"A Rough Road to Freedom"

"A Rough Road to Freedom". Underground Railroad in New Milford , Installed 2012. , It was a harrowing undertaking, requiring courage and determination, on the part of those who followed the Underground Railroad north to freedom in Antebellum America for both the escaping slaves and those who offered sanctuary. New Milford played an integral role in the Underground Railroad of the 18th and 19th century that allowed run-away slaves to find freedom in the northern states and Canada. In 2003, Deborah Calhoun, through The Afrikan-American Cultural Awareness Association, researched and organize a successful walking tour through the places in town that served as stops on the Underground Railroad., Local historian and author, Fran Smith, envisioned the idea of commemorating the town's role in helping escaped slaves achieve their freedom in 2007. Through her efforts, the New Milford Historical Society presented a program to commemorate both the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the unveiling of a sculpture and plaque designed and donated by local artist and veteran, Ray Crawford in 2012. Mr. Crawford's granite marker, topped by a broken chain, symbolizes the end of slavery in the United States because the two pieces can never come together again. He carefully placed his work in front of the Lincoln monument so that when one finishes reading his plaque, you look straight up at Lincoln's eyes., During the Civil War, both slaves and free black men fought in the Union Army. The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment included fourteen such men from the town of New Milford. Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, and signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Slavery was abolished in December 1865 with the ratification of the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment., These monuments are a testament to the courage and determination of many people who were willing to take that "Rough Road to Freedom.", [Captions:] , Colonel Elisha Bostwick House, Lithograph by Edith Newton, Collection of the New Milford Historical Society and Museum. This home located in New Milford, built in 1782, has by tradition been named a "station" on the Underground Railroad. In the attic floor is a hiding place, large enough for two people to be hidden until they could be transported to the next "station" on the "railroad". This hiding place must have been constructed between 1845 and 1861, most likely by Jared Bostwick, Elisha's son., Abraham Lincoln's impersonator Howard Wright recites the Gettysburg Address with the 29th Regiment soldier Ray Dunbar Smith at attention during the dedication of the Underground Railroad Monument., Underground Railroad Routes in Connecticut. Although much of the history of the secret underground route by which fugitive slaves were ushered into Canada is clouded with legends, there is substantial documentation for a route that passed from the coast to New Milford, Washington, Torrington, Winchester and Winsted before crossing into Massachusetts.