| Delaware (Kent County), Smyrna — NC-89 — Clearfield Farm |
| | Built in the mid-eighteenth century by Captain David Clark, Clearfield Farm was the home of his grandson John Clark (1761 -1821), Governor of Delaware from 1817 -1820. John Clark served as Colonel in the Delaware Militia and as Justice of the Peace before being elected Governor in 1816. After his term expired, Clark moved into the town of Smyrna to become President of the Commercial Bank of Smyrna. Following his death, the property was inherited by his granddaughters. Local folklore identifies . . . — Map (db m10598) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Odessa — NC-90 — Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House |
| | Believed to be one of the smallest Quaker Meeting Houses in the nation, the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House was built in 1785 by David Wilson and presented to the Friends as a gift. Local tradition identifies this structure as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the years preceding the Civil War. While enroute to destinations north of Delaware, runaway slaves would hide in the loft of the church in order to escape capture. Prominent local Quakers who served as agents on the Railroad . . . — Map (db m10308) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-128 — Freedom Lost |
| | By the late 1700s the institution of slavery was declining in Delaware. A changing economy and the active efforts of Quakers and Methodists had led to the manumission of many slaves and dramatic growth of the state’s free black population. Though Congress outlawed importation of slaves in 1808, demand for slave labor in the expanding states of the Deep South continued to grow. A nefarious criminal element sought to fill this need by kidnapping free blacks for sale into slavery. Such was the . . . — Map (db m10950) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — N.C.- 84 — Gravesite of Bishop Peter Spencer (1779-1843) — And His Devoted Wife, Annes |
| | Born a slave, Bishop Spencer was the father of Delaware’s independent Black church movement. In 1813, he founded the Union Church of Africans, presently known as the African Union Methodist Protestant Church. The mother AUMP church stood on this site from 1813 to 1970. The Union American Methodist Episcopal Church (UAME), formally organized in 1865, traces its origins to Spencer. He was also the founder of “August Quarterly” in 1813, one of the oldest Black folk festivals in America. — Map (db m2607) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — Meeting House 1816 — Religious Society of Friends |
| | Grew from New-Wark Meeting established 1682. Present house is third in this vicinity. Friends School begun here in 1748 has operated continuously. Among 3,000 buried in yard are founders of Wilmington, John Dickinson, "Penman of the Revolution," and Thomas Garrett, Leader of Underground Railroad on Delmarva Peninsula. — Map (db m10943) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-88 — Thomas Garrett — Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad |
| | Born August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Garrett came to Wilmington in 1822. A prominent merchant, his home and business were located nearby on Shipley Street. Garrett was committed to the anti-slavery efforts of his Quaker faith. He is credited with assisting more than 2,700 of “God’s Poor” to escape slavery through the secret network known as the Underground Railroad. Though he was convicted and fined by the U.S. District Court in 1848 for aiding runaway slaves, he . . . — Map (db m10944) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-125 — Wilmington Friends Meeting — Burial Place of Thomas Garrett |
| | The first Meeting House on this site was built in 1738. It was replaced in 1748 when a larger building was constructed. The old Meeting House was then converted into a school. Known as Wilmington Friends School, it was relocated to a new facility in 1937, and is the oldest existing school in the state. The present Meeting House was built in 1816. Wilmington was the last major stop on the East Coast overland route of the Underground Railroad. One of the central figures of this clandestine . . . — Map (db m10941) |
| District of Columbia (Northwest), Washington — President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home — A National Trust Historic Site |
| | President Lincoln and his family lived in this country home for over a quarter of his presidency. Escorted by his cavalry guard, Lincoln rode to the White House every morning either on horseback or by carriage, and returned here each evening to rejoin his family and friends, meet with visitors and colleagues and reflect on military strategy and emancipation. This sculpture captures a moment in his daily life during those years.
Dedicated February 12, 2009 in recognition of the . . . — Map (db m22652) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Frederick Douglass National Historic Site |
| | Also known as Cedar Hill, this site encompasses the estate owned by Frederick Douglass from 1877 until his death in 1895. In honor of Douglass’ work as an author, orator, abolitionist, statesman, and civil rights leader, this site is designated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. — Map (db m5471) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Freedmen’s Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln — or Freedom’s Memorial |
| | In grateful memory of Abraham Lincoln. This monument was erected by the Western Sanitary Commission of Saint Louis, Mo., with funds contributed solely by emancipated Citizens of the United States declared free by his Proclamation, January 1st A.D. 1863. The first contribution of five dollars was made by Charlotte Scott, a freed woman of Virginia, being her first earnings in freedom and consecrated by her suggestion and request, on the day she heard of President Lincoln’s death, to build a . . . — Map (db m2097) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.3 — Asbury United Methodist Church — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | Stories of slavery and freedom, of struggle and achievement are woven through the history of this African American congregation. Founded in 1836, by the time of the Civil War Asbury United Methodist Church was the preeminent Black church in the city, its membership of 600 making it the largest of 11 African American congregations in Washington. Today, Asbury counts among its members descendants of District slaves who tried a dramatic escape to freedom in 1848 aboard the ship Pearl. . . . — Map (db m10904) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church — The Gate Way to Freedom |
| | Organized 1832.
2nd Church Built 1833.
Admitted to Philadelphia-Baltimore Conference, 1837.
3rd Church Built 1888.
Relocated present site, 1956.
Bishop Raymond Luthe Jones, Presiding Bishop, 4th Episcopal District.
Dr. William B. Baker, Presiding Elder.
Rev. R. H. Collins Lee, Minister.
Trustees:
Alphonzo Starks, Ch.
Hattie H. Williams, Sec.
William H. Moore, Treas.
Charles W. Wade, M.D.
Mabel H. Shaw
Edward W. Weyms
Percy Jackson
Stewart A. Hardy
R. H. . . . — Map (db m11042) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 4 of 14 — Civil War Camp to Victorian Neighborhood — City within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | The Shaw neighborhood and the Greater U Street Historic District are rich in African American and Civil War history. They are the ideal place for the African American Civil War Memorial now located on this Metro plaza. The neighborhood was named for Robert Gould Shaw, the White commander of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, an African American unit featured in the film Glory. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired, this entire area north of Washington’s downtown was still woods . . . — Map (db m14858) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Southwest — 10 of 17 — Escape from Slavery — River Farms to Urban Towers - Southwest Heritage Trail |
| | Before the Civil War, Washington was a slave-holding city. But many of its citizens–especially free blacks and abolitionists–assisted freedom seekers at locations known as stops on the Underground Railroad.
The largest attempted slave escape began the evening of April 15, 1848. In the gathering dark, 77 men and women slipped aboard the Pearl, waiting ½ mile down river from this sign. Captain Daniel Drayton had agreed to sail them down the Potomac and then north to . . . — Map (db m20605) |
| Georgia (Chatham County), Tybee Island — 25-32 — History of Emancipation: — Gen. David Hunter and General Orders No. 7 |
| | On April 13, 1862, following the Union capture of Ft. Pulaski during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. David Hunter issued General Orders No. 7 freeing those enslaved at the fort and on Cockspur Island. Hunter, an abolitionist advocating the enlistment of black soldiers in the Union Army, ordered freedmen subject to military service. Not yet committed to a comprehensive plan of emancipation, President Abraham Lincoln overturned the orders. However, Hunter’s orders were a precursor to Lincoln’s own . . . — Map (db m13830) |
| Indiana (Boone County), Zionsville — Lincoln's Stop in Zionsville, Indiana |
| | Abraham Lincoln enroute to Washington as President Elect on February ll, 1861 addressed the Citizens of Zionsville at the Railroad Depot which stood on this site. — Map (db m8326) |
| Indiana (Harrison County), Corydon — Oswell Wright |
| | [Front side]
Born in Maryland early 1810's. Bought land in Corydon, May 1849. In November 1857, Kentuckians arrested Wright and two white men, Charles and David Bell; they were indicted and jailed in Kentucky for aiding escape of fugitive slave. Bells rescued in jailbreak 1858. Wright convicted May 1859; completed sentence in kentucky Penitentiary; released June 1864.
[Back side]
Wright, a free black, lost his own freedom for helping a slave escape. Died in Corydon, . . . — Map (db m9615) |
| Indiana (Harrison County), Corydon — 31.2003.3 — St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| | [Side one:]
Free blacks and former slaves organized an African Methodist Episcopal congregation in Corydon by 1843. In 1851, church trustees purchased land in Corydon in order to build a church and for school purposes. In 1878, church trustees purchased land at this site and later built a frame church.
[Side two:]
In August 1975, the congregation dedicated the brick church adjacent to this site. William Paul Quinn, appointed A.M.E. missionary 1840, established many . . . — Map (db m9752) |
| Indiana (Jefferson County), Madison — Madison's Riverfront / Underground Railroad |
| |
[Side A:]
Madison’s Riverfront
Once a bustling commercial and industrial area,
Madison’s riverfront has greatly changed since the
City’s founding in 1809. On these banks stood
factories, mills, hotels and taverns, typical of a
busy river port on the frontier. Annual flooding
has forced the move to higher ground, leaving
behind a restful park area for all to enjoy.
[Side B:]
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was neither . . . — Map (db m22775) |
| Indiana (Knox County), Vincennes — 42.2009.1 — Mary Clark |
| | Side One:
Born circa 1801, Clark, a slave, was purchased in Kentucky in 1814 by B. J. Harrison, brought to Vincennes in 1815, and indentured as his servant. In 1816, G.W. Johnston purchased her indenture for 20 years. In 1821, Clark and attorney Amory Kinney petitioned Knox County Circuit Court to terminate her indenture because she was held illegally “as a slave.”
Side Two
Circuit Court ruled Clark “freely” entered into her indenture and had . . . — Map (db m23219) |
| Indiana (Marion County), Indianapolis — 49.2006.2 — John Freeman |
| | In 1844, John Freeman, a free black, purchased land in Indianapolis. By 1853, he owned land in this area worth $6,000. In June 1853, a slaveholder claimed Freeman was his runaway slave. Freeman spent nine weeks in jail; he hired lawyers; claim was dismissed. Black citizens held public meeting August 29 at Masonic Hall to congratulate Freeman.
Under Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, seizure of free blacks and freedom seekers in the north was common.
The Underground Railroad refers to a . . . — Map (db m1833) |
| Indiana (Marion County), Indianapolis — 49.2007.2 — Ovid Butler, Sr. |
| | (Front): Born 1801 in New York; moved to Indiana 1817. Admitted to bar 1825; became influential lawyer. Settled in Indianapolis 1836. His opposition to slavery on moral and religious grounds was reflected in his political affiliations and support of anti-slavery newspapers; his writings publicly condemned slavery and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. (Back): Butler wrote North Western Christian University charter 1849; founders wanted to provide "liberal and Christian education" . . . — Map (db m4644) |
| Indiana (Montgomery County), Crawfordsville — Elston Memorial Home — Col. Isaac C. Elston Home |
| | [Small Upper Brass Plaque - by Front Door]:
This property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of Interior.
