| Brazil, Bahia, Salvador — Zumbi dos Palmares Monument |
| | Panel 1:
Zumbi dos Palmares
“É chegada a hora de tirar nossa nação das trevas da injustica racial.”
Nasceu livre, em 1655, na Serra da Barriga, união dos Palmares, Alagoas. Neto de Aqualtune, não permitiu a submissão de seu povo ao jugo da corda portuguesa, pois queria a liberdade para todos, dentro ou fora do Quilombo. Persistiu na luta e tornou-se líder do Quilombo, sento ferido em 1694, quando a capital Palmares foi destruída. Em 20 de Novembro de 1695, . . . — Map (db m26125) HM |
| Ontario, Toronto — Mary Ann Shadd Cary — 1823 – 1893 |
| | Mary Ann Shadd Cary was an anti-slavery activist, an advocate for the rights of women, and a pioneering woman newspaper editor and publisher. The daughter of a free African American shoemaker and abolitionist, Shadd began a life of teaching at age 16 by founding a school for African American children in the slave state of Delaware. Following the passing of the Fugitive Slave act (1850), many escaped and free African Americans (like Shadd) sought refuge in Canada. Shadd moved to Windsor, . . . — Map (db m57756) HM |
| Ontario (Essex County), Windsor — The Underground Railroad in Canada |
| | From the early 19th century until the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara rivers were important terminals of the Underground Railroad. White and black abolitionists formed a heroic network dedicated to helping free and enslaved African Americans find freedom from oppression. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom-seekers resided in what is now Ontario, after secretly traveling north from slave states like Kentucky and Virginia. Some returned south after the outbreak of the Civil . . . — Map (db m37379) HM |
| Ontario (Niagara Municipality), Fort Erie — Bertie Street Ferry Landing — c. 1796 - 1950 |
| | Over the centuries there have been many ferry landings along the Niagara River. Some were built by local merchants and some as government licenced landing points.
The longest operating ferry dock was here, near the foot of present-day Bertie Street. It was licenced to Henry Windecker c. 1796.
This hub of activity was not only a crossing point to and from the United States, but was also the location of customs, immigration, vehicle registration, and a railroad terminus.
During the . . . — Map (db m59332) HM |
| Ontario (Niagara Municipality), Fort Erie — Freedom Park |
| | From around 1830 to 1860, thousands of freedom seekers used the Underground Railroad to reach sanctuary in Canada - the “promised land”. Many crossed the Niagara River from the United State to Fort Erie, including Josiah Henson and his family, who arrived on the 28th of October 1830. The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was patterned after his life.
This park has been created to celebrate their lives and to remind present and future generations of their . . . — Map (db m59329) HM |
| Connecticut (Hartford County), Hartford — John Haynes |
| | John Haynes
1594 – 1654
Of Copford Hall. Essex England. Third Governor of Massachusetts. A founder of this commonwealth & its first Governor. A lover of religious liberty. A man trusted and honored.
Near this place he was buried & by this tablet The Connecticut Society of The Colonial Dames of America commemorates his public services.
A.D. 1915 — Map (db m44068) HM |
| Delaware (Kent County), Camden — KC-41 — Camden |
| | Founded 1783 on the tract “Brecknock” by Daniel Mifflin and settled largely by Quakers. Once called Piccadilly and Mifflins Cross Roads. Incorporated 1852, it was a center of anti-slavery sentiment. Several homes were by tradition stops on the Underground Railroad — Map (db m39508) HM |
| Delaware (Kent County), Camden — KC-73 — Camden Friends Meeting |
| | Burial Place of John Hunn This house of worship, built in 1805, was first a Preparative Meeting under the care of Motherkiln (Murderkill) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In 1830, Camden Monthly Meeting was formed by uniting with Motherkiln and Duck Creek Monthly Meetings. It has since absorbed all other Quaker Meetings in Kent and Sussex Counties. Many members were active in the anti-slavery movement. Local Quakers such as the Hunn, Jenkins, and Cowgill families, . . . — Map (db m39513) HM |
| Delaware (Kent County), Camden — John Hunn — 1814 - 1894 — Quaker Abolitionist |
| | Chief engineer of the Underground Rail Road in the State of Del. and the richest man in Del. He was convicted and fined in 1846 by the U.S. Dist. Court, later he was fined twice for $10,000.00 each by Del. but was advised the fines wouldn't be imposed if he'd promise not to continue his efforts to aid fugitives in their escape from slavery. Instead, Hunn avowed never to withhold a helping hand from the down-trodden in their hour of distress. His great land holdings and all his possessions were . . . — Map (db m39514) HM |
| Delaware (Kent County), Magnolia — KC-91 — Warner Mifflin — 1745 - 1798 |
| | A native of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Mifflin came to Delaware as a young man. Born into a slaveholding Quaker family, he manumitted his own slaves in 1774-75 and later became one of America's foremost abolitionists of the 18th century. As an elder of the Religious Society of Friends, he traveled extensively to convince others to free their slaves as
well. He addressed the legislatures of several states and presented numerous petitions and memorials to the United States Congress opposing . . . — Map (db m39456) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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 m40846) HM |
| 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 m41617) HM |
| 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) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.4 — New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at Herald Square — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “The churches are needed as never before for divine services,” President Abraham Lincoln
So said President Lincoln from his pew in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. While other churches were occupied by the federal government for offices and hospitals during the Civil War, Lincoln insisted this church remain open for worship. The pastor, Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, was the president’s spiritual guide through the war and during the fatal illness of Lincoln’s young son, Willie, . . . — Map (db m32926) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .4 — The Roots of Freedom and Equality — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “It is known to you that events have transpired within the last few days, deeply affecting the peace and character of our community.”
With these words, city officials tried to calm the angry mobs gathering on this corner in April 1848. The crowds blamed the National Era, an abolitionist newspaper located near this sign, for the attempted escape of 77 African American slaves on the ship Pearl. They threatened to destroy the Era’s printing press. The . . . — Map (db m25271) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Foggy Bottom — Leonard A. Grimes — (1815 - 1873) |
| | Leonard A. Grimes, a Black man born free in Leesburg, Virginia, owned a residence on this corner from 1836 to 1846.
In the 1830s, he owned a successful coach business transporting passengers in and around Washington. He also carried slaves seeking freedom in the North and was an early organizer of the Underground Railroad.
From 1840 to 1842, he was imprisoned in Richmond for aiding an escape. In 1846 Grimes moved with his family to New Bedford, Massachusetts where he continued his . . . — Map (db m46970) HM |
| 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) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Old Soldiers Home — 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 m52838) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Penn Quarter — e.2 — Ending Slavery in Washington — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | To your right at the end of Indiana Avenue is Washington's first City Hall/Courthouse. Across Sixth Street is the H. Carl Moultrie I Courthouse, a successor to the original courthouse. The Old City Hall/Courthouse opened in 1822, with offices for the mayor, city administrators, and federal courts. Today it is the city's third-oldest public building, after the White House and the Capitol. The City Hall/Courthouse witnessed key events in abolition history. In 1848 abolitionist Daniel Drayton . . . — Map (db m56124) HM |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — Mary Ann Shadd Cary House |
| | [Panel 1:]
Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
Has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
This site possesses national significance
In commemorating the history of the
United States of America.
An African American renaissance woman, abolitionist, educator, editor, military recruitment officer, woman suffragist, lawyer, and mother, Mary Ann Shadd Cary lived at his residence from 1881-1886. Her life is distinguished by her dedication to freedom, equality, and the . . . — Map (db m61813) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Illinois (Adams County), Quincy — Douglas' Disciple |
| | "I regard (Richardson) as one of the truest men that ever lived; he 'sticks to judge Douglas through thick and thin" (A. Lincoln, 1860). Douglas composed the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. William A. Richardson, another Quincyan and Douglas' political disciple, facilitated its passage through the turbulent U.S. House of Representatives. This bill opened to slavery an area guaranteed free since the Missouri Compromise, leading to the formation of the Republican Party and Lincoln's return . . . — Map (db m58760) HM |
| Illinois (Adams County), Quincy — Lincoln's 1854 Visit |
| | On November 1, 1854 an incensed Lincoln attached the immorality of slavery in a speech at Kendall Hall. Lincoln was awakened from a five-bear political slumber by Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act, attacking it in a series of speeches in central Illinois in late 1854. Lincoln's Quincy friend Abraham Jonas invited him to address the Kansas-Nebraska question here on behalf of the Congressional candidacy of Archibald Williams. Jonas predicted a payoff to Lincoln politically. "Whigs . . . — Map (db m58788) HM |
| Illinois (Adams County), Quincy — Search for Equality |
| | "Who shall say, I am the superior, and you are the inferior?" asked Lincoln in July 1858. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates focused on slavery. During the October 13th Quincy debate Lincoln affirmed: "...in the right to eat the bread without leave of anybody else which his own hands earns, he is my equal and the equal of every other man." As President, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and advocated voting rights for African-Americans who fought for the Union. By the . . . — Map (db m58798) HM |
| Illinois (Bureau County), Princeton — Owen Lovejoy Home |
| | This two-story frame structure was the home of abolitionist Owen Lovejoy, who was born in Maine in 1811. Lovejoy moved into the house in 1838, when he became a Congregationalist minister. He was leader in the formation of the Republican Party in Illinois, and he served as a representative in the state legislature, 1855-1857, and in the United States Congress from 1857 until his death in 1864. His home was well known as a shelter for runaway slaves. Owen was a younger brother of Elijah Lovejoy, . . . — Map (db m44351) HM |
| Illinois (Champaign County), Champaign — The First Congregational Church — Champaign Historic Site |
| | The First Congregational Church, built in 1855-56, was popularly known as the “Goose Pond” Church, because the site was once a water-filled area, home to flocks of wild geese and ducks. The church became a meeting center for numerous groups aspiring to improve life in the booming “New Town” then rising up along the tracks of the recently completed Illinois Central Railroad.
