I was up in Oxford, Connecticut to see a reported stop on the Underground Railroad. I have visited a number of these over the years and very often there is no contemporaneous documentation of escaped slaves having stayed at the house or store. If a person running for freedom is housed, there is no bill or receipt or record book. After the Civil War there developed a suspicion that a building was used to hide people seeking to escape, but we often are not sure.
Many guides say that the Washband Tavern at 90 Oxford Road was one such stop. If it was, you could see why its nature could not be disclosed. Connecticut still had slaves during the early part of the 19th Century, and we know that there was at least one Black Oxfordian who was enslaved just decades before the Civil War broke out. The owners of the tavern may have been afraid to let their secret out to protect themselves and the people they were sheltering.
Washburn Tavern is no longer a tavern. The building houses a provider of financial services. The tavern was erected in 1714. In the photo below you can see the original part of the property that is over three centuries old. Apparently it was only a one story house when it was built, but later in the 18th Century a second floor was added and a large addition was put on the west side of the house.
The original house was built by John Twitchell and it was, according to a contemporary description, “but one room below with pantry and cupboard.” About thirty years later the property was sold to the Washband family. The family expanded the house when a new wharf was opened at New Haven because many farmers and herdsmen used the Oxford Turnpike (Oxford Road today) to get their produce to the docks. The expansion, which more than doubled the size of the building, allowed the family to feed and house passing people.
An account says that “Back of the front room was the bar room…” There were seventeen rooms in the Tavern, most of which were rented out. There was also a ballroom on the second floor.
Guidebooks say that there are hiding places in the basement that would allow the owners to conceal an escaped slave.
Soon after the Civil War broke out in April of 1861, roughly seventy-five Oxford men enlisted. About thirty more joined the Union army over the next four years. At that time, there were 1,269 people living in Oxford, so 8% of the total population joined the army. Many joined the 20th Conn. Infantry, and various artillery units.
The 20th was assigned to the XII Corps and its first big battle was at Chancellorsville. A month later it helped to protect Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg. In 1864, the unit was moved out west where it took part in the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the pursuit of the Confederate Army of Tennessee as it fled through the Carolinas.
In the regimental history, the unit says that the cause of the war was slavery and its “baleful influence had so long menaced, and was now engaged in destroying, the peace and prosperity of our common country.” [p. 18] As with many New England regiments, the motive for enlistment was both to preserve the Union and to end slavery.
In looking at the names of those who enlisted, nearly all of them have English names, a couple of Irish names, and no other ethnicity that I could identify.
The above photo shows the grounds below the Tavern. In the photo below is the house from the road.
This is a business so you cannot tour it. I did park in the parking lot and was able to view the outside of the building.
Nearby, I went to Rose’s Family Restaurant at 143 Oxford Road in Oxford. It only takes a few minutes by car to get there. This is a nice restaurant with pizza, burgers, sandwiches, seafood, and salads. For lunch, most dishes are under $20.
Note: The Washband Tavern is near Rose’s Family Restaurant. There are apparently TWO buildings marked as 90 Oxford, so if it isn’t near Rose’s, it ain’t it!
Note: All color photos in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
Sources:
History of the Town of Oxford, Ct by Norman Litchfield and Sabina Connolly Hoyt (1960)
Seymour Past and Present by W.C. Sharpe (1919)
Twentieth Connecticut: A Regimental History (1886)
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media: