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Period: to
Ford's Lifetime
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Date of Birth
Born in Virginia to a slave woman Phoebe and a white plantation owner. -
Escaped Slavery
With assistance from the Underground Railroad, Barney fled from his owners riverboat in Mississippi and headed towards Chicago. -
Married Julia A Lynoli
Shortly after their meeting in Chicago, the couple got married. Lynoli also helped Barney to choose a middle and last name as a free man. He decided on Lancelot Ford after viewing a steam engine with the same name. -
Slave Trade Banned
The United States government in Washington D.C. abolishes the trans-Atlantic slave trade. However, they did not ban the use of slavery. -
Arrived and Started Business in Nicaragua
The Fords decided to leave Chicago and travel to the California Gold Rush. However, since Barney was considered a fugitive slave traveling across the land was too dangerous. They sailed from New York around the perimeter of the country and stopped in Nicaragua. They liked the town so much that they decided to stay. Barney Ford then opened the United States Hotel and Restaurant which was successful until it was abandoned due to civil war. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe's renowned anti-slavery book is published. -
Director of the Underground Railroad
After leaving Nicaragua the Fords returned to Chicago. Barney was then appointed the director of the Underground Railroad for the area. -
Moved to Colorado
The Fords seeking new business opportunities relocated in 1860 to Denver in pursuit of gold. In 1861 the couple moved once more to Breckenridge which was a newer undeveloped mining town. There they built a boarding house for blacks to live and be educated. -
Start of Civil War
War erupted with the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina after the inauguration of President Lincoln. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
In January of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln ratified the Emancipation Proclamation. This executive order outlawed the concept of slavery in the United States, declaring the millions of African American slaves to be free. -
Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln delivered his short but powerful speech regarding the Battle of Gettysburg and Civil War. -
Protest Against Colorado Statehood
Ford and black civil rights leaders traveled to Washington D.C. to protest Colorado's statehood. This was because of the exclusion of African American voting rights in the states constitution. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army surrenders to the Union in the McLean House at Appomattox Court House in Virginia concluding the Civil War. -
The Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire caused mass destruction and hundreds of causalites in the large city. -
The Fight for Equal Education
Barney Ford and Henry Wagoner throughout the 1870s advocated for better education systems for African American children. Because of the state's lack of action, the two started their own school which their children attended. -
Ford's Chop Stand
After spending time in Denver and Wyoming the Fords moved back to Breckenridge and started the Chop Stand restaurant. Plans for development on a five room cottage also began. This house today is now the Barney Ford House Museum. -
Colorado Association of Pioneers Dinner
Barney Ford was the first African American to attend the event marking a advancement for black acceptance and civil rights in the state. -
Retirement in Denver
After all of the Ford's travel the family decided on retiring in Denver, Colorado. Here Barney Ford continued his work with black rights and his business practices with hotels and restaurants. One of those establishments the Inter Ocean Hotel is still used today. -
Julia Lynoli Dies
Barney Ford's wife dies in their home in Denver, Colorado. -
Date of Passing
Barney Ford dies December 22, 1902 in his home in Denver, Colorado.