The congregation and its minister were strongly opposed to American slavery, and worked . . . — Map (db m31118) HM |
| Illinois (Coles County), Oakland — Home of Dr. Hiram Rutherford |
| | This was the home of Dr. Hiram Rutherford, who was involved in 1847 in a case in which Abraham Lincoln represented a slaveholder. Rutherford and Gideon Ashmore harbored a family of slaves who had sought their help. The slaves belonged to Robert Matson, a Kentuckian, who had brought them north to work on his farm. While the slaves were being sheltered in Ashmore’s Tavern, Matson obtained a Court Order to have the slaves jailed. Rutherford and Ashmore sued out a Writ of Habeas Corpus for their . . . — Map (db m30877) HM |
| Illinois (Coles County), Oakland — The Matson Slave Trial — Looking for Lincoln |
| | Top Section
Dr. Hiram Rutherford was a key person involved in Abraham Lincoln’s famous slave case, the only instance in his career where Lincoln represented the rights of a slave owner. Robert Matson brought slaves from Kentucky to work his farm north of Independence each year until after the harvest. By doing so, Matson was taking advantage of a common loophole in Illinois law, which allowed slaves to be held here while in transit. In 1847, one of Matson’s slaves, Jane Bryant, argued . . . — Map (db m30867) HM |
| Illinois (Fayette County), Vandalia — First Protest Against Slavery — 1837 |
| | At the beginning of Lincoln's second term as a state representative, several southern legislatures were concerned that the Federal Government would abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. Most of the members of the Illinois Legislature shared this concern. Many Illinois residents in the early 1800's - or their ancestors - came to Illinois from the slave states of Kentucky and Tennessee. In January 1837 the Illinois Legislature adopted a resolution that condemned abolition societies. . . . — Map (db m42490) HM |
| Illinois (Knox County), Galesburg — Lincoln-Douglas Debate |
| | On October 7, 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas met in Galesburg for the fifth of seven joint debates. From a platform erected along the east side of Old Main on the Knox College campus, Lincoln said: "He is blowing out the moral lights around us, when he contends that whoever wants slaves has a right to own them." — Map (db m37056) HM |
| Illinois (La Salle County), Ottawa — First Lincoln-Douglas Debate — Looking for Lincoln |
| |
First Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Abraham Lincoln's first heated exchanged with Stephen A. Douglas on Aug 21, 1858 in Ottawa was received coolly by his advisors. They insisted Lincoln had treated Douglas entirely too "tenderly." Lincoln, however, wrote a friend: "The fire flew some and I am glad to know I am yet still alive." The population of this canal town, industrial center, and county seat more than doubled as 14,000 people poured into Washington Square to watch the . . . — Map (db m65302) HM |
| Illinois (La Salle County), Ottawa — Lincoln and Douglas Debate |
| |
This tablet marks the site
of the first
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
held August 21st, 1858.
Erected by Illini Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
Ottawa, Illinois,
August 21st, 1908. — Map (db m65297) HM |
| Illinois (La Salle County), Ottawa — The First Lincoln-Douglas Debate |
| | On August 21, 1858, the first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas took place in this park. Approximately 10,000 people gathered to hear the two candidates discuss the question of slavery in America. Candidate Lincoln rebuffed attempts to portray him as an abolitionist, one advocating the immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States. Although Lincoln said he personally believed slavery was morally wrong, he maintained that the . . . — Map (db m65299) HM |
| Illinois (La Salle County), Ottawa — Washington Square — Site of First Lincoln-Douglas Debate |
| | On August 21, 1858, the first of the famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas was held in Washington Square. Here ten thousand heard the two candidates debate for a seat in the United States Senate.
Principally, the great debates revolved around a single sentence in the Declaration of Independence. The phrase "all men are created equal" was central to Lincoln's argument, his primary evidence for the antislavery intentions of the Founding Fathers. Lincoln eloquently . . . — Map (db m65325) HM |
| Illinois (Lake County), Gurnee — The Mother Rudd Barn — Historic Garden — 1840 s |
| | The Mother Rudd Home is the oldest building in Warren Township. It served as a stagecoach stop, inn, tavern and post office. After the organization of the township in 1850, it was the official town hall and all caucuses and elections were held here.
It is believed that the Mother Rudd Barn was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Shelter and food were provided to escaped slaves as they journeyed from the South to freedom in the North and Canada. All that is left of the barn is this . . . — Map (db m55519) HM |
| Illinois (Macon County), Decatur — Let Us All Be United |
| | By 1856 Abraham Lincoln had realized that his former political party, the Whigs, was in ruins. The political landscape had changed to the point that Lincoln accepted an invitation to attend an Anti-Nebraska Editors Convention held at the Cassell House in Decatur, Illinois, on George Washington's birthday, February 22, 1856. Lincoln was the only politician invited to attend. The rest of the delegates were Illinois newspaper editors who were opposed to the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. . . . — Map (db m56884) HM |
| Illinois (McLean County), Bloomington — The Lost Speech |
| | Horace Greeley's New York Tribune reported on the Bloomington convention for its national readership: "It was most emphatically a convention of the people, where all classes, opinions and shades of belief were represented---but all inspired with one common resolve to resist further aggressions of the slave power to the bitter end." The "shades of belief" were broad. The old Whig Party had collapsed. New movements focused on single topics. Here in Bloomington abolitionists, . . . — Map (db m57458) HM |
| Illinois (Morgan County), Jacksonville — Lincoln and Slavery |
| | Pictured in the crowd listening to Abraham Lincoln's speech is Joseph O. King, a prominent merchant who later became mayor of Jacksonville. He helped found a political group that agitated for the exclusion of slavery from the free territories. Their first meeting, with King as clerk, took place in his store on the north side of the square. Most of the men who belonged were abolitionists. The Congregational Church was the only local church that supported this position. King's group . . . — Map (db m57653) HM |
| Illinois (Sangamon County), Springfield — The Underground Railroad in Lincoln's Neighborhood |
| | The Underground Railroad refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage. Acts of self-emancipation made runaways "fugitives" according to the laws of the time. While most began and completed their journeys unassisted, each subsequent decade in which slavery was legal in the United States saw an increase in active efforts to assist escape. Abraham Lincoln's neighbor, Jameson Jenkins, played an important role in the hopes of freedom seekers passing . . . — Map (db m48450) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Indiana (Decatur County), Greensburg — 16.2007.1 — Donnell -V.- State, 1852 |
| | Side one:
Luther Donnell was convicted in Decatur Circuit Court (1849) of aiding fugitive slaves, Caroline and her four children, to escape to Canada. In Donnell v. State, Indiana Supreme Court reversed the conviction, claiming that under U.S. Supreme Court decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania federal law superseded a state law regarding aid to fugitive slaves.
Side two:
Prigg, a pro-slavery decision, was used in this case and elsewhere to benefit the anti-slavery cause. The . . . — Map (db m44752) HM |
| Indiana (Decatur County), Greensburg — 16.2008.1 — Escape of Caroline, 1847 |
| | Side one:
Caroline and her four children escaped Kentucky slave owner October 31, 1847; they crossed Ohio River near Madison. After passing near here, Fugit Township black and white residents hid family close to Clarksburg. While hidden, family seized by a white resident, but escaped before owner claimed them. Residents separated family to avoid another capture.
Side two:
Family members safely escorted from Decatur County and reunited in Union County. Family reached Canada. . . . — Map (db m44743) HM |
| Indiana (Elkhart County), Bristol — 20.2007.1 — Graves et al v. Indiana |
| | Side One:
In 1847, three Kentucky men tried to capture Thomas Harris, fugitive slave in Bristol; a justice of the peace ruling freed Harris, who fled. In 1848, the Elkhart Circuit Court convicted the three men of causing a riot in 1847. In 1849, Indiana Supreme Court reversed Circuit Court based on 1842 Prigg v. Pennsylvania decision of U.S. Supreme Court.
Side Two:
This incident is an example of local judicial officers countering a pro-slavery federal decision.
The . . . — Map (db m30744) HM |
| Indiana (Floyd County), New Albany — 22.2004.1 — A Gateway to Freedom |
| | As early as 1821, enslaved blacks seeking freedom crossed the Ohio River from Louisville to New Albany. Antebellum and Civil War periods brought more fugitives. Many freedom-seekers were aided by other slaves, free blacks, and anti-slavery whites -- all risking violence and arrest. Not everyone who tried to escape succeeded.
(Reverse Side):
Many freedom-seekers coming through New Albany achieved their goal, traveling as far north as Canada. The Underground Railroad refers to a . . . — Map (db m30841) HM |
| Indiana (Fulton County), Rochester — The Underground Railroad — 1850 - - 1865 |
| | In memory of Fulton County Citizens who harbored fugitive slaves on their way to freedom in Canada. In Indiana, the underground railroad began along the Ohio River in 1850. After the Fugitive Slave Law was passed requiring citizens to help capture runaway enslaved persons. The underground railroad was the creation of those objecting to the law. It continued until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Hoosiers eventually set up a series of stations across the State to hide, to protect, and to pass . . . — Map (db m37667) HM |
| Indiana (Gibson County), Oakland City — 26.2005.1 — James Washington Cockrum |
| | Side 'One'
Born 1799 in North Carolina. Purchased land 1818 in Gibson County. Cockrum and Jacob Warrick Hargrove laid out the town of Oakland (now Oakland City) on January 15, 1856. Cockrum and his son William Monroe Cockrum, along with sympathizers in Warrick, Gibson, and Pike counties, aided enslaved blacks seeking freedom. Cockrum died November 19, 1875.
Side 'Two'
James W. Cockrum's barn, originally located on this property, was used to hide freedom seekers. The Underground . . . — Map (db m47807) HM |
| Indiana (Hamilton County), Westfield — 29.2008.1 — Rhodes Family Incident |
| | Side A:
In 1837, an enslaved family of three escaped from Missouri; settled six miles north of here 1839 with name Rhodes. In 1844, Singleton Vaughn arrived at their home to claim them; family resisted until neighbors arrived. Vaughn agreed to take family to Noblesville for trial. In route, a crowd stopped Vaughn, demanding the family be taken to Westfield.
(Continued on other side)
Side B:
(Continued from other side)
Urged on by the crowd, driver of wagon carrying family . . . — Map (db m27812) HM |
| Indiana (Harrison County), Corydon — 31.2008.1 — 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, March . . . — Map (db m9615) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Indiana (Henry County), Greensboro — 33.1976.1 — Underground Station |
| | Seth Hinshaw, (1787-1865), well-known abolitionist, operated a station of the Underground Railroad on this site, prior to the Civil War. He also operated a store in which he refused to sell goods produced by slave labor. In 1843, Hinshaw helped erect Liberty Hall, which was located one block west of this site, where many fiery anti-slavery meetings were held under his direction. — Map (db m63804) HM |
| Indiana (Jackson County), Seymour — 36.2008.2 — Alexander McClure |
| | Side 'One'
On April 15, 1860 at the Seymour railroad depot, a shipping box was damaged while being transferred; McClure was discovered inside and immediately identified himself as a fugitive slave from Nashville, Tennessee. The box had been shipped from Nashville, addressed to Levi Coffin in Cincinnati, who strongly denied any knowledge of the escape plan.
Side 'Two'
Adams Express Company agents took McClure to Louisville jail, where his owner claimed him, then took him to . . . — Map (db m46663) HM |
| Indiana (Jay County), Balbec — A Station on the Underground Railroad |
| | Tradition says Eliza Harris of Uncle Tom's cabin fame rested here in her flight to Canada — Map (db m45184) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Indiana (Lake County), Merrillville — 45.1949.1 — First Physician |
| | Henry D. Palmer, M.D. (1809-1877) located at this site in 1836. First physician in Lake County, he was also counselor to the pioneers for 40 years and member of the underground railroad aiding escaped slaves. — Map (db m27716) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Indiana (Parke County), Bloomingdale — Underground Railroad Station — Alfred & Rhoda Hadley |
| | 1850 —————— 1868
A memorial to
Alfred & Rhoda Hadley
and others of Bloomindale
who maintained an
Underground Railroad Station
to assist fugitive
slaves to Freedom.
Parke Co. & Penn Twp.
Historical Societys
1926 — Map (db m59730) HM |
| Indiana (Ripley County), Osgood — Abolitionists |
| | A network of anti-slavery leaders involved families of Isaac Levi, a Revolutionary War veteran. He came to Claytown (Osgood) in 1832 from Vevay where he apparently was part of the Underground Railroad; his brother-in-law, John Ewing of Ohio joined him here. Both had served in 1794 under Lt. William Henry Harrison.
Funded by the Reynolds Foundation
and Black Community Trust — Map (db m45940) HM |
| Indiana (Ripley County), Osgood — The Fugitive Trail |
| | One of the main Underground Railroad routes came from Madison to the Ohio River north to Holton, Otter Village, and east to Osgood. It then followed the rail line east to Laughery switch, then turned north to Napoleon. So many fugitive slaves came through this path that it was called the Fugitive Trail, clearly in operation by the mid 1840's. Apparently no slave was caught on this line and it ran until 1861.
Funded by the Reynolds Foundation
and Black Community Trust — Map (db m45938) HM |
| Indiana (Ripley County), Versailles — 69.2004.2 — Stephen S. Harding |
| | Side One
Born 1808 Ontario County, New York. Moved with family to Ripley County, 1820. Prominent abolitionist and orator, delivering powerful anti-slavery speeches throughout the area, often against public sentiment. Was active in Liberty Party and Republican Party. Received several appointments from President Abraham Lincoln. Died February 12, 1891.
Side Two
Harding was an early leader in the opposition to slavery, helping to bring freedom to enslaved people in . . . — Map (db m45873) HM |
| Indiana (Switzerland County), Vevay — Historical Site - Switzerland County Courthouse |
| | Top
Martha A. Graham
( Drawing of the River Paddle-wheeler. )
Lower Section
Designed in the Greek Classic style by David Dubach, Architect, and built by John Haley c. 1864, with restoration completed c. 1992. It is said the dungeon served as an “underground railroad” during the Civil War. — Map (db m46132) HM |
| Indiana (Switzerland County), Vevay — The Dungeon |
| | A stop on the underground
railroad bringing slaves
to freedom
1862 - 1864
commemorated 1976
Vevay, Indiana
This memorial placed in honor of the
descendants of the Rayls and Pickett
families in the Bicentennial year 1976. — Map (db m45896) HM |
| Indiana (Tippecanoe County), Westpoint — Underground Railroad |
| | Site of station of Underground Railway used by Quakers during pre-Civil War days in smuggling slaves to Canada. Leader of the enterprise was Buddell Sleeper. — Map (db m34871) HM |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Dublin — 89.2003.1 — 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Iowa (Iowa County), Ladora — Historic Grinnell |
| | Marker Front: Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, a native of Vermont, was the person to whom Horace Greeley gave his famous advice “Go West, young man, go West.” Grinnell took that advice and in 1854 founded the city that now bears his name. A leader in state government, Grinnell in 1857 chaired the legislative committee that planed Iowa’s system of public education from the elementary through university level. A foe of slavery, he gave shelter in 1859 to the fiery abolitionist John . . . — Map (db m33683) HM |
| Kansas (Allen County), Humboldt — Aunt Polly Crosby's Cabin Site |
| | Aunt Polly Crosby, First Mother of the Church, Poplar Grove Baptist. Site of her cabin. — Map (db m57483) HM |
| Kansas (Allen County), Humboldt — Humboldt Underground Railroad |
| | On the East Bank [of the Neosho River], escaped slaves traveled through caves and tunnels to secret Underground Railroad stations. — Map (db m57486) HM |
| Kansas (Bourbon County), Fort Scott — "But I Can Fire a Pistol" |
| | "But remember this, I am a girl, but I can fire a pistol and if ever the time comes I will send some of you to the place where there is [sic] 'weeping and knashing of teeth'...."
Gene Campbell, in a letter to James Montgomery, January 4, 1859.
Gene Campbell's anger testifies to the hatred and ill will prevalent during the pre-Civil War era called "Bleeding Kansas," and to her anguish over the violence - on this site - that ended the life of her fiancé, pro-slaver John . . . — Map (db m54075) HM |
| Kansas (Bourbon County), Fort Scott — Western Hotel: Symbol of Strife |
| |
After the army sold Fort Scott in 1855, the infantry barracks located here (reconstructed in front of you) became the pro-slavery Western Hotel. The building across the parade ground directly behind you became the anti-slavery Free State Hotel. The two hotels symbolized the strife over slavery that divided Kansas in the late 1850s, an era known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
Violence visited Fort Scott often during Bleeding Kansas, and the Western Hotel played a role in several . . . — Map (db m36272) HM |
| Kansas (Douglas County), Lawrence — Liberty Hall |
| |
The Herald of Freedom,
Abolitionist Newspaper
published on this site 1855-56
Site of Liberty Hall,
Lawrence's first opera house 1870-1911
The Bowersock Opera House
(Liberty Hall), built in 1912
Designed by Samuel B. Tarbet & Co.
in the Beaux Arts style — Map (db m54573) HM |
| Kansas (Elk County), Elk Falls — 112 — Prudence Crandall |
| | In 1831, Prudence Crandall, educator, emancipator, and human rights advocate, established a school which in 1833, became the first Black female academy in New England at Canterbury, Connecticut. This later action resulted in her arrest and imprisonment for violating the "Black Law."
