Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Underground Railroad

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 4, 2007

1. Underground Railroad Marker

Inscription. The path to freedom led this way for slaves fleeing the South in the years before the Civil War. Here, they were given haven and helped along their journey by local people, through one of the key stations on the Underground Railroad, in a house on Baker Alley.

Erected by The City of Uniontown – Bicentennial Committee 1996.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Abolition & Underground RR.

Location. 39° 53.748′ N, 79° 42.917′ W. Marker is in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in Fayette County. Marker is at the intersection of East Main Street (Business U.S. 40) and Baker Alley, on the right when traveling west on East Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 325 E Main St, Uniontown PA 15401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. James Finley (approx. half a mile away); Peace Through Strength and Vigilance (approx. half a mile away); Roll Of Honor (approx. 0.6 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); Fayette County

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(approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Uniontown.

Regarding Underground Railroad. “Uniontown offered a place of sanctuary for many runaways due to its size and large population of black people. ... There were several Underground Railroad stations in Uniontown. Hadden, in his History of Uniontown, cites Baker Alley, a small street near the east end of East Main Street, as a station. Swetnam, in Pittsylvania Country, calls this same alley the headquarters for the Underground Railroad in Uniontown. Hadden states that a stable in the alley provided teams of horses and wagons in which fugitives made their escape during the night. He also speaks of agents hiding runaways under floorboards in their homes when slave catchers appeared to look for escapees. In one case, when slave catchers visited the home of an agent who was hiding runaways under his floorboards, the agent and his friends began to sing

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 4, 2007

2. Underground Railroad Marker

Baker Alley is between the marker and the Auto Parts store.

and dance in order to muffle any sound from the fugitives hiding under the floor.” —Quoted from the 2001 book Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania by William J. Switala.

Also see . . . Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Book by William J. Switala on Amazon.com. (Submitted on June 10, 2007.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.

Baker Alley as it is today image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck

3. Baker Alley as it is today

The house has apparently been demolished.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2019. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2007, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 6,199 times since then and 214 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 9, 2007, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on January 26, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.