[Large Middle - Brass Plaque]:
In Memory of the Soldiers of the Revolutionary War of 1776 Buried in Montgomery County
Jacob Miller •
Alexander Foster •
Sebastion Stonebraker •
Presly Sims •
Samuel Gregory •
John Hardee •
William Mason •
John McNulty •
James McArthur •
Samuel Newell •
Robert . . . — Map (db m9396) |
| Indiana (Montgomery County), Crawfordsville — 54-1995-1 — Speed Cabin |
| | Site of house reputed to be a stop on the "Underground Railroad." Reconstructed cabin, which was portion of house owned by John Allen Speed, now located on grounds of lane Mansion. Speed, active in abolitionist movement, was Mayor of Crawfordsville, 1868 - 1869. — Map (db m3870) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Dublin — Indiana’s First Woman’s Rights Convention |
| | A convention was called for by reform-minded Congregational Friends meeting at Greensboro, Henry County, January 1851. Convention held October 14-15, 1851 at Dublin adopted resolutions for political, social, and financial rights for women. Women and men who favored abolition, temperance and suffrage attended. The 1852 convention formed Indiana Woman's Rights Association to promote united action for woman's rights. Association's 1853 convention demanded equality in all political rights and . . . — Map (db m270) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Fountain City — Home of Levi Coffin |
| | 1827 1847 This house was called the "Union Depot of the Underground Railroad," and more than 2000 escaped slaves were cared for here. Tablet placed by Wayne Co. Society of Indianapolis — Map (db m4482) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Fountain City — 89.2002.1 — Levi Coffin |
| | (Front Side): Levi Coffin (1798-1877), a Quaker abolitionist, lived in Newport (now Fountain City) with his family 1826-1847. Moved from North Carolina because he and his wife, Catharine, opposed slavery. Advocated, and sold in his store, free-labor products not produced by slaves. House built circa 1839; designated a National Historic Landmark 1966. (Back Side): Coffin's Reminiscences (1876) documented work in Underground Railroad and antislavery movement. The . . . — Map (db m4480) |
| Kansas (Bourbon County), Fort Scott — In Memory of The Soldiers — of the 1st Regiment Kansas Colored Volunteers |
| | who gave their lives in battle May 18, 1863 near Sherwood, Missouri
Henry Aggleson Pvt Co I
Greene Allen Pvt Co H
John Booth Pvt Co H
Edward Cockerell Pvt Co E
William Grisby Pvt Co D
Frank Haze Pvt Co F
Milton Johnson Pvt Co I
William Knight Pvt Co F
Dennis Lyons Pvt Co C
George Mitchell Pvt Co F
Minor Porter Pvt Co F
William Smith Pvt Co E
George Webb Pvt Co D
Peter White Pvt Co E
Riley Young Pvt Co A
2nd Kansas Volunteer Battery
Garrett Anderson Pvt . . . — Map (db m8418) |
| Kansas (Linn County), Trading Post — Marais des Cygnes Massacre |
| | Nothing in the struggle over slavery in Kansas did more to inflame the nation than the mass killing which took place May 19, 1858, about four miles northeast of this marker. Charles Hamelton who had been driven from the territory by Free-State men, retaliated by invading the county with about thirty Missourians. Capturing 11 Free-State men, he marched them to a ravine and lined them up before a firing squad. Five were killed, five were wounded, and one escaped by feigning death. The site and . . . — Map (db m4359) |
| Kansas (Miami County), Osawatomie — John Brown of Kansas |
| | Erected May 9, 1935 by The Woman's Relief Corps Department of Kansas Auxiliary to the Grand Army "John Brown of Kansas He dared begin He lost But losing won"
Eugene N. Ware — Map (db m4347) |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Portland Freedom Trail — Franklin Street Wharf |
| | Landing spot for many passengers on the Underground Railroad and embarkation point for their transit to Canada and England. Anti-slavery sympathizers were well-organized to greet stowaways from Southern cargo vessels, find them safe housing in Portland, supply clothing and passes and send them on to Canada. The wharves and ships of Portland employed large numbers of African Americans, providing well paying jobs, thus adding to community stability. — Map (db m20614) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — 1781 Friends Meeting House |
| | The Friends Meeting House is the oldest religious building in Baltimore. In 1781, the Patapsco Friends Meeting, formerly located on Harford Road two miles north of the Inner Harbor, moved to this site. In 1784 a group of Quakers established a school here, which "provided guarded education for their children." The school eventually became the Friends School of Baltimore.
By the mid eighteenth century the Society of Friends exerted a strong influence socially, politically, and economically in . . . — Map (db m6282) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Cherry Hill |
| | Part of the city but green as a suburb, Cherry Hill is a distinctive African American planned community. Cherry Hill was established to provide housing for blacks who moved to Baltimore to work in industries during World War II. Originally it consisted of 541 rowhouses, 600 apartments, and a community building. Residents added 14 churches and many organizations. As the community grew, residents campaigned for schools, parks, recreation centers, and other facilities. This neighborhood, now older . . . — Map (db m6359) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Frederick Douglass — Abolitionist / Orator / Author |
| | Frederick Douglass was born into American slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore in February 1818.
In March 1826, Douglass, a slave child, was sent to live in the Hugh Auld household at this location, from 1826-1831.
Douglass periodically resided in Fells Point as a slave until Monday, September 3, 1838, when he escaped to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
Douglass returned to Baltimore as a free man on May 19, 1870 to address the 20,000 participants in the 15th Amendment Celebration . . . — Map (db m2603) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Henry Highland Garnet Park |
| | This is a community park developed by the Special Impact Neighborhood Improvement Program and the Department of Recreatoin and Parks dedicated to the memory of Henry Highland Garnet by the Henry Highland Garnet Neighborhood Council.
Henry Highland Garnet was the son of an enslaved African chief born in Delaware in 1815. He became a Presbyterian preacher and lecturer. His famous speech delivered to the Convention of Free Men of Color at Buffalo, New York in 1843 was:
Brethren, arise! . . . — Map (db m6236) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Hugh Lennox Bond — 1828-1893 |
| | Stalwart supporter of President Lincoln and of Emancipation. Chief Judge in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court, where he was nicknamed "The Curse of the K.K.K" for his harsh sentences. — Map (db m6462) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Mount Auburn Cemetery |
| | Oldest cemetery for African Americans in Baltimore, founded in 1872 by Rev. James Peck, pastor, and trustees of Sharp Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Dating to 1787, the congregation served the community and was influential in the freedom movement of the 19th century and the civil rights movement of the 20th. Here rest former slaves, clergy, professionals, business owners and thousands of African American families. — Map (db m13540) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Solo Gibbs Park |
| | Solo Gibbs Park was created in 1979 when 1-395 was built. The 1869 Sachse Bird's Eye View Illustrated Map shows the once larger neighborhood where, since the late 1700s a free African American community lived, worked and worshipped along side European descendant Quakers, Methodists, Baptists, and Lutherans. Baltimore's African Americans organized some of their first churches and schools near here on Sharp Street. Together these people promoted the abolition of slavery and participated in the . . . — Map (db m6356) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — The First Unitarian Church of Baltimore — (Unitarian and Universalist) |
| | In 1817, when Baltimore Town boasted 60,000 inhabitants and Mount Vernon Place was still a forest, a group of leading citizens met in the home of Henry Payson "to form a religious society and build a church for Christians who are Unitarian and cherish liberal sentiments on the subject of religion." The name selected for the church, The First Unitarian Church of Baltimore was a precursor to the independence of thought and action that would become the hallmark of this group of free thinkers and . . . — Map (db m7168) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Tyson House |
| | Built by Elisha Tyson 1790 — Map (db m6120) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Sparks-Glencoe — Gorsuch Tavern |
| | At “19 mile stone” on York Road built in 1810 by Captain Joshua Gorsuch, a shipbuilder. The tavern was the meeting place of the Baltimore Countians who went to Pennsylvania to reclaim their slaves, thus bringing on the Christiana Riot of 1851. — Map (db m2057) |
| Maryland (Caroline County), Denton — Revolution or Fraud? — Emancipation in Caroline Co. |
| | Maryland slaves were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which excluded states that remained in the Union from its provisions. It was Maryland's new constitution, adopted by the narrow margin of 291 votes of almost 60,000 cast on November 2, 1864, that ended slavery in the state. The voluntary abolition of slavery here boosted the reelection campaign of President Abraham Lincoln. Though hailed as "The Mighty Revolution," emancipation and the new constitution resulted from . . . — Map (db m3389) |
| Maryland (Caroline County), Preston — The Underground Railroad — Seed of War |
| | Among the factors that contributed to the coming of the Civil War was the increasing animosity between Southerners and Northerners over the issue of slavery. The operation of the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to the free North and Canada, which was supported by Northern anti-slavery societies, was a sharp thorn in the sides of slaveholders.
Two major "stations" on the Underground Railroad were located near Preston. Local Quakers, long opposed to slavery, operated one and . . . — Map (db m5411) |
| Maryland (Dorchester County), Bucktown — Finding Freedom |
| | The Call of Freedom
In the mid-19th century, 8,000 African Americans lived in Dorchester County. Roughly half were slaves; most of the rest worked as free laborers. Enslaved blacks, free blacks, and abolitionist whites worked together to operate the Underground Railroad, a secret network of "stations" and "conductors" that led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom and became a powerful national symbol of resistance to slavery.
A Childhood in Slavery
The Bucktown area has . . . — Map (db m3959) |
| Maryland (Dorchester County), Bucktown — Harriet Tubman — 1820-1913 |
| | The "Moses of her People", Harriett Tubman of the Bucktown District found freedom for herself and some three hundred other slaves whom she led north. In the Civil War she served the Union army as a nurse, scout and spy. — Map (db m3956) |
| Maryland (Dorchester County), Cambridge — Finding Freedom |
| | The Call of Freedom
Dorchester County occupies a central place in the story of the Underground Railroad, the secret network of "stations" and "conductors" that sheltered and shepherded hundreds of enslave African Americans to freedom in the mid-1800s. This county courthouse was the site of two famous Underground Railroad trials. An earlier courthouse her was the site of a dramatic escape engineered by the famed Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, a Dorchester native. . . . — Map (db m3964) |
| Maryland (Harford County), Churchville — Calvary United Methodist Church |
| | Established in 1821 by Richard Webster and in continuous use, the Calvary United Methodist Church is a rare example of an early Methodist Meeting House. It is constructed of stone from a local quarry and retains its original floor plan, including a slave gallery accessed by a separate entrance, and such features as pews, hardware and later gas light fixtures. — Map (db m1490) |
| Maryland (Harford County), Darlington — Lafayette at Colonel Rigbie’s House |
| | Had Lafayette failed in quelling the mutiny of his troops here on Friday, April 13, 1781, the Battle of Yorktown might never have been fought. — Map (db m1286) |
| Maryland (Montgomery County), Brookeville — Madison House |
| | On August 26, 1814 this house provided shelter for President Madison and his official party during the British burning of the federal buildings in Washington, D.C. in the War of 1812. The following day, August 27th, the Secretary of State James Monroe joined the President here and they returned to the Capitol. — Map (db m365) |
| Maryland (Montgomery County), Silver Spring — William L. Chaplin Arrested! |
| | On August 8, 1850 a hired carriage was forcibly stopped in the middle of Brookeville Pike (Georgia Avenue) near this spot by a Sheriff's posse from Washington, D.C. and a shoot-out ensued. The carriage was driven by William Chaplin, who was unarmed, and was carrying two men attempting to escape from slavery; Garland White, belonged to Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia, and Allen, belonging to Senator Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia. The posse consisted of six men led by John Goddard who were . . . — Map (db m3969) |
| Maryland (Prince George's County), Oxon Hill — Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm |
| | Welcome to Oxon Cove Park. Around here a walk in the park is a walk back in time. Exhibits along the way will help you find the layers of time. The Mount Welby historic house also has exhibits.
Today Oxon Hill Farm is the main feature of Oxon Cove Park. You can experience some of daily life on a working farm from the early 1900s, complete with pigs, chicken, horses, a garden, barns, farm machinery, and much more.
