
The Ohio River became a natural barrier, forming the borderland between slavery and freedom. Here in Maysville, Ky., stories of national importance are preserved, and visitors can witness firsthand how the struggle for freedom took shape.
America is a land of liberty, but realizing the promises of freedom and justice for all required struggle, peril, protest, sacrifice, and even death. Today, we are free to reflect on the complexities of our national heritage and to examine what freedom has meant, and continues to mean, to us all.
Because of the struggles and sacrifices of those who fought against inequality, prejudice, and racism, legally sanctioned slavery, segregation, and discrimination were challenged and dismantled.
Some people and stories in the struggle for freedom were preserved and developed over time because of access to sources and institutional support, while others still struggle to emerge from the margins, too often without recognition or thanks.
Today’s digital age offers new opportunities to address inequalities, imbalances, and biases in preservation, expanding and reshaping our collective story.
More than ever before, through reading and research, you can take part in this work.
Through reading, freedom takes shape.

...at the Bierbower House. Discover the voices preserved through oral traditions and family records.

...through reading. Engage with history by questioning, examining evidence, and discovering new meaning.
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Content by Crystal L. Marshall
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