The list of Underground Railroad sites includes abolitionist locations of sanctuary, support, and transport for former slaves in 19th century North America before and during the American Civil War. It also includes sites closely associated with people who worked to achieve personal freedom for all Americans in the movement to end slavery in the United States.
The list of validated or authenticated Underground Railroad and Network to Freedom sites is sorted within state or province, by location.
Canada
[edit]
"Keeping the Flames of Freedom Alive", Underground Railroad Monument in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Detroit, Michigan is in the background.
The Act Against Slavery of 1793 stated that any enslaved person would become free on arrival in Upper Canada. A network of routes led from the United States to Upper and Lower Canada.[1]
Ontario
[edit]
Amherstburg Freedom Museum – Amherstburg.[2] The museum uses historical artifacts, Black heritage exhibits, and video presentations to share the story of how Africans were forced into slavery and the made their way to Canada.[3]
Fort Malden – Amherstburg[4] One of the routes to Ontario was to cross Lake Erie from Sandusky, Ohio to Fort Malden. Another route to Fort Malden was traveling across the Detroit River into Canada and then across to Amherstburg. A number of fugitive slaves lived in the area and Isaac J. Rice established himself as a missionary, operating a school for black children.[5]
Buxton National Historic Site and Elgin settlement – Chatham, Ontario[1][6] The Elgin settlement was established by a Presbyterian minister, Reverend William King, with fifteen former slaved on November 28, 1849. King came from Ohio, where he inherited fourteen enslaved people from his father-in-law and acquired another and set them free. King intended the Elgin settlement to a refuge for runaway enslaved people. The Buxton Mission was established at the settlement.[7]
Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site and Dawn Settlement – Dresden.[1][2] Rev. Josiah Henson, a former enslaved man who fled slavery via the Underground Railroad with his wife Nancy and their children, was a cofounder of the Dawn Settlement in 1841. Dawn Settlement was designed to be a community for black refugees, where children and adults could receive an education and develop skills so that they could prosper. They exported tobacco, grain, and black walnut lumber to the United States and Britain.[8]
John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area – Essex. The Park Homestead was a station on the Underground Railroad.[9][10]
John Freeman Walls Historic Site – Lakeshore.[1][2] John Freeman Walls, left his enslavers in North Carolina and settled in Canada. The Refugee Home Society supplied the money to buy land and he built a cabin. Church services were held there before the Puce Baptist Church was built. It was also a terminal stop on the Underground Railroad. Walls and his family stayed in Canada after the American Civil War.[11]
Queen's Bush – Mapleton.[1] Beginning in 1820, African American pioneers settled in the open lands of Queen's Bush. More than 1,500 blacks set up farms and created a community with churches and Mount Pleasant and Mount Hope schools, which were taught by American missionaries.[12]
St. Catharines – Harriet Tubman lived in St. Catharines and attended the Salem Chapel for ten years. After she freed herself from slavery, she helped other enslaved people reach freedom in Canada. The town was a final stop on the Underground Railroad for many people.[13]
Sandwich First Baptist Church – Windsor.[1] The church was built just over the border from the United States in Windsor, Ontario by blacks who came to Canada to live free. For its role in the lives of its congregants and as a sanctuary for fugitive slaves, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1999.[14]
See also: Black Canadians in Ontario and Chatham Vigilance Committee
Nova Scotia
[edit]
African-American people settled in Nova Scotia since 1749.[15]
Birchtown National Historic Site – Birchtown.[1] It was a settlement of black people from Colonial America, who served the British during the American Revolutionary War in exchange for their freedom. Birchtown was the largest community of free black people in British North America during the late 18th century.[1][16]
Africville – Halifax.[1] Black people settled in Africville beginning in 1848. Black residents did not have the same services as white people, like clean water and sewers, and lived on land that was not arable. Some were able to make a living for themselves and build a community with a Baptist church, a school, stores, and a post office. A plan was initiated to relocate families and raze the site of the town.[15]
See also: Black Nova Scotians and Black Loyalist
United States
[edit]
Colorado
[edit]
Barney L. Ford Building — Denver, associated with escaped slave Barney Ford, who became a quite successful businessman and led political action towards Black voting rights in Colorado.[17] He used the Underground Railroad (UGRR) to flee slavery and supported UGRR activities.[18]
Connecticut
[edit]
Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House, Farmington
Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House — Farmington.[17] Built in the mid-19th century, the property was designated a National Historic Landmark for the role it played in the celebrated case of the Amistad Africans, and as a "station" on the Underground Railroad.[20]
First Church of Christ, Congregational — Farmington[21] The church was a hub of the Underground Railroad, and became involved in the celebrated case of the African slaves who revolted on the Spanish vessel La Amistad. When the Africans who had participated in the revolt were released in 1841, they came to Farmington.[20]
Polly and William Wakeman House — Wilton. The Wakemans were among a group of abolitionists in Wilton who helped runaway slaves. Underneath their house was a tunnel that was accessed by a trap door. They took people on late-night trips to neighboring towns on the Underground Railroad.[22][23]
Delaware
[edit]
New Castle
Camden
Wilmington
Dover
Odessa
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UGRR Sites in Delaware
Camden Friends Meetinghouse — Camden[24] Quaker meeting house (built in 1806) of Camden Monthly Meeting, several of whose members were active in the Underground Railroad, including John Hunn, who is buried in its cemetery.