Although she was later released on a technicality, the school was forced to close after being harassed and attacked by a mob. She moved with her husband Reverend Calvin Philleo to Illinois.
After her husband . . . — Map (db m57960) HM |
| Kansas (Elk County), Elk Falls — Prudence Crandall |
| | The State of Connecticut proudly joins the State of Kansas in honoring the lifetime achievements of Prudence Crandall, educator and champion of human rights. Crandall’s courage and determination serve as examples of all who face seemingly insurmountable odds and to those who refuse to be limited by social conventions. To this day, her efforts to promoted equality in education remain unequaled.
The building which housed Crandall’s academy in Canterbury, Connecticut, opened as a museum in . . . — Map (db m57961) HM |
| Kansas (Jackson County), Holton — Edward D. Holton |
| |
Businessman • Philanthropist
Abolitionist
Holton • Kansas
Est. 1857 — Map (db m63874) HM |
| Kansas (Jackson County), Netawaka — Battle of the Spurs |
| | Just before Christmas, 1858, John Brown "liberated" eleven slaves in Missouri. He hid them in a covered wagon and circled north on the underground railway toward Nebraska and freedom. En route a Negro baby was born. Late in January they reached Albert Fuller's cabin on Straight creek, a mile and a half south of this marker. Here a Federal posse barred their way. Both sides sent for reinforcements. Help for Brown arrived first, Topeka abolitionists leaving in the midst of Sunday church. . . . — Map (db m53291) HM |
| Kansas (Jefferson County), Valley Falls — Battle of Hickory Point |
| | In September, 1856, a band of Proslavery men sacked Grasshopper Falls (Valley Falls) and terrorized the vicinity. On the 13th, the Free-State leader James H. Lane with a small company besieged a party of raiders in log buildings at Hickory Point, about one-half mile west of this marker. Unable to dislodge them, Lane sent to Lawrence for artillery and reinforcements. Col. James A. Harvey responded next day only to find that Lane had raised the siege and departed. "Sacramento," historic Mexican . . . — Map (db m55362) HM |
| Kansas (Leavenworth County), Leavenworth — Bleeding Kansas — Historic Wayside Tour #12 |
| | "Each man carried a bowie-knife, a revolver, a pair of breeches, a shirt and a very don't-care a damn expression...The stews and brothels, the hospitals and poorhouses of the East can furnish thousands more of just such scabby, scurvy, scapegoats, who will rejoice in a fancy jaunt to Kansas. We are in favor of Kansas becoming a Free State, we hope it will. But if freedom has so far fallen from her high estate that she has to use such men, such means, and such measures as are now being . . . — Map (db m46709) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Kansas (Linn County), Trading Post — Marais des Cygnes Massacre State Historic Site Trail |
| | A Nation at Odds
The mid 1800s were a time of turmoil and tragedy in the U.S. The issue of slavery polarized the nation. It created a moral, political, and economic dilemma. The struggle over slavery ultimately led to the Civil War, splitting the Northern and the Southern states.
Tension in Kansas Territory
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created Kansas Territory. The voters of the territory would decide if it was to be a free or slave state. (The state of Missouri lies 1,200 . . . — Map (db m39862) HM |
| Kansas (Linn County), Trading Post — Murder on the Marais des Cygnes |
| | The bloodiest single incident in the Kansas-Missouri border struggles, 1854-1861, occurred May 19, 1858, when about 30 Proslavery Missourians seized 11 Kansas Free-State men near Trading Post and marched them to a ravine 225 yards northwest of this marker. Lining up their prisoners, they callously shot them down, killing five and wounding five others. One escaped injury by feigning death. Northerners were horrified, and John Greenleaf Whittier immortalized the fallen in a poem, "Le Marais du . . . — Map (db m39861) HM |
| Kansas (Linn County), Trading Post — Sounds from the past...hoof beats and heartbeats. — Frontier Military Scenic Byway |
| | Pro- and anti-slavery forces made their way to this area on horseback and on foot in the fight over whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state. Skirmishes, scuffles and screams could be heard in the woodlands nearby.
The Marias des Cygnes Massacre occurred just northeast of here on May 19, 1858 when pro-slavery forces came from Missouri and captured 11 free-state men, killing five of them in a ravine. In December, 1858, John Brown gathered 11 slaves in Missouri and brought them . . . — Map (db m33944) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Kansas (Nemaha County), Fairview — The Lane Trail |
| | Near here the towns of Plymouth and Lexington once stood as outposts on the Lane Trail, approximated today by US-75. Named for abolitionist James H. Lane, the trail was established in 1856 to bypass proslavery strongholds in Missouri and provide free-state settlers a safe route into Kansas. Rock piles known as "Lane's chimneys" marked the trail. Leaving Iowa City, settlers went west into Nebraska and south into Kansas, passing through Plymouth, Lexington, Powhattan, Netawaka, and Holton before . . . — Map (db m52952) HM |
| Kansas (Shawnee County), Topeka — Constitution Hall -Topeka — 1855 - |
| |
Free State Capitol of Kansas Territory, 1855-1861
Used as the Kansas Capitol, 1864-1869
Constitution Hall is Topeka's oldest building. In October 1855, Free Staters held Topeka's first convention here, to organize a free state government and ratify the Topeka Constitution. This was the first of the four constitutions leading to Kansas statehood.
The Topeka Constitution was far reaching for its time, proclaiming There shall be no slavery in this state. The Topeka . . . — Map (db m47297) HM |
| Kentucky (Campbell County), Bellevue — Bellevue, Kentucky |
| | Incorporated March 15, 1870, on part of original land grant to Gen. James Taylor, pioneer, for whose farm this city was named. A general in War of 1812, banker, and statesman, whose farm was an underground railroad station.
President of the first town trustees was George D. Allen.
Hometown of Anna E. Wolfram, one of Kentucky's first women doctors. — Map (db m49115) HM |
| Kentucky (Larue County), Hodgenville — Slavery in the Valley |
| | Abraham Lincoln most likely encountered slavery while living here as a young child in 1811, when Lincoln was two years old, this portion of Kentucky was part of Hardin County. At the time, there were 1,007 slaves in Hardin County, compared to 1,627 white males who were sixteen years of age or older. Five years later, when the Lincoln family moved from Kentucky, the owner of nearby Atherton’s Ferry owned eight slaves.
Historians are just beginning to learn about the history of slavery in . . . — Map (db m60024) HM |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Charles F. Eastman — Conductor on the Underground Railroad & Entrepreneur — Portland Freedom Trail |
| | Eastman (1821-1880) was barber, second-hand clothing dealer, mariner and hack driver. He was also a financial supporter of the Abyssinian Meeting House and School.
He owned and operated several barber shops with his four sons, including one on this site. Barber shops were important centers of communication in the anti-slavery movement and aided freedom seekers in changing their appearance. — Map (db m50425) HM |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Christopher Christian Manuel — 1781 - 1845 — Portland Freedom Trail |
| | Activist, Barber and Musician
Born in Cape Verde, Africa
First President Portland
Union Anti-Slavery Society — Map (db m50434) HM |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Franklin Street Wharf — Portland Freedom Trail |
| | 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) HM |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Home of Amos Noë and Christiana Williams Freeman — Portland Freedom Trail |
| | First full-time called minister of the Abyssinian Meeting House 1841-1852
Rev. Freeman (1809-1893) was an instructor in the school maintained for African Americans in the Abyssinian Meeting House. As conductors on the Underground Railroad, the Freemans maintained both their home and the Meeting House as safehouses for freedom seekers. After they left Maine, Christiana Freeman (1812-1903) was a director of the Colored Orphans Asylum in New York City. During the Draft Riots of 1863, she was . . . — Map (db m50428) HM |
| Maine (Cumberland County), Portland — Home of Elias and Elizabeth Widgery Thomas — Portland Freedom Trail |
| | Corner of India and Congress Street, known as a Station House on the Underground Railroad. The home was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1866.
The Thomases were prominent in the Portland Anti-Slavery Society, begun in 1833, which also worked to advance women's rights. They provided housing for such notables as Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony, William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Lenox Remond and Parker Pillsbury. — Map (db m50429) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Baltimore Slave Trade |
| | Although the United States banned the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 1808, a domestic trade from the Upper South to the emerging cotton-growing regions of the Deep South thrived until the 1860's. Baltimore-based dealers supplied the trade, operating slave pens at the Inner Harbor, on Fell's Point, and across the city, including near this location. Between 1808 and the abolition of slavery in Maryland in 1864, and estimated thirty thousand people were "sold South" from Baltimore. — Map (db m36843) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Mount Clare — Freedom Seekers at Georgia Plantation — National Underground Railroad-Network to Freedom |
| | In 1760, Mount Clare was built as the summer home of Charles Carroll, Barrister. Mount Clare was the center of Georgia, Charles Carroll’s 800-acre Patapsco River Plantation. The estate supported grain fields and grist mills along the Gwynn’s Falls, an orchard and vineyard, racing stables, brick kilns, and a shipyard on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.
