Laser-scanned by Berding 3D Scanning, Cincinnati, OH, the Parker Angel embodies the Virtual Museum's main task: the accurate archival and display of an existing object. The Angel actually stands for much more, as it will be the symbol for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, and is an important historic artifact that represents the virtue in its creator's struggle and the struggle of all those involved in the Underground Railroad:

The corroded and delicate cast iron angel was found on the very first day of excavations, just below the side door of the Parker House in a context that suggests it had been placed beneath a porch floor. Did Parker cast this nearly two pound angel? Was it hidden there by one of Parker's six children and then forgotten? Archaeology will not answer these questions, but the angel has become the icon for archaeology at the site. And, archaeology could unearth no more fitting symbol to the memory of this great man. For, John Parker was simply that--an "angel of mercy" to hundreds of runaway slaves whom he rescued from the South before the Civil War. For more than a decade Parker led a dual life, operating an iron foundry during the day and helping slaves cross to the North into Ohio during the night. His courage and determination to fight the injustice of slavery, and his talents and success as an African-American businessman in the face of much discrimination, make his life one of America's great stories.

- excerpt from "UNDERGROUND AT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: TESTING AT JOHN P. PARKER'S HOUSE AND FOUNDRY SITE IN RIPLEY, OHIO," Bob Genheimer, Cincinnati Museum Center, Ohio Archaeological Council © 2001