- Hierdie artikel beskryf historiese ontsnappingsroetes vir Amerikaanse slawe. Sien Publieke vervoer vir ondergrondse spoorstelsels in die letterlike sin.
Die Ondergrondse spoorweg is 'n netwerk van uiteenlopende historiese roetes wat deur Afro-Amerikaanse slawe gebruik word om die Verenigde State en slawerny deur vryheid in te bereik Kanada of ander buitelandse gebiede. Vandag dien baie van die stasies langs die 'spoorweë' as museums en gedenktekens vir die voormalige slawe se reis na die noorde.
Verstaan
Sedert sy geboorte as 'n onafhanklike nasie in 1776 tot die uitbreek van Burgeroorlog oor die kwessie in 1861 was die Verenigde State 'n nasie waar die instelling van slawerny bittere verdeeldheid veroorsaak het. In die Suide was slawerny die kern van 'n landbou-ekonomie wat aangevuur word deur massiewe plantasies van katoen en ander arbeidsintensiewe gewasse. In die noorde lê state soos Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey en almal van Nieu-Engeland, waar slawerny onwettig was en 'n afskaffer moreel (en ekonomies) gekant teen slawerny het gedy. Tussen hulle lê die sogenaamde 'grensstate', uitgestrek wes na oos dwars in die middel van die land Missouri deur Kentucky, Wes-Virginia, Maryland en die Distrik van Columbia aan Delaware, waar slawerny wettig, maar kontroversieel was, met afskaffings simpatie nie onbekend onder die bevolking nie.
Teen die middel van die 19de eeu het die brose dooiepunt wat die Noord-Suid-verhoudings vroeër gekenmerk het, plek gemaak vir toenemende spanning. 'N Belangrike vlampunt was die Fugitive Slave Act van 1850, 'n federale wet wat toegelaat het dat ontsnapte slawe wat in die vrye state ontdek is, met geweld teruggevoer kon word na slawerny in die Suide. In die Noordelike state, wat reeds slawerny binne hul eie grense beëindig het, is die nuwe wet as 'n massiewe belediging beskou - des te meer toe verhale oor gewelddadige ontvoerings deur professionele slaafvangers onder die publiek begin versprei het. Aangesien federale wetgewing op plaaslike provinsies weens plaaslike besware toegepas kon word, het enige ontsnapte slawe wat noordelike state bereik het, skielik goeie rede om voort te gaan na Kanada, waar slawerny al lank verbied is - en verskillende groepe het as 'n beginsel vinnig motivering gevind. of geloofsoortuigings, om wesenlike risiko's te neem om hul uittog na die noorde te help.
Verskeie roetes is deur swart slawe gebruik om na vryheid te ontsnap. Sommige vlug suid van Texas aan Mexiko of van Florida tot verskillende punte in die Karibiese Eilande, maar die oorgrote meerderheid van die roetes het noordwaarts op pad gegaan deur vrystate na Kanada of ander Britse gebiede. Enkele het dwarsoor gevlug Nieu-Brunswick aan Nova Scotia ('n Africville ghetto bestaan in Halifax tot in die 1960's), maar die kortste, gewildste roetes het Ohio oorgesteek, wat slawerny in Kentucky van vryheid dwars geskei het Erie-meer in Bo-Kanada.
Hierdie uittog val saam met 'n groot spekulatiewe oplewing in die konstruksie van passasierspore as nuwe tegnologie (die Grand Trunk-hooflyn vanaf Montreal deur Toronto in 1856 geopen), dus het hierdie losbandige intermodale netwerk maklik spoorterminologie aangeneem. Diegene wat slawe werf om vryheid te soek, was 'agente', die wegkruip- of russtasies langs die pad was 'stasies' met hul huiseienaars 'stasiemeesters' en diegene wat die pogings 'aandeelhouers' finansier. Afskaffingsleiers was die 'kondukteurs', van wie die voormalige slaaf Harriet Tubman die bekendste was, geprys vir haar pogings om driehonderd van Maryland en Delaware deur te lei Philadelphia en noordwaarts oor die staat New York tot vryheid in Kanada. In sommige afdelings reis 'passasiers' te voet of versteek in perdekarre op pad na die noorde op donker winternagte; in ander het hulle per boot of per gewone spoor gereis. Godsdienstige groepe (soos die Quakers, die Society of Friends) was prominent in die afskaffingsbeweging en liedere wat gewild was onder slawe, verwys na die Bybelse Eksodus van Egipte. Effektief was Tubman 'Moses' en die Big Dipper en die Noord-ster Polaris het na die beloofde land gewys.