Industrial Slavery-
When it first went into operation, the Baltimore Iron Works had a labor force of eighty-nine individuals. . . . — Map (db m61209) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Tyson House |
| | Built by Elisha Tyson 1790 — Map (db m6120) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Maryland (St. Mary's County), Scotland — Storm Blocks the Route to Freedom |
| | In April 1848, the Chesapeake Bay's stormy weather doomed a maritime dash to freedom by 77 slaves from Washington D.C.
Anti-slavery activist William L. Chapin had arranged for the schooner Pearl to spirit the 77 to New York and liberty. But when Captain Daniel Drayton was forced to seek shelter in Point Lookout Creek and Cornfield Harbor, the fugitive slaves had no choice but to surrender.
Liberty for Some
Two of the Pearl's unlucky passengers, sisters Mary and . . . — Map (db m62551) HM |
| 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 m37240) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Maryland (Wicomico County), Salisbury — Harriet Tubman — c. 1821 - 1913 |
| | "The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witness of your devotion to freedom and of your heroism," wrote fellow abolitionist and Eastern Shore native Frederick Douglass of Harriet Tubman. A Civil War nurse, scout, spy, military strategist and early women's suffragist, the "Moses of her people" freed hundreds of slaves via the Underground Railroad.
With the support of the Salisbury University community, sculptor James Hill and his students realized this work in 2009, with the . . . — Map (db m51021) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Massachusetts (Bristol County), New Bedford — The Andrew Robeson House |
| | Change of Address
Andrew Robeson, whaling merchant and steadfast abolitionist, built this Federal-style house in 1821 on a lot on North Second Street, diagonally behind you. The estate, with its conservatory, gardens, surrounding elm trees, and white picket fence, occupied two city blocks. The brick mansion stood then and now as a testament to the profits of the New Bedford whaling industry.
During the mid-19th century many of the whaling elite built homes in this neighborhood to be . . . — Map (db m58195) HM |
| Massachusetts (Bristol County), New Bedford — The Benjamin Rodman House |
| | Wealth with a Conscience
Early whaling merchants lived in elegant houses along this street. But by the time Benjamin Rodman built this Federal style home in 1821, many of his wealthy friends were moving uphill away from this shoreside neighborhood.
Though born into a prosperous whaling family, Rodman committed himself to the city's working poor. He and his wife Susan were founding members of the New Bedford Benevolent Society, created "to devise some means for the relief of the physical . . . — Map (db m58193) HM |
| Massachusetts (Middlesex County), Marlborough — The John Brown Bell |
| | Symbol of a nation's efforts to obtain freedom and equality for it's people
The John Brown Bell
owned, and placed here, John A. Rawlins Building Association, acting in behalf of Akroyd Houde Post 132, the American legion, with the co-operation and assistance of the Marlboro chamber of commerce, in tribute to the men of Co. I, 13th Massachusetts Volunteer militia. May their ideals, and achievements serve to remind us that freedom with equality is the promise to all men, everywhere fulfilled. . . . — Map (db m56437) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Michigan (Cass County), Cassopolis — L1352 — Chain Lake Baptist Church and Cemetery |
| | In the 1830s southern runaway slaves bound for freedom in Canada came into Michigan near Cassopolis. In 1840, Cass County's Quaker community, which provided a haven for the fugitives, became an integral part of the Underground Railroad. Many free African-Americans also settled permanently in Calvin Township. In 1838, Cass County's first African-American church was organized here. In 1853 the Michigan Antislavery Baptist Association, later renamed the Chain Lake Baptist Association, was formed. . . . — Map (db m64712) HM |
| Michigan (Cass County), Cassopolis — 30 — Freedom Road — Michigan Legal Milestone |
| | Beginning in 1829, Penn, Calvin, and Porter townships in Cass County were settled by Quakers who migrated there. Free Blacks also settled there, and both groups lived in harmony. Blacks in Cass County enjoyed many rights, such as the right to own land, the right to trial by jury, and the right to vote in elections—rights not available to all Blacks in the nation until the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The free Blacks and Quakers in this area were the . . . — Map (db m62361) HM |
| Michigan (Cass County), Vandalia — 137 — The Underground Railroad |
| | Vandalia, prior to the Civil War, was the junction of two important "lines" of the "Underground Railroad." Slaves fleeing through Indiana and Illinois came to Cass County, where Quakers and others gave them shelter. Fugitives seeking a refuge in Canada were guided to "stations" to the east. Many stayed here and built a unique Negro rural colony. Slave-hunting by Kentuckians in 1847 led to legal action and increased North-South tensions. — Map (db m64724) HM |
| Michigan (Jackson County), Jackson — S0015 — Under the Oaks |
| | On July 6, 1854, a state convention of anti-slavery men was held in Jackson to found a new political party. Uncle Tom's Cabin had been published two years earlier, causing increased resentment against slavery, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of May, 1854 threatened to make slave states out of previously free territories. Since the convention day was hot and the huge crowd could not be accommodated in the hall, the meeting adjourned to an oakgrove on "Morgan's Forty" on the outskirts of town. Here a . . . — Map (db m55195) HM |
| Michigan (Kalamazoo County), Kalamazoo — 44 — Lincoln at Kalamazoo |
| | On August 27, 1856, here in this park, Abraham Lincoln, then an obscure lawyer, spoke to a rally for John Frémont, the Republican presidential nominee. This was the only time that Lincoln addressed an audience in Michigan. The event was almost unnoticed in the press. Some Republicans felt the speaker was too conservative on the antislavery issue. Four years later Michigan's vote helped put Lincoln into the White House. — Map (db m26760) HM |
| Michigan (Wayne County), Detroit — S0069 — Finney Barn |
| | Seymour Finney conducted one of the principal passenger depots of the underground railroad in the Detroit area. Finney, a tailor by trade, later became a hotel-keeper, and it was in this capacity that he assisted fugitive slaves in the era prior to 1861. In 1850 he purchased a site where in later years stood the Finney Hotel, and also erected a large barn which he operated along with his tavern. Strongly sympathetic to the abolitionist cause, Finney employed every means to assist escaping . . . — Map (db m41190) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Michigan (Wayne County), Detroit — The Black Presence in Detroit |
| | This hallowed land was early Detroit. First came the Indians, then Cadillac and French settlers with their Black and Indian slaves. These early Blacks were French speaking Catholics with French names. History recorded that our first Black inhabitant was an unnamed female given the last rites by Father Daniel in 1736.
When the British came in 1760, they brought slaves who were used as trade goods. During the Revolutionary War, Blacks including Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, the founder of . . . — Map (db m33483) HM |
| Michigan (Wayne County), Detroit — The Gateway to Freedom — Ed Dwight - Sculptor |
| | Until Emancipation, Detroit and the Detroit River community served as the gateway to freedom for thousands of African American people escaping enslavement. Detroit was one of the largest terminals of the Underground Railroad, a network of abolitionists aiding enslaved people seeking freedom. Detroit's Underground Railroad code name was Midnight. At first, Michigan was a destination for freedom seekers, but Canada became a safer sanctuary after slavery was abolished there in 1834. With passage . . . — Map (db m33459) HM |
| Minnesota (Hennepin County), Minneapolis — Eliza Winston — Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Trail |
| | By 1860 St. Anthony had become a favorite summer resort for wealthy southerners who traveled on steamboats up the Mississippi. Often they and their black slaves stayed at the Winslow House. One such slave was Eliza Winston. Slavery was illegal in Minnesota, and a local free black woman named Emily Grey persuaded her to leave her owner. A court sustained Winston's right to freedom, but a proslavery crowd threatened harm. Antislavery people in the town hid her, and she later made her way to Canada. — Map (db m42714) HM |
| Missouri, St. Louis — Dred Scott — Born About 1799 — Died Sept. 17, 1858 |
| |
[Front]
Freed from slavery by his friend Taylor Blow.
[Back]
Subject of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857 which denied citizenship to the Negro, voided the Missouri Compromise Act, became one of the events that resulted in the Civil War.
———————
In memory of a simple man who wanted to be free
Dred Scott — Map (db m61970) HM |
| Missouri, St. Louis — Harriet Scott — ca. 1815 - 1860s |
| |
American Patriot
Wife of Dred Scott
Mother of Eliza and Lizzy
Co-Plaintiff in the historic
Dred Scott Case
Your plea for equality was raised in obscurity, but in time it became the rallying cry of a people determined to abolish slavery. Yours was a strong seed planted in the pursuit of freedom rising.
This stone is set by the Elijah Love Society in gratitue for your life and work, and as a reminder that the vigil for freedom continues. In the course of our history, you . . . — Map (db m61991) HM |
| Missouri (Cooper County), Boonville — James Milton Turner — (1839 - 1915) |
| |
Born in slavery in St. Louis County, Mo.
Freed 1843
Founder, Elias Buckner African-American School in Boonville 1869 Established 32 Missouri schools for African-Americans in 1870
Secured state funding for Lincoln Institute (later Lincoln University)
Secretary, Missouri Equal Rights League
U.S. Minister and Counsel General
to Liberia, 1871-78
Founder, Colored Emigration Aid Association
Hannibal Black Masonic Home Advocate
Attorney for the Cherokee Freedmen
Buried, Father . . . — Map (db m46016) HM |
| New Jersey (Bergen County), Fair Lawn — Slave House |
| |
On this site stood what was known as
"The Slave House"
Part of the Acker estate "Fair Lawn" from which the borough received its name. The "Slave House" was built much earlier than the 1865 Acker home and may have been used as a shelter for runaway slaves during the civil war.
