Captain James Riley Home

 

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of touring the historic Riley Home. Captain James Riley remains one of the most fascinating figures. He is best known for his remarkable memoir, Sufferings in Africa (first published in 1817). It’s a gripping account of his capture and enslavement by the Moors after a shipwreck along the coast of Africa.

The book found an unexpected reader in Abraham Lincoln, who reportedly admired Riley’s story and was deeply moved by its account of human suffering and endurance. The book is listed by Abraham Lincoln, alongside the Bible and Pilgrim's Progress, as one of the books that most influenced his life.

The tour was filled with fascinating details. On the lawn stands the old courthouse bell, dating back to the 1860s. Inside, the home is filled with remarkable artifacts: antique pianos, phonographs, store signs, stoves, books, military uniforms, typewriters, and carefully preserved locks of hair from generations past. There was even an astonishing 9,000-year-old elk antler mounted on the wall. Every room we went through seemed to hold another small window into the past.