Die ondergrondse spoorweg was relatief van korte duur: die uitbreek van die Amerikaanse burgeroorlog in 1861 het 'n oorlogsgebied uit baie van die grensstate gemaak, wat die reeds gevaarlike deurgang nog sterker gemaak het, terwyl die behoefte aan 'n voortgaande uittog uit die noordelike state grootliks uit die weg geruim is. na Kanada; teen 1865 was die oorlog verby en slawerny is landwyd uitgeskakel. Dit word nogtans onthou as 'n belangrike hoofstuk in die Amerikaanse geskiedenis in die algemeen en die Afro-Amerikaanse geskiedenis in die besonder, met baie voormalige stasies en ander terreine wat bewaar word as museums of historiese besienswaardighede.
Berei voor
Alhoewel daar verskillende roetes is en die afstand baie verskil, beslaan die uittog op Harriet Tubman se pad meer as 800 km van Maryland en Delaware deur Pennsylvania en New York na Ontario, Kanada.
Histories was dit moontlik en relatief maklik vir burgers van enige land om die grens tussen Amerika en Kanada oor te steek sonder 'n paspoort. In die 21ste eeu is dit grotendeels nie meer waar nie; grensbeveiliging het strenger geword in die era na 11 September 2001.
Amerikaanse burgers benodig vandag 'n paspoort, Amerikaanse paspoortkaart, Trusted Traveler Program-kaart of 'n verbeterde bestuurderslisensie om vanaf Kanada na die Verenigde State terug te keer. Bykomende vereistes is van toepassing op Amerikaanse permanente inwoners en onderdane van derde lande; sien die individuele landartikels (Kanada # Gaan in en Verenigde State van Amerika # Gaan in) of gaan na die Kanadese reëls en Amerikaanse reëls vir die vereiste dokumente.
Alhoewel die roetes wat hier beskryf word, meestal oor land voltooi kan word, is 'n historiese akkurate uitbeelding van vervoer in die land stoom 'n era sou vind dat padreise treurig ver agter die stoomspoorweë en skepe wat die wonderwerk van hulle tyd was. Die paaie, soos dit was, was min meer as modderige grondpaaie wat op sy beste vir 'n perd en wa pas; dit was dikwels vinniger om langs die land te vaar Atlantiese kus in plaas daarvan om 'n gelykwaardige landroete aan te pak. 'N Histories ware ondergrondse spoorwegreis sou 'n bisarre intermodale mengsel van alles wees, van perdekarre tot rivierbakke tot primitiewe goederetreine om te voet te vlug of oor die Mississippi. Op sommige punte waar die roetes histories gekruis het Groot Mere, daar is nie vandag 'n veerboot nie.
Die verskillende boeke geskryf na die burgeroorlog (soos die van Wilbur Henry Siebert Die ondergrondse spoorweg van slawerny na vryheid: 'n uitgebreide geskiedenis) beskryf honderde parallelle roetes en tallose ou huise wat 'n 'stasie' in die bloeitydperk van die uittog noordwaarts kon huisves, maar daar is inherent geen volledige lys van alles nie. Aangesien die netwerk geheimsinnig bedryf is, dui min tydgenote met enige sekerheid aan presies watter rol elke individu of plek in die antebellum-era gespeel het. Die meeste van die oorspronklike "stasies" is bloot ou huise wat soos enige ander tuiste van die era lyk; van die wat nog staan, word baie nie meer op 'n histories-akkurate manier bewaar nie, of is dit privaat wonings wat nie meer vir die reisiger beskikbaar is nie. 'N Plaaslike of nasionale historiese register kan 'n dosyn eiendomme in 'n enkele provinsie bevat, maar slegs 'n klein minderheid is historiese kerke, museums, monumente of landmerke wat besoekers uitnooi om iets meer te doen as om verby te ry en kort van buite te kyk.
