September is International Underground Railroad Month, chosen because both Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery on the Eastern Shore during September. Today's undated Flashback Photo is a Kent County site related to the Underground Railroad, Bogles Wharf. Now a remote but popular public boat ramp and site for fishing, crabbing, and birdwatching within the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, the wharf was built during colonial period and became a busy transportation hub, including an oyster packing plant and a steamboat dock through which passengers and produce flowed to and from Baltimore and other ports.

The Historical Society of Kent County's Underground Railroad Driving Tour also identifies Bogles Wharf as the site of an attempted escape from enslavement. According to the tour guide, "In September 1863, more than 150 enslaved men and women attempted, but failed, to board a federal steamer from Baltimore conscripting slaves for the Union Army."

There are 8 stops on the driving tour, covering much of Kent County. Tour brochures are available at the Bordley History Center, 301 High Street in Chestertown. Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.