Oxon Cove Park is also a great spot for watching wildlife, walking a . . . — Map (db m4979) |
| Maryland (Queen Anne's County), Queenstown — Queenstown — Divided Loyalties |
| | Queenstown, like most of the Eastern Shore in 1861, was a slaveholding community, and the impending conflict was regarded with concern and fear. When war erupted, families were torn apart because of their conflicting loyalities. It was not uncommon for some family members to be in the Confederate army and others in the Union.
The war took its toll on white Queenstown residents. With the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the 1864 Maryland constitutions abolution of slavery, many slave . . . — Map (db m3113) |
| Maryland (Talbot County), Easton — Frederick Douglass — 1817 - 1895 — Negro Patriot |
| | Attained freedom and devoted his life and talents to the abolition of slavery and the cause of universal suffrage. Visited England in 1845 and in 1859. Won many prominent friends abroad and at home. Was U. S. Marshall for the District of Columbia and U. S. Minister to Haiti. Was born in Tuckahoe, Talbot County. — Map (db m3338) |
| Maryland (Talbot County), St. Michaels — Frederick Douglass |
| | Born on Tuckahoe Creek, Talbot County; lived as a slave in St. Michaels area, 1833-1836. Taught self to read and write, conducted clandestine schools for blacks here. Escaped north, became noted abolitionist orator and editor. Returned 1877, as U.S. Marshal for District of Columbia. Also served as D.C. Recorder of Deeds, U.S. Minister to Haiti. — Map (db m3732) |
| Maryland (Talbot County), Trappe — Nathaniel Hopkins — Soldier from Trappe |
| | This was the home of Nathaniel Hopkins, known affectionately in Talbot County as "Uncle Nace." He was born a slave near here in 1831. After leaving his owner, Percy McKnett, and serving in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, Hopkins returned here to assist newly freed blacks in southern Talbot County. In 1878, he helped establish the county's first school for black children.
Hopkins also helped establish an Emancipation Day celebration in Talbot County to commemorate . . . — Map (db m3332) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hagerstown — Washington County Jail — Fugitive Slaves Detained at the County Jail |
| | An African American Heritage Report prepared by the Heritage Resources Group for the City of Hagerstown in 2002 identified the following historical incidents which suggest that the Washington County Jail was a significant site of activity along the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War era times: A local petition was sent to the Maryland General Assembly in 1819 asking that the slave trade be halted in Washington County included a complaint that the Washington County Jail was being used to . . . — Map (db m5676) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Sharpsburg — “Forever Free” |
| | The battle was over, but the two armies still faced one another. The Union army was still twice as strong. General Robert E. Lee, CSA "If McClellan wants to fight in the monring, I will give him battle again." Lee stayed at Antietam on more day. Then he went back across the Potomac to Virginia. Lee rebuilt his army and carried on the war for two and a half more years. Major General George B. McClellan, U.S.A. "After a night of anxious deliberation, and a full and careful survey of . . . — Map (db m6519) |
| Massachusetts (Bristol County), New Bedford — Frederick Douglass |
| | 1818–1895 “For my part, I should prefer death to hopeless bondage.”
New Bedford 1838-1841. — Map (db m1615) |
| Massachusetts (Suffolk County), Boston — Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment |
| | [On the front of the monument, part of the relief itself]:
Omnia Relinqvit / Servare Rempvblicam
[Underneath the relief]:
Robert Gould Shaw Colonel of the Fifty Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry
born in Boston 10 October MDCCCXXXVII
Killed while leading the assault on Fort Wagner
South Carolina 18 July MDCCCLXIII
[Underneath this is a verse from James Russel Lowell's poem "Memoriae Positum"]:
Right in the van, on the red rampart's . . . — Map (db m20209) |
| Michigan (Wayne County), Detroit — S0224 — Frederick Douglas - John Brown meeting |
| | In the home of William Webb, 200 feet north of this spot, two famous American's met several Detroit Negro residents on March 12, 1859, to discuss methods of abolishing American Negro slavery. John Brown (1800-1859), fiery antislavery leader, ardently advocated insurrectionary procedures, and eight months later became a martyr to the cause. Frederick Douglas (c. 1817-1895), ex-slave and internationally-recognized antislavery orator and writer, sought a solution through political means and . . . — Map (db m14478) |
| Michigan (Wayne County), Detroit — S0452 — George DeBaptiste Homesite |
| | George DeBaptiste, a long-time Mason, and one of Detroit's most active and impassioned black community leaders, lived on this site during the 1850s and 60s. Born in Virginia about 1815, he moved to Madison, Indiana in 1838 and became involved in the Underground Railroad. Forced to leave because of his anti-slavery activities, DeBaptiste became the personal valet of General William Henry Harrison, whom he accompanied to the White House as a steward. In 1846, DeBaptiste came to Detroit and . . . — Map (db m14479) |
| New Jersey (Mercer County), Trenton — Slavery – An “Odious and Disgraceful” Practice |
| | From the onset of European settlement in North America slavery was a recognized institution and integral to the colonial economy. Although Quakers discouraged the practice, settlers of other religious faiths living in the Delaware Valley maintained and relied heavily on the systems of bondage and indentured servitude to improve the land, raise crops and livestock, and generally support the colony’s social structure. A census of New Jersey in 1726, recorded roughly 2,500 persons as being . . . — Map (db m4273) |
| New Jersey (Morris County), Convent Station — Boisaubin House |
| | Built in 1790's by a French emigre on a campsite of the Continental Army, later, a station on the "Underground Railroad" — Map (db m18228) |
| New York (Rockland County), Nyack — Historic Underground Railroad |
| | At this crossroads stood the home of the Edward Hesdra Family. This home is believed to have been a link in the underground slave railway, c1855. — Map (db m18690) |
| New York (Saratoga County), Edinburg — Barker's Store |
| |
Built in 1847 by John Barker.