Hierdie artikel bevat 'n lys van baie van die hoogtepunte, maar sal inherent nooit volledig wees nie.
Gaan in
Die mees algemene toegangspunte tot die Underground Railroad-netwerk was grensstate wat die skeiding tussen vry en slaaf verteenwoordig: Maryland; Virginia, insluitend wat nou Wes-Virginia is; en Kentucky. Baie van hierdie gebied is maklik bereikbaar vanaf Washington DC.. Tubman se reis begin byvoorbeeld in Dorchester County, op die Oostelike oewer van Maryland en lei noordwaarts deur Wilmington en Philadelphia.
| “ | Ek sal jou die oggend ontmoet. Ek is op pad na die beloofde land. | ” |
—Harriet Tubman | ||
Gaan
Daar is verskeie roetes en verskeie vertrekpunte om na hierdie trein te klim; die wat hier gelys word, is slegs noemenswaardige voorbeelde.
Tubman's Pennsylvania, Auburn en Niagara Railroad
Hierdie roete lei deur Pennsylvania en New York, deur verskillende terreine wat verband hou met Harriet Tubman (dirigent) van Underground Rail (ontsnap 1849, aktief tot 1860) en haar tydgenote. Gebore 'n slaaf in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman is geslaan en gesweep deur haar kinderjare; sy ontsnap na Philadelphia in 1849. Toe sy terugkeer na Maryland om haar gesin te red, lei sy uiteindelik tientalle ander slawe na vryheid, terwyl hulle snags in die geheim reis.
Maryland
Cambridge, Maryland - die geboorteplek van Tubman en die beginpunt van haar roete - word deur Chesapeake Bay van Washington, DC geskei en is ongeveer 140 km suidoos van die hoofstad via VS 50:
- 1 Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, 4068 Golden Hill Rd., Church Creek (17,2 km suid van Cambridge via State Routes 16 en 335), ☏ 1 410 221-2290. Daagliks 09: 00-17: 00. Nasionale monument van 7 hektaar (7 ha) met 'n besoekersentrum met uitstallings oor Tubman se vroeë lewe en besittings as 'n ondergrondse spoorwegdirigent. Aangrensend aan die Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, het hierdie landskap weinig verander sedert die dae van die Underground Railroad. Vry.
- 2 Harriet Tubman Organisasie, 424 Race St., Cambridge, ☏ 1 410 228-0401. Hierdie museum met historiese memorabilia is in 'n tydelike gebou in die middestad van Cambridge geleë en is op afspraak oop. Daar is ook 'n gemeenskapsentrum met 'n volledige kulturele en opvoedkundige program rakende Harriet Tubman en die Underground Railroad.
Delaware
Soos beskryf aan Wilbur Siebert in 1897, die gedeelte van Tubman's pad van 1 Cambridge noord na Philadelphia blyk 'n reis van 190 km per land te wees via 2 Oos-nuwe mark en 3 Populiernek na die staatslyn van Delaware, dan via 4 Sandtown, 5 Willow Grove, 6 Camden, 7 Dover, 8 Smyrna, 9 Blackbird, 10 Odessa, 11 Nuwe kasteel, en 12 Wilmington. 'N Bykomende afstand van 48 km moes bereik word 13 Philadelphia. Die Delaware-gedeelte van die roete word deur die ondertekende opgespoor Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway, waar verskillende ondergrondse spoorwegwerwe uitgelig word.
- 3 Appoquinimink Vriende Vergaderhuis, 624 Main St., Odessa. Oop vir dienste 1ste en 3de Su van elke maand, 10:00. 1785 baksteen Quaker huis van gebed wat gedien het as 'n stasie op die Underground Railroad onder John Hunn en Thomas Garrett. 'N Tweede verhaal het 'n verwyderbare paneel wat lei na ruimtes onder die dakrand; 'n kelder is bereik deur 'n klein syopening op grondvlak.
- 4 [voorheen dooie skakel]Ou New Castle Court House, 211 Delaware St., New Castle, ☏ 1 302 323-4453. Di-Sa 10: 00-16: 30, So 1: 30-4: 30. Een van die oudste oorlewende hofgeboue in die Verenigde State, gebou as ontmoetingsplek van Delaware se koloniale en eerste staatsvergadering (toe New Castle die hoofstad van Delaware was, 1732-1777). Ondergrondse spoorwegkondukteurs Thomas Garrett en John Hunn is in 1848 hier tereggestel en skuldig bevind vir die oortreding van die Wet op Fugitive Slave, wat hulle bankrot gemaak het met boetes wat slegs die gevoelens oor slawerny van alle betrokkenes verhard het. Donasie.
Die skeidslyn tussen slaaf- en vrystate was die Mason-Dixon-lyn:
- 5 Mason-Dixon Line, Mason-Dixon Farm Market, 18166 Susquehanna Trail South, Shrewsbury, Pennsilvanië. 'N Betonpos dui die grens tussen Maryland en Pennsylvania in Shrewsbury aan, waar slawe vrygelaat is nadat hulle gedurende die Amerikaanse burgeroorlog. Eienaars van plaasmarkte het stories om te vertel oor ondergrondse spoorweghuise en ander slawestoppies tussen Maryland en Pennsylvania. Vry staan en neem 'n foto met die betonposmerker.
Pennsylvania
Die eerste "vrye" staat op die roete, Pennsylvania, het die slawerny in 1847 afgeskaf.
Philadelphia, die federale hoofstad gedurende 'n groot deel van die era van George Washington, was 'n brandpunt van afskaffing, en die Wet vir die geleidelike afskaffing van slawerny, wat in Maart 1780 deur die staatsregering aanvaar is, was die eerste wat die invoer van slawe in 'n staat verbied. Terwyl 'n skuiwergat lede van die Kongres in Philadelphia vrygestel het, het George en Martha Washington (as slawe-eienaars) noukeurig vermy om ses maande of langer in Pennsylvania deur te bring, sodat hulle nie gedwing sou word om hul slawe vryheid te gee nie. Ona Judge, die dogter van 'n slaaf wat deur Martha Washington geërf is, was bang om aan die einde van Washington se presidentskap met geweld na Virginia teruggeneem te word; met behulp van plaaslike vrye swartes en afskaffers is sy op 'n skip gesit New Hampshire en vryheid.
In 1849 ontsnap Henry Brown (1815-1897) Virginia-slawerny deur te reël dat hy homself in 'n houtkrat aan afskaffers in Philadelphia laat pos. Van daar het hy verhuis na Engeland van 1850-1875 om aan die Fugitive Slave Act te ontsnap en 'n towenaar, showman en uitgesproke afskaffer te word.
- 6 Johnson House Historiese terrein, 6306 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, ☏ 1 215 438-1768. Sa 13: 00-17: 00 die hele jaar, Th-F 10: 00-16: 00 vanaf 2 Februarie-9 Junie en 7 September-24 November, slegs M-W op afspraak. Toere vertrek elke 60 minute om 15 minute oor die uur en die laaste toer vertrek om 15:15. Voormalige veilige huis en taverne in die Germantown-omgewing, besoek deur Harriet Tubman en William Still, een van die 17 ondergrondse spoorwegstasies in Pennsylvania wat in die plaaslike gids verskyn. Ondergrondse spoorweg: roete na vryheid. Was nog steeds 'n Afro-Amerikaanse afskaffer, klerk en lid van die Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Uurlange begeleide toere word aangebied. $ 8, bejaardes 55 $ 6, kinders 12 en jonger as $ 4.
- 7 Belmont Mansion, 2000 Belmont Mansion Dr., Philadelphia, ☏ 1 215 878-8844. Di-F 11: 00-17: 00, somernaweke op afspraak. Historiese Philadelphia-herehuis met Underground Railroad-museum. $ 7, student / senior $ 5.
- 8 Christiana Underground Railroad Centre, 11 Green St., Christiana, ☏ 1 610 593-5340. M-F 09: 00-16: 00. In 1851 het 'n groep van 38 plaaslike Afro-Amerikaners en blanke afskaffers Edward Gorsuch, 'n slawe-eienaar van Maryland, wat vier van sy ontsnapte slawe in die stad aangekom het, aangeval en vermoor en twee van sy metgeselle gewond. Hulle word aangekla van verraad vir die oortreding van die Wet op Fugitive Slave, en Zercher's Hotel is waar die verhoor plaasgevind het. Vandag is die voormalige hotel die tuiste van 'n museum wat die geskiedenis vertel van wat bekend geword het as die Weerstand by Christiana. Vry.
