Sylvia Stark is a true story of an African American pioneer. Sylviawas freed from slavery at age twelve and traveled the Oregon Trail by covered wagon to a California gold-mining town. In 1860, threatened by the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott decision, Sylvia's family and 600 other African Americans left California by ship for British Columbia. The Starks settled on Salt Spring Island where Sylvia lived to be 105. This engaging book is full of historical facts, maps, illustrations and archival photos.