in what once was a beautiful stone home located along the Monongahela River. Built in 1806, it served as a residence and stop along the Underground Railroad during the Civil War years.

I am pictured below in a room that was once used to store coal. Fugitives slaves hid here by day, between the piles of coal, and followed the Monongahela River as a guideline by night during their quest for freedom.

For more pictures and information about this historic building, you can visit my Twitter page here: https://twitter.com/April14th1865

RJNorton · 12-11-2015, 04:27 PM

Fascinating, Paige! Thank you for sharing! Mary Lincoln spent the summer of 1868 in Cresson and Bedford, PA. which I think are east of where you were.

BettyO · 12-11-2015, 06:40 PM

Great Paige! I'm now following your Twitter page -

Eva Elisabeth · (This post was last modified: 12-11-2015 07:48 PM by Eva Elisabeth.)

Fascinating. It must have been an awfully hot, dark, and dusty experience to hide and wait therein. (Can't withhold and hope it's ok to say you brighten the room, Paige!)

PaigeBooth · 12-12-2015, 03:59 PM

Roger,

I did not know that Mary Lincoln spent time in Cresson and Bedford. You are correct, Cresson and Bedford are both about an hour and a half east from where I had lunch. Do you have any more information about the time Mary Lincoln spent in these areas during the summer of 1868?

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Hi Betty-- thanks for following me. I am going to follow you as well!

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Hi Eva-- I thought the same thing you did about the slaves hiding in the piles of coal; somewhat burying themselves in all that dust and filth; how terrible it must have been for them.
Also, thank you for your kind words; you are so thoughtful.

RJNorton · 12-12-2015, 04:21 PM

(12-12-2015 03:59 PM)PaigeBooth Wrote: Roger,
I did not know that Mary Lincoln spent time in Cresson and Bedford. You are correct, Cresson and Bedford are both about an hour and a half east from where I had lunch. Do you have any more information about the time Mary Lincoln spent in these areas during the summer of 1868?

I think she went there for a summer vacation hoping for relief from her aches and pains by seeking out the mineral waters and baths in the area. I think she was trying to gain strength prior to her trip to Europe later in 1868. One thing I remember reading (I think from Catherine Clinton's Mary Lincoln biography) was that Tad was playing with some other boys by jumping recklessly onto trains that passed through the area. Tad was almost killed. I think Mary spent a lot of time with her friend, Eliza Slataper, and Tad was friends with Eliza's son. Eliza was another person who was interested in spiritualism like Mary.

Thomas Kearney · 12-12-2015, 07:46 PM

How was the food? I hope you aren't on Yelp!

PaigeBooth · (This post was last modified: 12-13-2015 12:17 PM by PaigeBooth.)

Thank you for this terrific information, Roger; I did not know this about Mary. This morning, I was searching online, and I came across a letter Mary wrote to Jesse Dubois from Cresson in July 1868. Mary seems to have liked Cresson. If you scroll down, you can read her letter here:

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860...w=fulltext

I also found another letter Mary wrote to Dubois in September 1868. This time, her letter was written from Altoona, Pennsylvania. You can read her letter on this website:

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860...w=fulltext

This is just something I found, but it seems as though Mary's trip to Europe was delayed and that she ended up spending time in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well. Does this sound accurate to you?

(12-12-2015 07:46 PM)Thomas Kearney Wrote: How was the food? I hope you aren't on Yelp!

The food is gourmet. The quality, service and atmosphere are magnificent.

RJNorton · 12-13-2015, 01:20 PM

(12-13-2015 12:10 PM)PaigeBooth Wrote: Does this sound accurate to you?

Yes, you are definitely correct. Her trip to Europe was delayed. Originally she planned to sail on August 1, 1868, but she ended up leaving on October 1, 1868. I have read a couple of reasons. One is that she decided to remain in the USA for Robert's marriage to Mary Harlan. But she also claimed "sudden illness" caused the delay in departure date in the September 5th letter to Dubois that you cited.

LincolnMan · 03-26-2016, 09:54 AM

Speaking of "historic lunch"- has anyone had a meal at the Log Inn in Indiana? Lincoln ate there- and it is still in operation.

Gene C · 03-26-2016, 10:16 AM

I tried back in Oct in 14', when Joe Di Cola , Rob Wick and I visited Lincoln's Boyhood home. They didn't take credit cards, so we went somewhere else.

http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...ln+Boyhood

I want to go back later this spring. Any one want to meet up?

LincolnMan · 03-26-2016, 01:29 PM

I would like to have gone on the way to Springfield but it is way too far South of there.

ELCore · 03-27-2016, 10:30 PM

I live about three miles from The Back Porch, and I drive past it going to and from work. I've been there to eat a few times. At Christmas 2009, I had duck as the main course for the first and only time in my life. It was very good. And in May 2012, I had lunch on the patio, which was a new addition at the time, I think.