Presented to the Free Public Library by the
Fair Lawn Tercentenary Committee
John Gottlieb and Moe Kivowitz, Co-chairmen
Richard J. Vander Platt - Mayor
Marking
Fair Lawn 40th anniversary, 1924 - 1964 . . . — Map (db m63295) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| New Jersey (Morris County), Pompton Plains — Giles Mandeville House — 1788 |
| | Built by Giles Mandeville for
his bride, Sarah Roome. Later
served as Pompton Plains'
first post office. Since 1953
manse of First Reformed Church — Map (db m41901) HM |
| New York (Albany County), Watervliet — The Nalle Rescue |
| |
The Nalle Rescue
April 27, 1860
Near this site on Broadway, Charles Nalle,
a fugitive slave from Culpepper, Virginia,
was rescued from slave catchers by
Harriet Tubman and citizens of Troy and
West Troy (Watervliet), completing an
epic struggle begun in Troy.
— Map (db m42015) HM |
| New York (Chautauqua County), Jamestown — Here Stood a Station |
| | Here stood a station of underground railroad in which Catherine Harris did heroic service for fugitive slaves — Map (db m64702) HM |
| New York (Essex County), North Elba — Here Lies Buried John Brown |
| |
John Brown of Osawatomie
Here Lies Buried
John Brown
Born at Torrington, Connecticut
May 9th, 1800
He emigrated to Kansas in 1855 where he took an active part in the contest against the pro-slavery party. He gained in August 1856 a victory at Osawatomie over a superior number of Missourians who had invaded Kansas (whence his surname "Osawatomie")
He conceived the idea of becoming a liberator of the negro slaves in the south and on the night of October 16, 1859 at the head of . . . — Map (db m46521) HM |
| New York (Franklin County), Malone — Congregational Church |
| | Organized 1807. First church building in county 1826: Second 1856: Present 1883. First pastor, Ashbel Parmelee — Map (db m57264) HM |
| New York (Fulton County), Broadalbin — Locust Grove |
| | 1805 home of Col. Tiffany Brockway. War of 1812 veteran abolitionist. Used as a stop on the underground railroad for fugitive slaves going North. — Map (db m30959) HM |
| New York (Genesee County), Le Roy — Underground Railroad Route |
| | Escaping slaves traveling to Canada on the Covington Route crossed the road here on their way to meet LeRoy's conductor, Daniel McDonald, known as the "Medicine Man." His station was near the Keeney Road Cemetery. — Map (db m41531) HM |
| New York (Kings County), Brooklyn — Brooklyn Heights Historic District — New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation |
| | Brooklyn Heights, with its elegant promenade and dramatic view of Manhattan, is one of the most uniformly preserved 19th century residential districts in New York City. It was developed soon after 1814, when Robert Fulton's first steam-powered ferry, financially backed by Hezekiah Beers Pierpont, a transplanted New Englander, connected the village of Brooklyn to Manhattan. Distinguished today by frame houses built soon after 1820, Greek Revival and Italianate row houses built in the . . . — Map (db m33085) HM |
| New York (Kings County), Brooklyn — Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims — Underground Railroad Heritage Trail |
| | The congregation of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims hired Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) as their first minister, approving of his abolitionist sentiments. Beecher protested the Fugitive Slave Laws of 1850, exhorting his congregation to place the requirements of sacred law above those of human law and to join the Underground Railroad. He promised to shelter fugitive slaves and treat them "as my own flesh and blood." Plymouth Church was on the route used by Reverend Charles Ray (1807-1886), an . . . — Map (db m33772) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Irondequoit — An Early Doctor |
| |
John Smyles came to Irondequoit 1805, also farmer, journalist, supervisor, abolitionist. Built this home in 1850. — Map (db m65239) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Austin Steward 1793-1869 |
| | Austin Steward, a freed slave, settled in Rochesterville in 1817, where he opened a butcher shop. In 1818, he constructed a two-story building on this site for his expanding grocery and dry goods store. Steward was a strong advocate of temperance and refused to sell alcohol. In an 1827 newspaper article he was described as "an industrious, respectable African."
Steward served as a trustee of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. As an ardent Abolitionist, he participated in many anti . . . — Map (db m55772) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Douglass Home |
| | Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and editor of the "North Star", hid many fugitive slaves at his home on this site. — Map (db m65160) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Frederick Douglass — 1818-1895 |
| | Escaped Slave, Abolitionist, Suffragist, Journalist and Statesman. Founder of the Civil Rights Movement in America — Map (db m55840) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Frederick Douglass Home Site |
| | Underground Railroad Sites
Rochester's proximity to Lake Ontario afforded runaway slaves a direct route to freedom in Canada. Hundreds of runaway slaves were "conducted" from one "station" to another along this secret network of escape routes by people like world-renowned abolitionist Harriet Tubman who, after escaping from slavery herself, returned to the South several times and led approximately 300 people north to freedom.
Even in states like New York where slavery was outlawed, . . . — Map (db m65156) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Historic Site in Journalism |
| | On this site, Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) published an anti-slavery newspaper, The North Star, and succeeding journals from 1847 until 1863. He had escaped from slavery in his youth and become one of the most eloquent speakers and aggressive journalists in the abolitionist movement. He won recognition as the leading spokesman for the black cause after the Civil War and received several federal appointments in that capacity. — Map (db m55692) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Kelsey's Landing |
| | Freedom was assured for escaping slaves who boarded Canadian vessels here at the end of the Underground Railroad. — Map (db m58198) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Original Site of Frederick Douglass Monument |
| | This plaque marks the original site of a statue erected to honor Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became a leading spokesman for the abolitionist movement. The statue dedicated in 1899 was the first in America to honor the accomplishments of an African-American statesman. The bronze statue was relocated in 1941 to a section of Highland Park now designated as Frederick Douglass Memorial Square where it remains today. On the 6th day of June, 1999 we celebrate the efforts of the dedicated . . . — Map (db m65113) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Post House |
| | Quakers Isaac and Amy Post hid 15 fugitives overnight in their house, a station on the Underground Railroad at this site. — Map (db m55689) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Rochester: Center of Freedom — Isaac and Amy Post home - stop on the Underground Railroad |
| | This site later became the home of the Hochstein School of Music
Amy and Isaac Post personified the dedication to temperance, abolition of slavery and women's rights that distinguished Rochester as a center of freedom in America.
Hicksite Quakers Amy (1802-1889) and Isaac (1798-1872) Post lived on this site from the 1840s to 1889 when Amy died. As conductors on the Underground Railroad, they personally assisted scored of fugitives from slavery including as many as 15 on one . . . — Map (db m63989) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rochester — Susan B. Anthony House — Headquarters of the Suffrage Movement |
| | A Suffragist and much more
Susan B. Anthony lived in this house for the forty most active years of her life. This house was the site of her famous arrest for voting in 1872 and her death in 1906. It served as the headquarters for the National Woman Suffrage Association and the Rochester Political Equality Club.
Suffragist
Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association and campaigned to amend the U.S. Constitution to secure women's right to vote.
Abolitionist
Anthony spoke, . . . — Map (db m58202) HM |
| New York (Monroe County), Rush — Hallock House |
| | Frederick Douglass often visited Quaker Wm. Hallock who induced him to reject John Brown's violent plans to free the slaves. — Map (db m58093) HM |
| New York (New York County), New York — Underground Railroad Station — 36 Lispenard Street |
| | On September 3, 1838, human-rights activist Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland by disguising himself as a sailor and traveling North by carriage, train and boat. A few days later he arrived at 36 Lispenard Street, then a small brick building and a "Station" on the Underground Railroad. A network of secret "Conductors" and safe houses for fugitive slaves. Here, African-American abolitionist David Ruggles kept a reading room and operated a printing press where he published . . . — Map (db m30133) HM |
| New York (Orange County), Goshen — Anna Elizabeth Dickinson |
| | Anna Elizabeth Dickinson
1842-1932
“America’s Civil War Joan of Arc”
In January of 1864, President Lincoln invited Anna to address Congress, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, to rally support for the Union cause and the fight aganist slavery.
Anna devoted the rest of her life to justice, liberty and basic human rights for all people: male or female, black or white, rich or poor; and contributed to the 15th Amendment, prohibiting the disenfranchisement of any person based . . . — Map (db m25762) HM |
| New York (Oswego County), Oswego — Birthplace Dr. Mary Edwards Walker |
| | Birthplace
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker
1832-1919
Medal of Honor
For Service in the Civil War — Map (db m48678) HM |
| New York (Rensselaer County), Troy — Charles Nalle Fugitive Slave |
| |
Here was begun
April 27, 1860
The Rescue
of
Charles Nalle
an
escaped slave who had been
arrested under the
Fugitive Slave Act
— Map (db m42014) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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 m57384) HM |
| New York (Saratoga County), Saratoga Springs — Solomon Northup |
| |
Born 1808 A Free Man. Lured
from Saratoga, kidnapped &
sold into slavery, 1841;
rescued, 1853. Author,
"Twelve Years A Slave".
