BELPRE - Longtime local historian and author Henry Robert Burke, an expert on the Southeastern Ohio Underground Railroad, has been honored with an Individual Award of Achievement from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums.

"It's like a lifetime achievement award. It's a great honor; there were only four given out in the entire state this year," said Nancy Sams, with the Belpre Historical Society, Sams, on behalf of the society and Farmer's Castle Museum and Education Center, nominated Burke for the award. The museum features an Underground Railroad exhibit compiled by Burke and Burke makes presentations for school groups and interested residents and visitors.

"The exhibit brings a lot of visitors here in search of information, some are doing individual research, others are just interested in the Underground Railroad," Sams said.

"I believe this is the largest exhibit on the Southeastern Ohio Underground Railroad in one place," Burke said of the museum's exhibit that opened in 2001.

Burke said he's spent many years researching and tracking down information, everything from family stories that began as a child growing up to documented accounts, and he's spent years piecing together the patchwork of his own family history. After years of research, he's been able to trace his own roots here in America back to the 1600s in the Tidewater Virginia area and the Carter plantation where his slave ancestors lived. In 1791 Robert Carter III began the emancipation of his 500 slaves, the largest number of slaves emancipated by an individual slave owner in U.S. history.

"I used to visit my grandparents there in Stafford, Ohio, every summer and they would always talk about the Underground Railroad all the time when I was growing up as a child. Stafford was a very prominent Underground Railroad station," Burke said. As he grew, he gathered information from talking with others in the area and doing extensive research at area libraries.

"I'm still learning things; it's a lifetime pursuit," Burke said of his interest in genealogy and the Underground Railroad.

"People don't always equate a four-year apprenticeship in a craft or trade with a bachelor's degree earned at a college, but it's just as complicated and takes as much study, but people don't always recognize that. I've put just as much effort and time into my research, so receiving an award like this recognizes my work," Burke said of his most recent honor.

The 69-year-old Marietta resident can add the latest recognition to his growing list of accolades, which include the Ohio Underground Railroad Association Award in 1999, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center John Parker Award in 2004, the Ely Chapman Education Center Award in 2004 and the Appalachian Hill Country Leadership Award in 2005. In addition to his work at the museum and speaking to school and other interested groups, Burke has also authored several publications, including "Escape of Jane in 1999; "Mason Dixon Line, Edition I" in 2000; "The River Jordan" in 2002; and the "Washington County Underground Railroad" in 2004.

To schedule a visit to see the exhibit or set up a presentation with Burke, call the museum at 509 Ridge St. at 740-423-7588.