Operated Continuously As A
Store Until 1945. Believed
To Have Been A Stop On The
Underground Railroad. — Map (db m24464) |
| North Carolina (Dare County), Manteo — Bondage |
| | and they made their lives
bitter with hard bondage
Exodus 1:14
For the millions of immigrants to this land, America has not been so much a destination as a promise: a promise of equality, a promise of self-determination and a promise of a better life for self and children. No so for the slave.
With their arrival at the Jamestown colony in August of 1619, twenty captive Africans began a legacy of chattel bondage that by 1860 would include 15 states, 4 . . . — Map (db m9670) |
| North Carolina (Dare County), Manteo — Deliverance |
| | Thus saith the Lord,
Let my people go.
Exodus 8:1
The bloodbath called the Civil War had begun and would cost the lives of over 600,000 Americans. As the Union armies advanced south, refugee slaves followed. After the Northern capture of Roanoke Island in February 1862, more than 3,000 ex-slaves arrived on the island. At the direction of Maj. Gen. John G. Foster, Army chaplain Horace James organized a formal colony with one-acre lots provided for about 600 . . . — Map (db m9669) |
| North Carolina (Dare County), Manteo — First Light of Freedom — The Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island |
| | First Light of Freedom side of marker, below the illustration: Former slaves give thanks by the creek’s edge
at the site of the island - “If you can cross the creek to Roanoke Island, you will find ‘safe haven’.”
The reverse side reads: 1862–1867. A year after the Civil War began, Roanoke Island fell to Union Forces. Word spread throughout North Carolina that slaves could find “safe haven” on the Island. By the end of 1862, over a thousand . . . — Map (db m4626) |
| North Carolina (Dare County), Manteo — The Promised Land |
| | I have caused thee to see it
with thine eyes,
but thou shalt not go over thither.
Deuteronomy 34:4
The Proclamation of Emancipation gave the military authority to enlist “Such persons of suitable condition…into the armed service of the United States” and the Bureau of Colored Troops was established. Many African-Americans served with distinction.
Despite the promise and participation, African-Americans, in many instances, would continue to be . . . — Map (db m9671) |
| Ohio (Athens County), Amesville — Historic Amesville |
| | Pioneers began arriving in Ames Township in 1797, making it one of the earliest settlements in the Northwest Territory. As early as 1804, the village purchased enough books to create a library. It is known today as the Coonskin Library because it was financed through the sale of animal pelts. Amesville was a center for commerce and education and was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad, as residents assisted countless slaves from the South on their way to freedom. — Map (db m15537) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), St. Clairsville — Home of Benjamin Lundy |
| | Here in 1815 he organized the Union Human Society, the first abolitionist society in the U.S.
Born 1789 N.J. Died 1839 Illinois.
Edited The Genius of Universal Emancipation 1821-1838. Devoted his life to the abolition of slavery. — Map (db m4955) |
| Ohio (Champaign County), Mechanicsburg — 16-11 — Addison White |
| | Side A:
Congress passed Fugitive Slave Laws in 1793 and 1850, allowing federal marshals to arrest slaves that had escaped to the North and take them back to their southern owners. They could also arrest northerners suspected of aiding runaway slaves. These laws were contested throughout the North, including Ohio where one case received national press. It involved escaped slave Addison White who arrived in Mechanicsburg in August 1856. There he met abolitionist Udney Hyde and stayed at . . . — Map (db m13760) |
| Ohio (Cuyahoga County), Berea — 61-18 — Baldwin University |
| | In 1845, Baldwin Institute, one of the first schools in the area open to all students regardless of gender, race, or creed, was chartered. The wealth generated by the sandstone and grindstone industries of Berea allowed John Baldwin to found the school. Ten years later, officials rechartered the school and renamed it Baldwin University. By the 1880's, the expanding quarries began to encroach on the original campus of the university, forcing it to relocate. In 1891, ground was broken for the new . . . — Map (db m3536) |
| Ohio (Cuyahoga County), Berea — 18-82 — First Congregational United Church of Christ of Berea |
| | Seven original members, who were staunch abolitionists, organized the First Congregational Church of Berea in the nearby Union School House on June 9, 1855. These members publicly articulated opposition to slavery and their desire for a church with full local autonomy. The church purchased this property and erected this sanctuary in 1869, the oldest still standing structure used as a church in Berea and the original Middleburg Township. It is constructed of locally manufactured brick with a . . . — Map (db m3539) |
| Ohio (Cuyahoga County), Berea — 23-18 — Lyceum Square |
| | On this site the Lyceum Village and the Berea Seminary were established in 1837 by John Baldwin, Jame Giruth, Henry O. Sheldon, and Josiah Holbrook. Their vision was to create the first in a connected series of Lyceum Villages. The Villages were designed especially to assist in the education of teachers, promote “scientific” exchanges over the world and thus encourage the study of the works and word of God, and cultivate the spirit of “peace on earth and good will to . . . — Map (db m3538) |
| Ohio (Cuyahoga County), Cleveland — 87-18 — The Cozad-Bates House / Anti-Slavery and Abolition |
| | The Cozad-Bates House is one of the oldest remaining structures in Cleveland's University Circle. The original section, built circa 1853, is the only pre-Civil War residential structure left in the neighborhood. Built by Samuel and Jane Cozad's son, Andrew Cozad, the first section used locally made brick to form a simple two-story, one-room-deep, vernacular English-I house. The family owned a large portion of the land which is now occupied by University Circle. Justus Cozad, Andrew's son, . . . — Map (db m11850) |
| Ohio (Delaware County), Africa — 6-21 — Africa Community |
| | Marker Front:
Samuel Patterson arrived in East Orange in 1824 and, within a few years, began to hide runaway slaves in his home. He also invited anti-slavery speakers to the pulpit of the East Orange Methodist Church, which brought Patterson and his neighbors into conflict with the bishop. Following their consciences, they became Wesleyan Methodists and built a new church. A pro-slavery neighbor mocked them by calling their community Africa, and so East Orange was renamed. The village . . . — Map (db m20550) |
| Ohio (Delaware County), Delaware — Delaware County: Anti-Slavery Stronghold / The Underground Railroad — Historic Underground Railroad |
| | Delaware County: Anti-Slavery Stronghold
A unique combintation of strong-principled religous communities, free black settlements, and tightly knit extended families fostered a wide-spread attitude of willful defiance that made Delaware one of Ohio's strongest anti-slavery counties in the early nineteenth century.