City of Saratoga Springs 1999
— Map (db m50385) HM |
| New York (Washington County), Kingsbury — Underground Railway Marker |
| | This stone chair was placed a few yards from this spot in 1841. Who placed it here and why is unknown. However, it may have been a guide post for the Underground Railway. The drawings below were carved on the back of the chair. — Map (db m61649) HM |
| New York (Wayne County), Palmyra — This House |
| | Built by Pliny Sexton in 1827 was a station of the Underground Railway in the days of slavery. — Map (db m62100) HM |
| New York (Wayne County), Pultneyville — Underground Railroad Terminus |
| | Site of Underground Railroad Terminus
Home of Samuel Cuyler used as terminus of Underground R.R. during slavery period — Map (db m64902) HM |
| New York (Wyoming County), Warsaw — Seth M. Gates House |
| | Seth M. Gates's outspoken criticism of slavery marked his two terms in the House of Representatives, from 1839 to 1843. When Gates used his congressional position to mail out the proceedings of- the World Anti·Slavery Convention in 1840, a Savannah planter put a $500 bounty on his head, dead or alive.
Warsaw residents had formed an antislavery society in 1833, and the first antislavery political party, the Liberty Party, started here in 1839. Gates moved to Warsaw in 1844, where he joined an . . . — Map (db m64950) HM |
| North Carolina (Chowan County), Edenton — Escape Via Maritime Underground Railroad |
| | Now one of Edenton's most tranquil locations, during the antebellum period Edenton harbor was the town's industrial center with wharves, shipyards, and maritime activity.
North Carolina's small, ill-protected harbors prevented development of major ports and stunted growth of the state's plantation economy. The coastline that seemed inhospitable to slaveholders provided their workers with hope of passage to freedom. It was a tenuous hope, dampened by what must have seemed an endless number of . . . — Map (db m34770) HM |
| North Carolina (Chowan County), Edenton — A 72 — Harriet Jacobs — c.1813~1897 |
| | Fugitive slave, writher & abolitionist. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) depicts her early life. Lived in Edenton — Map (db m34773) HM |
| 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. Not 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| North Carolina (Dare County), Manteo — First Light of Freedom — The Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island — National Underground Railroad - Network To Freedom |
| | [obverse:]First Light of Freedom Former slaves give thanks by the creek’s edge
at the sight of the island - “If you can cross the creek to Roanoke Island, you will find ‘safe haven’.” [rendering of Edwin Forbes' "The Sanctuary"]
[reverse:] The Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island 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 . . . — Map (db m46990) HM |
| 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) HM |
| North Carolina (Davie County), Mocksville — M-33 — Hinton R. Helper |
| | Author of The Impending Crisis, a bitterly controversial book which denounced slavery; U.S. Consul at Buenos Aires, 1861-66. Born 150 yds. N. — Map (db m53186) HM |
| North Carolina (Forsyth County), Bethania — Bethania Freedman's Community |
| | The community established along this road in the Bethania Town Lot was built by African-American men and women who began acquiring land here following the Civil War. Many of these people had been enslaved on the Oak Grove plantation, from which they had purchased much of this land. The area became a thriving historic African-American community, and included a church, school, stores, canning factory, farms, and a popular fishing lake. The nearby church, established by Bethania Moravians in 1850, . . . — Map (db m52538) HM |
| North Carolina (Guilford County), Greensboro — J 46 — Levi Coffin — 1789 - 1877 |
| | Anti-slavery leader, reputed president of “Underground Railroad,” was born about 4 miles north. Moved to Indiana in 1826. — Map (db m63022) HM |
| North Carolina (Guilford County), Greensboro — Underground Railroad |
| | An informal secret network of blacks and whites provided food, clothing, shelter, and guidance for fugitive slaves. “Passengers,” often guided by “conductors,” traveled along routes that included “stations” or safe places. A station located in the woods near New Garden Meetinghouse connected Greensboro and Richmond, Indiana. Around 1819, assisted by Quaker Vestral Coffin and a slave named Sol, John Dimery was the first known passenger from Guilford . . . — Map (db m63019) HM |
| North Carolina (Halifax County), Halifax — Escape! — The Roanoke River, Halifax, and the Underground Railroad. |
| | Follow this ¼ mile trail to the Roanoke River and meet the men, women, and children who risked their lives to flee slavery.
“…the thought of being again made a slave, and of suffering the horrible punishment of a runaway, restrained me. I lay in the woods all day without food. The next evening, I soon found a large pile of excellent apples, from which I supplied myself. The next evening I reached Halifax Court House, and I then knew that I was near Virginia. On the 7th of October, I . . . — Map (db m60699) HM |
| North Carolina (Halifax County), Halifax — Halifax Runaway Ads |
| | Halifax Newspapers, such as the Roanoke Advocate and Halifax Minerva, included runaway ads, which usually offered rewards for an escaped slave’s return. Captured fugitives were often held in Halifax Jail and their owners were responsible for expenses incurred by runaways while imprisoned. — Map (db m60700) HM |
| North Carolina (New Hanover County), Wilmington — D 105 — David Walker — ca. 1796-1830 |
| | His Appeal, influential 1829 pamphlet, denounced slavery. A free black, he grew up in Wilmington; moved to Boston by 1825. — Map (db m28717) HM |
| North Carolina (Pasquotank County), Elizabeth City — 2004 — Pasquotank River |
| | The Pasquotank River was noted in 35 runaway slave ads between 1791 to 1840, indicating that slaves (“freedom seekers”) escaped on board boats (“vessels”) traveling north to free territory or south to the West Indies, confirming that Underground Railroad operations were active in the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County region of northeast North Carolina. These activities involved a network of free and enslaved African Americans, many being seamen themselves, working . . . — Map (db m56811) HM |
| Ohio (Athens County), Albany — 2-5 — Albany / Enterprise Academy |
| | Albany (Side A)
The village of Albany was established in 1838 as a market center for the surrounding agricultural area, which saw its first white settlement in the early years of the nineteenth century. Education was always a major concern of Albany's citizens. Since public schooling was minimal, private academies provided the community various levels of education from the 1840s to the 1880s. Anti-slavery sentiment also was strong in Albany, and many of its citizens participated in the . . . — Map (db m52872) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Butler County), Middletown — Underground Railroad Route — 1830 - 1860 |
| |
Verity Pkw. once Miami-Erie Canal
an Underground Railroad route
1830 - 1860
Those traveling along Underground
Railroad found safe stations
in N. Main St. homes of
African-Americans
listed on other side
Rice • Hawkins • Colston
Burget • Miller • Hardy
Edwards • Nutter • Davis
Smith • Robison • Merrit
Armstead • Mitchell
Census 1830--1860
— Map (db m29667) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Clinton County), Wilmington — "Who Sends Thee?" |
| |
“One day while plowing I heard a voice,”
whether inside me or outside of me I knew not,
but I was awake.
It said, ‘Go thou and see the president.’
I answered, ‘Yea, Lord, thy servant heareth.’
and unhitching my plow, I went at once to the house and
said to mother,
‘Wilt thou go with me to Washington to see the president?’
‘Who sends thee?’ she asked.
‘The Lord,’ I answered.”
