"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
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 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]
Nova Scotia
African-American people settled in Nova Scotia since 1749.[15]
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]
United States
Colorado
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
^ a b c d e f g h i"Underground Railroad". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2021-05-09. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^ a b cCooper, Afua (February 24, 2017). "At Ontario Underground Railroad Sites, Farming and Liberty". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
^"Amherstburg Freedom Museum". Ontario Heritage Trust. 2017-02-22. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
^Tom Calarco, Places of the Underground Railroad: A Geographical Guide (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2011), 16.
^"Levi Coffin, 1798-1877. Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the Reputed President of the Underground Railroad; Being a Brief History of the Labors of a Lifetime in Behalf of the Slave, with the Stories of Numerous Fugitives, Who Gained Their Freedom Through His Instrumentality, and Many Other Incidents". docsouth.unc.edu. p. 143, 249. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
^"5 Canadian stations of the Underground Railroad". CBC.
^"Settlements in Canada - Underground Railroad". PBS. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
^"The Ontario Heritage Trust". Ontario Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^"John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area, Essex Region Conservation Authority". Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
^"Black History-From Slavery to Settlement". www.archives.gov.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
^"John Freeman Walls Underground Railroad Museum". Ontario Heritage Trust. 2017-02-22. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
^"The Ontario Heritage Trust". Ontario Heritage Trust. 2016-12-08. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
^"5 Canadian Heritage Sites to Visit during Black History Month". Trans Canada Trail. 2018-02-16. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
^"Sandwich First Baptist Church National Historic Site of Canada". www.pc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
^ a b"The story of Africville". CMHR. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
^"Black Loyalist Heritage Site". Tourism Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf"List of Sites for the Underground Railroad Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
^"Barney Ford: African American Pioneer". www.historycolorado.org. History Colorado. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
^"National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Francis Gillette House". National Park Service. and accompanying photos
^ a bCunningham, Jan (September 15, 1996). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 10 photos, exterior and interior, from 1996 and undated (3.49 MB)
^"Underground Railroad - Special Resource Study - 42 UGRR sites" (PDF). National Park Service. pp. 46–47. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"List of Sites - Underground Railroad - Connecticut Freedom Trail". ctfreedomtrail.org. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
^"URR Trail: Wilton". www.ctmq.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag"Network to Freedom listings" (PDF). National Park Service. July 5, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
^"Gateway to Freedom: The Tilly Escape". Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
^"Washington's Ties To the Underground Railroad: A Look At Where The Enslaved Once Stood". WAMU. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p"Underground Railroad - Special Resource Study - 42 UGRR sites" (PDF). National Park Service. pp. 30–44. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Snodgrass 2008.
^"Our Past: Old Rock House finished in 1835". 2017-09-06. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Eligon, John (2010-05-13). "Strolling Old Halls and Streets With Ghosts of Civil War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Van Matre, Lynn (March 28, 1999). "Graure Home Restoration Unearths a Mystery". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"Aboard the Underground Railroad--Dr. Richard Ells House". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
^ a b c dDeters, 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.
^ a b c"Quincy's History". Quincy Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
^"New Albany Underground Railroad site wins restoration prize". Indiana Landmarks. 2018-03-22. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"Church continues 175-year tradition". Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
^"History of the Church". First Congregational Church. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
^LeRoy C. Goddard. "Horace Anthony House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
^"Historic Find: Archaeologists discover home of Harriet Tubman's father". The News Journal. 2021-04-25. pp. A26. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
^"Presidential Proclamation -- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument". whitehouse.gov. 2013-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
^Site 6 - Lewis and Harriet Hayden House - 66 Phillips Street Archived 2016-06-23 at the Wayback Machine. African American Museum, Boston. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
^"Mark the Spot: Underground Railroad in Medford". Tufts Now. 2015-02-06. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Snodgrass 2008, p. 38.
^Ingall, David; Risko, Karin (2015-04-13). Michigan Civil War Landmarks. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-1-62585-466-7.
^Snodgrass 2008, p. 348.
^ a bKarnoutsos, Carmela. "Underground Railroad". Jersey City Past and Present. New Jersey City University. Archived from the original on 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
^ a b c d"The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey". www.state.nj.us. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
^Switala, William J. (2006), Underground railroad in New Jersey and New York, ISBN 978-0-8117-3258-1
^History Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, Saddler's Woods Conservation Association
^"Historical Sites, Mortonson-Schorn Log Cabin". Gloucester County, New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
^Snodgrass 2008, p. 226.
^ a b c d"Underground Railroad". www.iloveny.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^ a bJordan, Jason. "Follow the orange to freedom". Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
^Oldest house in Steuben County, NY - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com, http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEW9J_Oldest_house_in_Steuben_County_NY Archived 2017-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved August 11, 2017.
^ a b"Underground Railroad sites in New York". amsterdamnews.com. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
^ a b"Underground Railroad". Historic Path of Cattaraugus County. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
^Sharp, Teresa. "Take a step back in time at historic McClew farmstead in Burt". Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
^"Abolitionist Place". Mapping the African American Past, Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^ a b"How Westchester County Impacted The Underground Railroad". 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
^"African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church". Retrieved 2024-06-21.
^"About Guilford - Guilford College". Archived from the original on December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^"Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony". www.visitnc.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^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.
^"G.W. Adams Educational Center". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
^"Wilbur H. Siebert Underground Railroad Collection". Ohio History Connection. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Elizabeth, Shultz (2014-03-26). "Hosanna Church: The Last Building in Hinsonville". Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Blog. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
^Daley, Jason (October 29, 2018). "Developers and Preservationists Clash Over Underground Railroad Stop". Archived from the original on 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"Explore Network to Freedom Listings - Underground Railroad". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
^Clark, Kym (November 17, 2020). "5 Star Stories: The story of Memphis' role in the road to freedom on the Underground Railroad". Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^"Underground Railroad, Special Resource Study" (PDF). National Park Service. September 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Town of Ceredo. "Ramsdell House". Town of Ceredo, West Virginia. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
^Snodgrass 2008, p. 268.
Bibliography
Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2008). The Underground Railroad : an encyclopedia of people, places, and operations. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-8093-8.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Underground Railroad by state.
Map of Underground Railroad locations
A Photographic Journey Along the Underground Railroad