06/07/2026
CITY HISTORIAN - I want to thank Ogdensburg City Historian Julie Madlin for helping me tell the story of Isaac Johnson, an important figure in our city's history. Johnson was a child growing up in pre-Civil War Kentucky when his own father decided he could make a great deal of money by selling him, his mother and siblings into slavery because they were black. Seven-year-old Isaac watched in terror as his own father sold his family into bo***ge. My most recent book, Hookers, Heroes and Hoodlums (More Tales of the St. Lawrence Valley Grandpa Never Told You) tells about how Isaac escaped slavery, joined the Union Army and fought to make sure no other child experienced the horrors he saw. Isaac eventually became a successful stone mason and architect, settled in Ogdensburg, wrote a book and earned the respect and admiration of his community. The buildings he built like the Waddington Town Hall stand as monuments to his legacy. Thank you, Christine the History Queen for including this important chapter in Ogdensburg's history in Season 2 of your show. I am glad my book helped spur your interest in bringing this story about the North Country to anational audience on PBS.