- 9 [dooie skakel]Sentraal-Pennsylvania African American Museum, 119 N. 10de St., Leeswerk, ☏ 1 610 371-8713, faks: 1 610 371-8739. W & F 10: 30-13: 30, So gesluit, alle ander dae op afspraak. Die voormalige Bethel AME-kerk in Reading was eens 'n stasie op die Underground Railroad, nou is dit 'n museum waarin die geskiedenis van die swart gemeenskap en die Underground Railroad in Sentraal-Pennsylvania beskryf word. $ 8, senior burgers en studente met ID $ 6, kinders 5-12 $ 4, kinders 4 en jonger gratis. Rondleidings $ 10.
- 10 William Goodridge Huis en Museum, 123 E. Philadelphia St., York, ☏ 1 717 848-3610. Eerste F van elke maand 16: 00-20: 00, en op afspraak. William C. Goodridge, gebore in slawerny in Maryland, het 'n prominente sakeman geword wat vermoedelik vlugtende slawe in een van die vragmotors van sy reliance Line versteek het. Sy aantreklike twee-en-'n-half-verdieping baksteen ry huis aan die buitewyke van die middestad van York is nou 'n museum gewy aan sy lewensverhaal.
Terwyl Pennsylvania wel in die noordwestelikste hoek van Kanada aan die Erie-meer grens, het vryheidsoekers wat uit oostelike stede aangekom het, oor die algemeen deur die staat New York na Kanada voortgegaan. Terwyl Harriet Tubman direk noord van Philadelphia sou gevlug het, het baie ander passasiers op verskeie punte na die Mason-Dixon-lyn na Pennsylvania getrek, waar die staat Maryland en 'n gedeelte van Virginia (nou Wes-Virginia) begrens het. Dit het baie parallelle lyne geskep wat noordwaarts gelei het deur middel van Sentraal- en Wes-Pennsylvania in die New York State Suidelike vlak.
- 1 Fairfield Inn 1757, 15 W. Main St., Fairfield (13 km wes van Gettysburg via roete 116), ☏ 1 717 642-5410. Die oudste herberg wat deurlopend bedryf word in die Gettysburg-omgewing, en dateer uit 1757. Slawe skuil op die derde verdieping nadat hulle deur openinge en valdeure gekruip het. Vandag word 'n venster uitgesny om aan te dui waar die slawe wegkruip toe die herberg 'n 'veilige stasie' op die Underground Railroad was. $ 160 / nag.
- 11 Ou tronk, 175 King St, Chambersburg, ☏ 1 717 264-1667. Di-Sa (Mei-Okt), Do-Sa (die hele jaar): 10:00 tot 16:00, laaste toer 15:00. Die tronk, wat in 1818 gebou is, het 'n aanval oorleef waarin Chambersburg in 1864 deur die Confederates verbrand is. Vyf koepelende kerkers in die kelder het ringe in die mure en vloere gehad om weerbarstige gevangenes te boei; hierdie selle is moontlik ook in die geheim gebruik om weghol-slawe te beskut wat vryheid in die noorde ondervind. $ 5, kinders van 6 en ouer $ 4, gesinne $ 10.
- 12 Blairsville Underground Railroad History Centre, 214 E. South Ln., Blairsville (17 myl suid van Indiana, Pennsylvania via roete 119), ☏ 1 724 459-0580. Mei-Oktober op afspraak. Die Tweede Baptistekerkgebou dateer die Underground Railroad met meer as 'n halwe eeu - dit is in 1917 gebou - maar dit is die oudste struktuur in swart besit in die stad Blairsville, en vandag dien dit as 'n historiese museum met twee uitstallings wat verband hou met slawerny en emansipasie: "Freedom in the Air" vertel die verhaal van die afskaffers van Indiana County en hul pogings om vlugtelinge te help slawe, terwyl die titel "'n Dag in die lewe van 'n verslaafde kind" vanselfsprekend is.
