Prior Foster

Prior Foster, born in 1799 in Pennsylvania, was a Black abolitionist and conductor of The Underground Railroad in Coshocton, Ohio. At a young age, Foster moved to Coshocton, where he lived for more than three decades. Foster owned several properties in Coshocton and surrounding towns, one of which was his double shanty home located in Harbaugh Corner in Coshocton County.

The Underground Railroad in Coshocton and Ohio Ohio had many Underground Railroad routes—in part, because of its geographic location. It bordered Kentucky, where slavery was legal, and Lake Erie, through which freedom seekers could travel to safety in Canada. Four Underground Railroad routes converged in Coshocton, where the Tuscarawas River and Walhonding River join to become the Muskingum River. The 1804 laws stated that a $10 to $50 fine would be issued to anyone helping freedom seekers in any way. Although records do not indicate the specific circumstances of his move from Pennsylvania to Ohio, it is known that he moved to Coshocton, Ohio, early in his life. His father, Prior Foster Sr., lived in Stark County, Ohio, for many years until his death in 1840. Additionally, Foster had three brothers: Robert, Levi, and Joseph. He provided them with safe shelter, food, and clothing while hiding them overnight. At one point, some Virginian bounty hunters arrived in Coshocton and posted signs offering large sums of money to anyone who returned "runaways." One Coshocton resident was so offended by the bounty hunters' behavior that he knocked one of them into the mud, which caused them to flee town. Hunt gave an account of an incident that occurred in 1839 involving Prior Foster and several freedom seekers.

Foster spent the next several years gathering support for this initiative in the North. However, records show that he had a falling out with the abolitionists in Masillon, who published an announcement in 1943 in The Liberator, saying that Foster had failed to report to the committee and was appropriating funds for his own use.

By 1844, Foster had acquired several hundred acres of land in Lenawee County, Michigan, and established the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute. That year, about 30 students enrolled, many of whom helped construct the school's building in exchange for tuition. Although the school’s primary focus was on providing educational opportunities to Black students, it was open to people of all races, genders, religious affiliations, and backgrounds. In 1845, Foster went before the Michigan Legislature with a petition to incorporate the school. However, legislators rejected his petition, claiming that there weren't enough Black people in Michigan to render his school necessary. Despite this setback, Foster continued with his plans to provide quality education to children of color and to ultimately improve their lives amid the era of enslavement and Black Laws. In 1848, the Legislature reversed its earlier decision and officially incorporated the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute, making it the first manual labor institute for Black students to be chartered by a state legislature.

Foster continued to be dogged by controversy in the school's early years. In addition to facing claims of mismanaging the school's money, he also was accused by Frederick Douglass' newspaper The North Star, of attempting to recruit students to his school by falsely claiming he had their endorsement. In response to these accusations, Foster published a refutation in The Liberator, and 10 signatories testified that they had reviewed the school's finances and found nothing amiss.

By 1850, the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute had about 60 students, a library of 1,400 books, and eight buildings. The school offered classes in subjects, including reading and writing, algebra, chemistry, philosophy, Greek and Latin, and piano. In the following years, many citizens openly praised Foster for the establishment of the school. The school continued to operate until approximately 1860. Experts speculate that a fire that destroyed the boarding house, waning financial support, and the dawn of the American Civil War may have all contributed to its closure.

Late Life Records indicate that by 1864, Prior and his wife Abigail, along with some of their children, had moved to Morris, Illinois, to be closer to their son George Washington Foster.