In September of 1862, Isaac Harvey, Quaker farmer,
and his wife, Sarah . . . — Map (db m28002) HM |
| Ohio (Columbiana County), Salem — 14-15 — Unserheim |
| | Unserheim, meaning "Our Home" in German, is the name of this ante-bellum Queen Anne style home, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. From 1857-1878, it was home to Daniel Howell Hise, a Quaker and ardent abolitionist. On April 8, 1849, Hise wrote, "Welcome! Welcome to the protection I can give, with or without the law." A major stop on the Underground Railroad, Unserheim's secret rooms and tunnel provided shelter to slaves on their flight to freedom. Hise's . . . — Map (db m65429) HM |
| Ohio (Coshocton County), Roscoe Village — 7-16 — Underground Railroad Agents in Coshocton County / Muskingum River Underground Railroad Corridor |
| | Side A:
The acknowledged host of the Underground Railroad in Coshocton County was Prior Foster, a well respected African American who lodged fugitive slaves in his shanty at Harbaugh Corner. He fed, sheltered, and clothed them and then accompanied them to the ferry to cross the Muskingum River to Hanging Rock. There they would remain hidden until they could be safely forwarded north. Virginians knew about the Underground Railroad at Roscoe Village. Slave owners and bounty hunters . . . — Map (db m36227) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Cuyahoga County), Strongsville — 48-18 — Pomeroy House |
| | The Pomeroy House, built from 1847 to 1848, was the home of Alanson Pomeroy and his wife, Kezia. They continued the tradition, known as "Pomeroy Hospitality," that began when Alanson's parents established a tavern in Strongsville. Prominent in the community, Alanson served as township trustee and Justice of the Peace in Strongsville Township, and was a leader in the Congregational Church. Oral tradition holds that the Pomeroy House served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Runaway slaves . . . — Map (db m43386) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Erie County), Huron — 11-22 — The Wright House and the Underground Railroad/Old Main Street |
| | The Wright House and the Underground Railroad
In the early 1800s, Jabez Wright, an early Huron County judge, purchased a large tract of lakeside land on the north side of what is now Cleveland Road. There Wright built an eight-room farmhouse that later served as a "station" on the fabled Underground Railroad, playing a vital role in aiding fugitive African-American slaves to freedom. Beneath Wright's farmhouse was a sixteen foot-wide and ninety foot-long tunnel. Escaped slaves entered . . . — Map (db m41809) HM |
| Ohio (Fayette County), Bloomingburg — 5-24 — Bloomingburg Cemetery |
| | The Bloomingburg Presbyterian Church and cemetery was established in the northwest corner of the current cemetery grounds on March 7, 1818. Several years later it became a center for anti-slavery activity. The Reverend William Dickey, who presided over the church, and other members, devoted their lives to the anti-slavery cause not only in voice but also abolitionist activity. By the mid-1800s, their work, as well as the fact that Bloomingburg had become home to a vibrant African American . . . — Map (db m27821) HM |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Columbus — Kelton House — Historic Underground Railroad Site |
| | When Fernando Cortez and Sophia Stone Kelton built this house in 1852, it was the last residence on East Town Street and was surrounded by pastureland. Ardent abolitionists, the Keltons were members of the local antislavery society. Family tradition states that runaways were hidden in the barn at the back of the house. In the 300-barrel cistern just east of the house, or sometimes in the servant’ quarters. No one knows for certain how many fugitive slaves passed through this house on his or her . . . — Map (db m42170) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Gahanna — #7-25 — McDannald Pioneer Homestead |
| | This brick home was built in 1856 by John McDannald, son of Samuel and Bell (Craig) McDannald who came from Virginia in 1813. The McDannalds were prominent in the development of Blendon Township, The Central College of Ohio, and The Central College Presbyterian Church. This house served as one station on the Ohio Underground Railroad. — Map (db m51902) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Westerville — The Home of Benjamin R. Hanby |
| | Here Hanby composed the famous ballad “Darling Nellie Gray.” Visitors welcome. — Map (db m9118) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Gallia County), Gallipolis — African Methodist Episcopal Church — Historic Underground Railroad Site |
| | Side A:
The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1818 as the Bethel Church. In 1868 its present name, John Gee, was adopted when the church was erected and rededicated at this present site on land donated by Gee. Founders of this church are: John and Barbara Gee, William and Eliza Napper, Leah Stewart, Nancy Bell, John and Lorain Givens. Lovina Lucas, and Marthilda Warren. It is the first colored, religious organization within Gallia County.
Throughout its existence, . . . — Map (db m30582) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Greene County), Wilberforce — 22-29 — Wilberforce University / Distinguished Wilberforceans |
| | Wilberforce University (Side A)
Wilberforce University, founded at Tawawa Springs in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, is the first private historically black college or university in America. The inspirations for Wilberforce were an unwavering faith in God, an acknowledgement of the contribution of the British abolitionist and Member of Parliament William Wilberforce, the leadership of AME Bishop Daniel Payne, and the belief in the potential of all women and men to learn and . . . — Map (db m52889) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Hamilton County), Cincinnati — 35-31 — Robert S. Duncanson |
| | The first African American artist to achieve international acclaim, painter Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872) was born in New York and settled in Cincinnati in 1840. He pursued his artistic career during a time of tremendous racial prejudice and was acknowledged as the "best landscape painter in the West." Arts patron Nicholas Longworth commissioned murals from Duncanson around 1850 for his home Belmont, now the Taft Museum of Art; these paintings are regarded as one of the finest pre-Civil War . . . — Map (db m24854) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Hancock County), Findlay — 20-32 — The Underground Railroad in Hancock County |
| |
Side A:
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 prompted an expansion of the "Underground Railroad," and as the state spanning the shortest distance between the Ohio River and Canada, Ohio saw heavy traffic in escaping slaves in the decades before the Civil War. Hancock County was home to many sympathetic residents who defied fugitive slave laws to help conduct slaves to freedom. "Stationmasters" offered safe havens, "conductors" accompanied fugitives through the county, and "stockholders" . . . — Map (db m29176) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Harrison County), Cadiz — Bishop Matthew Simpson |
| | Matthew Simpson, an eminent Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, was born on June 21, 1811, in a log house which then stood on the north corner of Market and Main Streets in Cadiz. Simpson spent most of his youth in Cadiz where he gained a thorough Classical education, learned the trade of reedmaker, taught school, and began the study of medicine. In 1828 young Simpson attended a camp meeting held in a grove near the present Dickerson Church, 3½ miles southeast of Cadiz, and was moved . . . — Map (db m36232) HM |
| Ohio (Harrison County), Mount Pleasant — 5-41 — Benjamin Lundy Home / Free Labor Store |
| | Benjamin Lundy Home:
After witnessing the slave trade in Wheeling, Virginia, Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lundy (1789-1839) resolved to battle the institution, first organizing the Union Humane Society in St. Clairsville in 1815. In 1821, Lundy moved to Mount Pleasant and began publishing the Genius of Universal Emancipation, a newspaper devoted wholly to anti-slavery issues. The newspaper would later be published in Tennessee, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. Lundy . . . — Map (db m36345) HM |
| Ohio (Highland County), Greenfield — 1-36 — Smith Tannery |
| |
The Smith Tannery is the oldest original structure remaining in Greenfield. Built in 1821 by Revolutionary War veteran William Smith and his son Samuel, the tannery became a noted station on the fabled "Underground Railroad." The structure, which also served as the family residence, was the birthplace of Dr. Samuel M. Smith, Surgeon General of Ohio during the Civil War, and Dr. William R. Smith, who personally notified Abraham Lincoln of his nomination to the presidency in 1864.
The . . . — Map (db m60862) HM |
| Ohio (Highland County), Greenfield — 3-24 — West Settlement and Abolition Lane |
| | Side A:
Augustus West, an African American, was born in Madison County, Virginia on March 20, 1814, and moved to Ohio in 1837. Legend has it that West was a runaway slave and worked as a farm laborer before designing a scheme to purchase his own farm. West, with abolitionist Alexander Beatty, traveled into slave territory no fewer than three times where the pair would sell West, help him escape, and split the profits. After splitting the profits, West used his portion of the money to . . . — Map (db m28631) HM |
| Ohio (Jackson County), Jackson — 4-40 — John Wesley Powell / Morgan's Raid in Jackson, 1863 |
| | Side A: John Wesley Powell (1834-1902)
Scientist and explorer of the American West, John Wesley Powell moved from New York to Jackson with his family in 1838 and lived here until 1846. He developed an early interest in geology from his tutor "Big" George Crookham, a Jackson salt boiler, educator, and abolitionist. Powell served in the Union Army during the Civil War and lost his right arm at Shiloh in 1862. Later he became professor of geology at Illinois Wesleyan University. In 1869, he . . . — Map (db m24762) HM |
| Ohio (Jefferson County), Mount Pleasant — Mount Pleasant Historic Underground Railroad District — Historic Underground Railroad Site |
| | By 1816, Mount Pleasant had earned a reputation among fugitive slaves as a town where they would be welcomed in their quest for freedom. The Quakers who lived in the village helped Mount Pleasant become a center of antislavery activity. Many residents used their homes as Underground Railroad stations, and at least five of these buildings still stand today. These include:
The Free Labor Store/Benjamin Lundy Home was built in 1813. On the left side was the Free Labor Store, where nothing made . . . — Map (db m36344) HM |
| Ohio (Jefferson County), Mount Pleasant — Quaker Meeting House |
| | Panel one:
What is a Quaker? “I went to many a priest to look for comfort, but found no comfort from them.” — George Fox recounting his spiritual journey in The Journal of George Fox.
George Fox’s frustration led to the establishment of a new Christian sect. A young wool trader in 17th century England, Fox had become dissatisfied by authoritarian religions. By 1648, he organized the Religious Society of Friends. Members of this new religious . . . — Map (db m37047) HM |
| Ohio (Lawrence County), Ironton — 5-44 — John Campbell Memorial Home |
| |
John Campbell (1818-1891), founder of Ironton, was an ironmaster and president of the Ohio Iron & Coal Company, a Presbyterian, and an abolitionist. This house and barn, which he built in 1850, became a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves crossing the Ohio River from Kentucky. Fugitives were concealed here and furnace wagons transported the escapees northward by way of Campbell's furnaces in Lawrence and Jackson counties. — Map (db m59375) HM |
| 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) HM |
| 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) HM |
| Ohio (Miami County), Rossville — 28-55 — Randolph Settlement |
| | Side A: Randolph Settlement
In 1833, John Randolph from Roanoke, Virginia, died leaving three wills that requested that all of his slaves be set free and that land be purchased for them. Although contested for thirteen years by his family, the slaves were freed and the executor of the wills, Randolph's cousin Judge William Leigh purchased about 2,000 acres of farm land in Mercer County, Ohio. Traveling by wagon train, the freed slaves, 383 in all, reached their destination in 1846, but . . . — Map (db m28351) HM |
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