- 13 Freedom Road Begraafplaas, Freedom Rd., Loyalsock Township (2,4 km noord van Williamsport via Markstraat en Bloomingroveweg). Daniel Hughes (1804-1880) was 'n vlotman wat hout van Williamsport na Havre de Grace, Maryland, op die Westtak van die Susquehanna-rivier vervoer het, en weglopende slawe in die bak van sy aak weggesteek het tydens die terugreis. Sy plaas is nou klein Burgeroorlog begraafplaas, die laaste rusplek van nege Afro-Amerikaanse soldate. Alhoewel daar 'n historiese merker is, is hierdie plek (hernoem van Nigger Hollow na Freedom Road in 1936) klein en maklik om te mis.
Die gewildste opsie was egter om die kus van Philadelphia na New York Stad op pad na Albany of Boston.
Staat New York
Ontsnapte slawe was op 'n vriendelike grasperk in Upstate New York, een van die strengste afskaffingsstreke van die land.
- 14 [dooie skakel]Stephen en Harriet Myers-koshuis, 194 Livingston Ave., Albany, ☏ 1 518 432-4432. Toere M-F 17-20, Sa middag 16:00 of op afspraak. Stephen Myers was 'n voormalige slaaf wat vrygemaak en afgeskaf is, wat 'n sentrale figuur was in die plaaslike Underground Railroad-gang, en van al die verskillende huise wat hy in die middel van die 19de eeu in Albany's Arbor Hill-woonbuurt bewoon het, is dit die enigste nog steeds bestaan. Die destydse vervalle huis is in die 1970's van die wrakbal gered en restourasiewerk is aan die gang, maar vir eers kan besoekers begeleide toere deur die huis geniet en 'n klein, maar waardevolle blaadjie museumuitstallings op Myers, dr. Thomas Elkins, en ander prominente lede van die Albany Waaksaamheidskomitee van afskaffers. $ 10, seniors $ 8, kinders 5-12 $ 5.
In Albany was daar verskeie opsies. Vlugtelinge kan noordwaarts na Montreal of Quebecse Oostelike dorpe via Champlain Lake, of (meer algemeen) kan hulle weswaarts draai langs die Erie-kanaal deurlyn Syracuse aan Oswego, Rochester, Buffels, of Niagara waterval.
- 15 Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office, 5304 Oxbow Rd., Peterboro (15,1 km oos van Cazenovia via County Routes 28 en 25), ☏ 1 315 280-8828. Museum Sa-Su 13-17 uur, laat Mei-einde Augustus, daaglikse dagbreekskemer. Smith was president van die New York Anti-Slavery Society (1836-1839) en 'n "stasiemeester" op die Underground Railroad in die 1840's en 1850's. Die uitgestrekte landgoed waar hy sy hele lewe lank gewoon het, is nou 'n museumkompleks met uitstallings van binne en buite vir vryheidsoekers, Gerrit Smith se rykdom, filantropie en familie en die Underground Railroad.
Syracuse was 'n afskaffingsvesting waarvan die sentrale ligging dit 'n 'groot sentrale depot op die ondergrondse spoorweg' gemaak het waardeur baie slawe op pad na vryheid deurgeloop het.
- 16 Jerry Reddingsmonument, Clinton Square, Syracuse. Tydens die staatsbyeenkoms van 1851 van die Liberty Party teen die slawerny, het 'n woedende skare van honderde afskaffers ontsnap slaaf William "Jerry" Henry uit die tronk gebars; van daar is hy klandestinig na die stad Mexiko, New York, vervoer en daar weggesteek totdat hy een donker nag aan boord van 'n Britse-Kanadese houtskip geneem kon word vir vervoer oor die Ontariomeer na Kingston. Nege van diegene wat die ontsnapping gehelp het (waaronder twee predikante van godsdiens) het na Kanada gevlug; van die nege-en-twintig wat in Syracuse tereggestel is, is almal behalwe een vrygespreek. Die tronk staan nie meer nie, maar daar is 'n monument op Clinton Square wat hierdie belangrike gebeurtenisse herdenk.