Among the Delaware County congregations participating in the Underground Railroad were Berlin United Presbyterian, Wesleyan Methodist, Alum Creek, Friends and Otterbein's . . . — Map (db m12829) |
| Ohio (Delaware County), Westerville — 3-12 — Sharp Family Homes |
| | Marker Front:
The Sharp family homes and their locations on N. State Street and Africa Road mark an important route through Westerville on the Underground Railroad. The family patriarch, Garrit Sharp, was an original settler of Sharp's Settlement, now Westerville, and donated land for and helped organize the first Methodist church. He is also associated with the founding of Blendon Young Men's Seminary, which was acquired by Otterbein College, an institution with enrollment open to . . . — Map (db m20552) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — Second Baptist Church / James P. Poindexter — Historic Underground Railroad Site |
| | Side A: Second Baptist Church - Columbus' Oldest Black Baptist Church, 1836
Second Baptist Church cordially received its independence as a mission church from the First Baptist Church on January 7, 1836. Rev. Ezekiel Fields was chosen as pastor from 1836-1839. Formal Articles of Inc. were granted on March 12, 1844 by the 42nd General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Early church locations were 69 Mulberry, 105 E. Gay Street, and 90 E. Rich Street. In 1843, the Palladium of Liberty . . . — Map (db m17174) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — The Underground Railroad / Black Conductors of Columbus — Historic Underground Railroad |
| | The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a
railroad, but a system of loosely connected safe havens
where those escaping the brutal conditions of slavery
were sheltered, fed, clothed, nursed, concealed, disguised,
and instructed during their journey to freedom. Although
this movement was one of America’s greatest social,
moral, and humanitarian endeavors, the details about it
were often cloaked in secrecy to protect those involved
from the retribution of civil law and . . . — Map (db m10251) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — 3 of 5 — The Underground Railroad on University Land |
| | After 1856, escapees on the Freedom Train followed Neil Run past the Neil Farm and through the swampy hollow that is now Mirror Lake. The stream forked, with the northeastern branch emerging from the marshy land where the Ohio Union now stands, to the home of Robert Neil, son of William and Hannah. It still stands on the corner of Indianola Avenue and 15th Avenue, the current home of the fraternity Kappa Sigma. From this spot, escapees were directed toward Lake Erie, the last stop before freedom and safety. — Map (db m16952) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — 4 of 5 — The Underground Railroad on University Land |
| | Joseph Sullivant, a member of the first Board of Trustees of Ohio State, was known as a “friend of the colored race.” He grew up in Kentucky but developed a distaste for slavery after witnessing a slave auction. Another Ohio State board member (and Professor of Agriculture) with similar beliefs was Norton Strange Townshend. Townshend served twice as a delegate to the World's Antislavery Convention. As a member of the Ohio General Assembly, he also helped to repeal Ohio's . . . — Map (db m16953) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — 5 of 5 — The Underground Railroad on University Land |
| | Along Lake Erie, Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, and Ashtabula Harbor were major routes from slavery to freedom in Canada. Even though African Americans lived throughout the state, Ohio itself was not really safe. Slavery was sanctioned across the United States. Escapees and free African Americans alike were constantly threatened by re-capture or kidnapping. Ohio also had “Black Laws,” often used to prevent long-term settlement. Frequently, the goal of the Freedom . . . — Map (db m16954) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — 77-25 — Wilbur H. Siebert Collection |
| | Dr. Wilbur Henry Siebert (1866-1961) organized one of the most extensive historical collections on the Underground Railroad in the United States. Siebert served as a professor of history at the Ohio State University, 1893-1935. His collection on the Underground Railroad, housed in the Archives/Library of the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, contains diaries, books, letters, and newspaper accounts of the day, as well as reminiscences from the dwindling population of abolitionists and their . . . — Map (db m17416) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Westerville — 46-25 — Stoner House |
| | The Stoner House, built circa 1862 on a natural spring thought to have medicinal properties, served as an inn, tavern, and spa, and as a hiding place for runaway slaves. George Stoner, owner and operator, drove the stagecoach from Columbus to Westerville transporting passengers who spend the night in this building. Runaway slaves were brought to this location in the luggage compartment of Stoner’s stagecoach and hidden in the cellar until they could be transported further north on their journey to Canada and freedom. — Map (db m9114) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Westerville — The Home of Benjamin R. Hanby |
| | Here Hanby composed the famous ballad “Darling Nellie Gray.” Visitors welcome. — Map (db m9118) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Westerville — William Hanby, Freedom Crusader — Historic Underground Railroad Site |
| | Bishop William Hanby, (1807-1880) courageous and of strong convictions, publicly voiced his scorn at a law that made it a felony to give food to a hungry slave, or shelter to a friendless man. From pulpit, platform, and workbench he condemned the inhumane Fugitive Slave law of 1850. “We may be bound by a man-made law,” he declared, “but we are more bound by a Lord-given conscience.”
