Freedom Crossing Monument

Freedom Crossing Monument. . It was here, along the Niagara River in the mid-1800s, that enslaved African Americans from the Southern United States first saw Canada, known as "the Promised Land" -- the place where they could live free forever. Local volunteers, led by Josiah Tryon, helped the freedom seekers by transporting them across the river by rowboat., The Last Step to Freedom. , Lewiston was final stop for countless escapees on what was called the Underground Railroad - a series of secret back roads and safe houses that were used by the enslaved to find freedom in the North.The Freedom Crossing Book. , Local author, Margaret Goff Clark, published her book, Freedom Crossing, in 1969. Since then, thousands of 4th and 5th graders have read the book to learn about the Underground Railroad. The story takes place in Lewiston and Mrs. Clark included detailed descriptions of many notable landmarks, including the Presbyterian Church and Tryon's Folly., The fictional heroine of the book, Laura Eastman, a young teenage girl, is depicted in the Monument (her outstretched arm is pointing the way to Canada across the river) to memorialize the book and the ideals that symbolize the courage of both the freedom seekers and the volunteers who helped them escape., Tryon's Folly. , It's called the House of 4 Cellars and was built in Lewiston on the bank of the Niagara River in 1830 by Amos Tryon. Amos built it as a residence, but his wife Sally Barton, refused to move from her existing home in the Village. After that, it was called "Tyron's Folly." However, when Josiah Tryon, Amos' younger brother, figured out that it was an ideal spot to smuggle fugitive slaves fleeing to Canada, it became anything but a folly. After 1850, it was a crime to help the enslaved, but Josiah and his band of volunteers continues to assist and protect them from bounty hunters who were paid to return the fugitives to the South., Josiah Tyron (1798-1886) lived to see the day when slavery was abolished. He is considered Lewiston's greatest citizen and is buried in the village cemetery next to the Presbyterian Church, Today, Tryon's Folly is a private residence and is not publicly accessible.