In hierdie gebied het passasiers wat van Pennsylvania oor die Suidelike Tier aankom, deurgereis Ithaca en Cayuga Lake om by die hoofroete aan te sluit Rooibruin, 'n stad wes van Syracuse in die VS 20. Harriet Tubman het hier gebly vanaf 1859 en 'n huis vir bejaardes gestig.
- 17 St. James AME Zion Kerk, 116 Cleveland Ave., Ithaca, ☏ 1 607 272-4053. M-Sa 09: 00-17: 00 of op afspraak. Die African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is in die vroeë 1800's in New York City gestig as 'n uitloper van die Methodist Episcopal Church om swart gemeentelede te dien wat destyds openlike rassisme in bestaande kerke teëgekom het. St. James, gestig in 1836, was 'n stasie op die Underground Railroad, waar dienste aangebied is deur sulke 19de-eeuse Afro-Amerikaanse armaturen soos Harriet Tubman en Frederick Douglass, en in 1906 gasheer was vir 'n groep studente wat Alpha Phi Alpha gestig het, die oudste van die land. amptelike swart broederskap.
- 18 Harriet Tubman Tehuis, 180 South St., Auburn, ☏ 1 315 252-2081. Di-F 10:00 - 16:00, Sa 10:00 - 15:00. Tubman, wat bekend staan as 'The Moses of Her People', het hom in die beskeie maar aantreklike baksteenhuis in Auburn gevestig in Auburn, waar sy ook 'n huis vir bejaarde en behoeftige Afro-Amerikaners bedryf. Vandag is dit 'n museum met 'n versameling historiese memorabilia. $ 4,50, seniors (60) en universiteitstudente $ 3, kinders 6-17 $ 1,50.
- 19 Thompson AME Zion Church, Parker St. 33, Auburn. Gesluit vir restourasies. 'N African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church van 1891 waar Harriet Tubman dienste bygewoon het; sy het later die bogenoemde Huis vir bejaardes aan die kerk verleen om na haar dood te bestuur.
- 20 Fort Hill-begraafplaas, Fort St. 19, Auburn, ☏ 1 315 253-8132. M-F 09: 00-13: 00. Hierdie webwerf, wat op 'n heuwel met Auburn uitkyk, is reeds in 1100 nC deur inheemse Amerikaners vir grafheuwels gebruik. Dit bevat die begraafplase van Harriet Tubman, sowel as 'n verskeidenheid ander plaaslike historiese tuistes. Die webwerf bevat 'n afdrukbare kaart en 'n self-begeleide staptoer.
Die hoofroete gaan verder weswaarts in die rigting van Buffalo en die Niagara-waterval, wat vandag nog die besigste stel kruisings aan die grens tussen Ontario en New York bly. (Alternatiewe roetes was die kruising van Lake Ontario vanaf Oswego of Rochester.)
- 21 Palmyra Historiese Museum, 132 Mark St., Palmyra, ☏ 1 315 597-6981. Di-di 10: 00-17: 00 die hele jaar, tuis-11: 00-16: 00 in die hoogseisoen. Een van vyf afsonderlike museums in die Historic Palmyra Museum Complex; elkeen bied 'n ander aspek van die lewe in die ou Palmyra. Die vlagskipmuseum bevat verskillende permanente uitstallings oor plaaslike geskiedenis, waaronder die Underground Railroad. $ 3, seniors $ 2, kinders jonger as 12 jaar gratis.
Rochester, die tuiste van Frederick Douglass en 'n klomp ander afskaffers, het ook vlugtelinge na Kanada deurgegee as hulle hul weg na Kelsey's Landing net noord van die Lower Falls van die Genesee kon maak. Daar was 'n aantal veiligheidshuise in die stad, waaronder Douglass se eie huis.
- 22 Rochester Museum en Wetenskap Sentrum, 657 East Ave., Rochester, ☏ 1 585 271-4320. M-Sa 09: 00-17: 00, so 11: 00-17: 00. Rochester se interaktiewe wetenskaplike museum het 'n semi-permanente uitstalling genaamd Vlug na vryheid: Rochester's Underground Railroad. Dit laat kinders 'n kykie kry in die verhaal van die Railroad deur die oë van 'n fiktiewe kind wat na Kanada ontsnap. Volwassenes $ 15, seniors / kollege $ 14, ouderdomme 3-18 $ 13, onder 3 gratis.
