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A daring escape. A chase down the Big Sandy. A remarkable story of freedom hidden in Eastern Kentucky’s history.During the Civil War, 59 enslaved people made a desperate bid for freedom in Pike County. After years of legal challenges over their claims to freedom, the Slone and Johnson families sought protection from Union forces stationed in the region. With the sanction of James A. Garfield, they set out from Pikeville aboard a government push boat, hoping to reach safety.
Their journey quickly became a dramatic escape. At Buffalo Shoals, armed pursuers ambushed the group—but their story did not end there. An Ohio abolitionist steamer, the Piketon, came to their rescue, carrying the group safely down the Big Sandy River toward Catlettsburg and eventually onward to Portsmouth, Ohio, where they reached freedom.
Known today as the Piketon 59, their story is one of the largest successful slave escapes in Kentucky—and one that has received surprisingly little attention.
Join us at the Pike County Library on Saturday, October 17 at 1:00 for a fascinating evening with two historians who have dedicated their work to uncovering the history of our region. Marlitta H. Perkins, an independent scholar who has researched and written about Eastern Kentucky history for more than 30 years, will be joined by Cicero M. Fain III, Ph.D., an award-winning historian, author, and Appalachian studies scholar from Marshall University.
Together, they will explore the story of the Piketon 59, the people behind this remarkable escape, and the broader history of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad in Eastern Kentucky and the Tri-State region.
Come discover a little-known chapter of our local history—and the 59 people who risked everything for freedom.
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