Harriet Tubman, c. 1868–1869, who was a significant figure in the history of the Underground Railroad. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Cambridge recognizes her efforts to free enslaved people
Guy Beckley — Ann Arbor. Underground Railroad promoter and station master and anti-slavery lecturer. The Guy Beckley House is on the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.[43]
Wright Modlin — Williamsville, Cass County. His house was a railroad station, but he often traveled south to the Ohio River (a border between the free and slave states) or into Kentucky where he found people escaping slavery and brought them up to Cass County. He was so successful that it angered Kentuckian slaveholders, who instigated the Kentucky raid on Cass County in 1847. He was also a central figure in The South Bend Fugitive Slave case.[45]
Further information: History of slavery in Michigan
Allegany County network: Baylies Bassett — Alfred and others (including Henry Crandall Home — Almond; William Sortore Farm — Belmont); Marcus Lucas Home — Corning; Thatcher Brothers — Hornell, McBurney House — Canisteo (now in town of Hornellsville); William Knight — Scio[53][54]
Harriet Tubman House and Thompson AME Zion Church — Auburn[17][55]
North Star Underground Railroad Museum — Ausable Chasm[17][53]
Cadiz, Franklinville area network: Merlin Mead House and others, including John Burlingame, Alfred Rice, Isaac Searle, and the owner of the Stagecoach Inn[56]
Abolitionist Place — New York City: Brooklyn. Abolitionist Place is a section of Duffield Street in downtown Brooklyn that used to be a center of anti-slavery and Underground Railroad activity. New York City was one of the busiest ports in the world in the 19th century. Some freedom seekers traveled aboard ships amongst cargo, like tobacco or cotton from the Southern United States and arrived in Brooklyn a few blocks away from Abolitionist Place. Underground Railroad conductors helped these freedom seekers, as well as people who traveled north on the Underground Railroad. They were provided needed shelter, like at the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims; clothing; and food.[58]
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims — New York City: Brooklyn[17][52]
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center — Niagara Falls[55]
Chappaqua Friends Meeting House - Chappaqua, New York[59]
Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office — Peterboro[17]
Smithfield Community Center — Peterboro, formerly a church; first meeting of New York Anti-Slavery Society held there; houses National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum.[60]
Samuel and Elizabeth Cuyler House Site — Pultneyville[24]
Foster Memorial AME Zion Church — Tarrytown[17][52]
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church - Rochester, New York. Escaping enslaved people were hidden under the pulpit and in hollow pews. Frederick Douglass, Amy and Isaac Post, Jacob P. Morris, and other Rochester Underground Railroad organizers were associated with the site.[61]
North Carolina
[edit]
Guilford College Woods meeting place, Guilford College — Greensboro[62]
Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island Network to Freedom site — Manteo, Outer Banks[24][63]
Lyman Goodnow — Waukesha. Conductor, led 16-year-old Caroline Quarlls, the first known freedom seeker along Wisconsin's Underground Railroad, from Wisconsin to Canada.[76]
^ abcdDeters, Ruth (2008). The Underground Railroad Ran Through My House! How the intriguing story of Dr. David Nelson's home uncovered a region of secrets. Quincy, Illinois: Eleven Oaks Publishing. pp. 70–75, 117–131, 154–156. ISBN 978-0-578-00213-2.
^ abKarnoutsos, Carmela. "Underground Railroad". Jersey City Past and Present. New Jersey City University. Archived from the original on 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
^Burke, Henry Robert; Fogle, Charles Hart (2004). Washington County Underground Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-7385-3256-1. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"Peter Fossett". www.monticello.org. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
^"Last of Jefferson's Slaves". The Boston Globe. January 8, 1901. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^Burke, Henry Robert; Fogle, Charles Hart (2004). Washington County Underground Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-7385-3256-1. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856 book)
Dover Eight (1857)
Oberlin–Wellington Rescue (1858)
Tilly Escape (1856)
Ann Maria Jackson and her seven children (1859)
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Topics
Abolitionism in the United States
Abolitionism
opponents of slavery
African-American opponents
publications
Fugitive slaves
Fugitive slave laws
1850
Quilts
Reverse Underground Railroad
Signals
lawn jockey
Slave catcher
Songs of the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad Records (1872 book)
Related
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Harriet Tubman Memorial (Boston)
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
visitor center
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center
Underground Railroad Bicycle Route
The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War (1932 book)
A Woman Called Moses (1978 miniseries)
Roots of Resistance (1989 documentary)
The Quest for Freedom (1992 film)
Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2013 board game)
The North Star (2016 film)
Underground (2016 TV series)
Harriet (2019 film)
The Underground Railroad (2021 miniseries)
See also: Slavery in the United States and Slavery in Canada
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