How the Town of Ceredo was built to combat slavery

How the Town of Ceredo was built to combat slavery

CEREDO, WV (WOWK) — Before West Virginia was its own state, a Congressman from Massachusetts travelled to Wayne County with dreams of building a beacon of free labor. Eli Thayer — born in Mendon, Massachusetts on June 11, 1819 — was a staunch anti-slavery politician who worked to spread the cause of abolition in America throughout his life. He was outspoken in his beliefs, even forming the New England Emigrant Aid Society in 1954 to encourage ab…