With the help of his family, particularly his son Ben, trusted ally and friend, they . . . — Map (db m13118) |
| Ohio (Greene County), Wilberforce — 8-29 — Old Wilberforce University Campus at Tawawa Springs |
| | Side A:
In the early 1800s, William and Eleanor Kendall owned this land, known for its natural springs, beauty, and farmland. In 1850, Elias Drake, lawyer and former speaker in the Ohio General Assembly, purchased the property and named it Tawawa or Xenia Springs. He developed a health resort hotel surrounded by summer cottages, all of which were completed the following year. “Tawawa” is believed to be Shawnee for “clear or gold water,” alluding to the clear, . . . — Map (db m14058) |
| Ohio (Greene County), Yellow Springs — 6-29 — Moncure Daniel Conway / The Conway Colony |
| | [Side A:] Moncure Daniel Conway
Moncure Daniel Conway was born on March 17, 1832 in Stafford County, Virginia, the son of Walker Peyton and Margaret Daniel Conway. His father was a wealthy slaveholder and prominent state legislator and county court justice official while his mother, who opposed slavery, introduced her son to abolitionism. Conway graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania in 1849 and from Harvard Divinity School in 1854. Despite his southern aristocratic . . . — Map (db m13651) |
| Ohio (Hamilton County), Cincinnati — 61-31 — Salmon Portland Chase |
| | Side A:
Salmon Portland Chase, a renowned lawyer and statesman, was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, on January 13, 1808. He came to Ohio in 1820 and attended Cincinnati College (1822-23). Chase returned to New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1826. He studied law under U.S. Attorney General William Wirt in Washington D.C. and was admitted to the bar in December 1829. He then moved back to Cincinnati and in September 1830 established his law office and residence on the . . . — Map (db m24621) |
| Ohio (Hamilton County), Cincinnati — 24-31 — Taft Museum of Art — Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House |
| | This Federal house was begun about 1820 for Martin Baum (1765-1831), one of Cincinnati's early merchants. Art patron and abolitionist Nicholas Longworth (1782-1863) lived here for more than thirty years and commissioned the notable landscape murals in the foyer painted by African-American artist Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872). Iron magnate David Sinton (1808-1900), the subsequent owner, bequeathed the house to his daughter Anna Sinton Taft (1852?-1931). She and her husband Charles Phelps Taft . . . — Map (db m24602) |
| Ohio (Hamilton County), Cincinnati — 61-31 — Woodward High School / School for Creative and Performing Arts |
| | Side A: Woodward High School
William and Abigail Cutter Woodward founded Woodward High School, the first public high school west of the Allegheny Mountains, on this site October 24, 1831. Concerned that the poor of Cincinnati had no avenues for education, the Woodwards donated land, time, funding, and expertise to this venture that brought the arts and sciences to "those who have not the means of procuring such advantages themselves." Notables include Dr. Joseph Ray, principal, . . . — Map (db m24596) |
| Ohio (Hardin County), Hepburn — 9-33 — Wheeler Tavern |
| | Wheeler Tavern was built by Portius Wheeler, an early pioneer of Hardin County, around 1835 near the Shawnee Ford of the Scioto River. According to local historians this was the first brick residence constructed in Hardin County. Tradition maintains that Wheeler Tavern was a station on the Underground Railroad, a network of contacts and places that aided escaping slaves making their way to the free North. — Map (db m22962) |
| Ohio (Licking County), Granville — 9-45 — The Granville Academy / The Anti-Slavery Movement |
| | The Granville Academy
The Granville Congregational Church erected this building in 1833 for its Female Academy and a church meeting room. The school prospered and, in 1837, moved to make way for the Granville Male Academy. The Welsh Congregational Church purchased the structure in 1863 and converted its two stories into a single room with full-height windows. Welsh language services were held here for sixty years. Granville Grange #2230 met in the building from 1923 to 1973. It then became . . . — Map (db m12604) |
| Ohio (Mercer County), Celina — 3-54 — The Riley Home |
| | [Main Marker Front]:
The museum of the Mercer County Historical Society, the Riley Home, represents six generations of the Riley family in the county. The first Riley to arrive here was Captain James Riley, who surveyed the area in 1819, after it was opened to American settlement following the Treaty of Saint Marys in 1818. Captain Riley was elected to the Ohio General Assembly in 1823. Captain Riley's son, James Watson Riley platted Celina in 1834, was Mercer County's Clerk of Courts, . . . — Map (db m12294) |
| Ohio (Miami County), West Milton — The Underground Railroad in West Milton |
| | Side A:
In the year 1798, several prospectors traveled north from their North Carolina homes in search of new lands for themselves and their friends. Four of these known Quaker prospectors were John Mast, Jr., Martin Davenport and David Hoover from North Carolina and Benjamin Iddings from Tennessee. These men examined the country on both sides of the Stillwater River and returned to North Carolina to prepare their families for the long journey. Upon departure, sixty-four relatives and . . . — Map (db m19749) |
| Ohio (Montgomery County), Dayton — Paul Laurence Dunbar — 1872 - 1906 |
| | Paul Laurence Dunbar, born on Howard Street in Dayton, was the first African American to be accepted into the discipline of American literature. The son of a fugitive slave, Paul was an eloquent poet, short story writer, and novelist, as well as speaker on issues of racial equality and the human condition.
At 17 Dunbar published "The Dayton Tattler," the first newspaper for Dayton's black community, with the help of his friends Orville and Wilbur Wright. He graduated from Central High . . . — Map (db m17559) |
| Ohio (Morgan County), Chesterhill — 15-58 — Quaker Meeting House |
| | Despite the fugitive slave laws that prohibited harboring runaway slaves, fugitives found refuge in the Quaker village of Chesterfield, now Chesterhill. Legend tells that no runaway slaves were ever captured here, although many were hidden and helped on their way to freedom in Canada. A well-organized branch of the Underground Railroad ran through Morgan County with Elias Bundy as a principal conductor. Bundy sometimes concealed fugitive slaves in the woods east of Chester Hill. Historian W.H. . . . — Map (db m16718) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), New Concord — 2-60 — S-Bridge |
| | Coaches, Conestoga wagons, herds of livestock, pioneers on foot or horseback, peddlers, soldiers, beggers - these and many others have crossed this bridge on the National Road since 1830. Escaping slaves sought shelter beneath it. Like many others on the road, the bridge was built with well-cut stone and good mortar in the shape of an "S" because it was easier to erect than one thrown straight across an oblique stream. — Map (db m13350) |
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