Ontario se hele internasionale grens is water. Daar was 'n paar veerbote in plekke soos Buffalo, maar die infrastruktuur was yl. Niagara waterval 'n spoorwegbrug van 251 m (825 voet) gehad wat by die Kanadese en die VSA aansluit. tweeling dorpe onder die valle.
- 23 Castellani Kunsmuseum, 5795 Lewiston Rd., Niagara-waterval, ☏ 1 716 286-8200, faks: 1 716 286-8289. Di-Sa 11: 00-17: 00, so 13: 00-17: 00. 'N Deel van die permanente versameling van die Niagara Universiteit se kunsgalery op die kampus is "Freedom Crossing: The Underground Railroad in Greater Niagara", wat die verhaal vertel van die Underground Railroad-beweging op die Niagara Frontier.
- 24 [dooie skakel]Niagara Falls Ondergrondse Spoorweg Interpretatiewe Sentrum, 2245 Whirlpool St., Niagara-waterval (langs die Whirlpool Bridge en die Amtrak-stasie). Di-W en F-Sa 10: 00-18: 00, do 10: 00-20: 00, so 10: 00-16: 00. Die voormalige Amerikaanse gebruikshuis (1863-1962) is nou 'n museum wat toegewy is aan die Niagara Frontier se ondergrondse spoorweggeskiedenis. Uitstallings sluit in die ontspanning van die "Cataract House", een van die grootste hotelle in die destydse Niagara-waterval, waarvan die grootliks Afro-Amerikaanse bedieningspersoneel 'n belangrike rol gespeel het om ontsnapte slawe op die laaste reis van hul reis te help. $ 10, hoërskool- en universiteitstudente met ID $ 8, kinders 6-12 $ 6.
- 25 Suspension Bridge-terrein van die Niagara-waterval. Hierdie eerste hangbrug oor die Niagara-rivier, wat in 1848 gebou is, was die laaste been in Harriet Tubman se eie reis van slawerny in Maryland na vryheid in Kanada, en sy sou die volgende dekade baie keer terugkeer as 'n 'kondukteur' vir ander ontsnaptes. Na 1855, toe dit weer as 'n spoorwegbrug gebruik is, sou slawe met vee- of bagasiemotors oor die grens gesmokkel word. Die werf is nou die Whirlpool Bridge.
Na die noorde is Lewiston, 'n moontlike kruispunt na Niagara-aan-die-meer In Kanada:
- 26 [dooie skakel]Eerste Presbiteriaanse kerk en dorpsbegraafplaas, 505 Cayuga St., Lewiston, ☏ 1 716 794-4945. Oop vir dienste Di 11:15. 'N Beeld voor die oudste kerk van Lewiston (opgerig in 1835) herdenk die prominente rol wat dit in die Underground Railroad gespeel het.
- 27 Freedom Crossing Monument (By Lewiston Landing Park, aan die westekant van N. Water St. tussen Center en Onondaga St.). 'N Beelde in die buitelug aan die oewer van die Niagara-rivier wat die plaaslike metro-stasiemeester Josiah Tryon uitbeeld wat 'n gesin van vryheidsoekers met hul finale benadering na Kanada laat wegspring. Tryon het sy stasie vanuit die Huis van die Sewe Kelders, sy broer se woning net noord van die middedorp, bedryf (steeds bestaan maar nie oop vir die publiek nie), waar 'n reeks stappe gelei het vanaf 'n netwerk met onderling verbindende kelders na die oewer van die rivier. , vanwaar Tryon die ontsnaptes oor die rivier sou vervoer soos in die beeldhouwerk afgebeeld.
In die suide is Buffalo, oorkant Fort Erie in Ontario:
- 28 Michigan Street Baptiste Kerk, 511 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, ☏ 1 716 854-7976. Die oudste eiendom wat voortdurend besit word, bestuur en bewoon word deur Afro-Amerikaners in Buffalo historiese kerk gedien as 'n stasie op die Underground Railroad. Historiese toere word op afspraak aangebied. $5.
- 29 Broderick Park (aan die Niagara-rivier aan die einde van West Ferrystraat), ☏ 1 716 218-0303. Baie jare voordat die vredesbrug in die suide gebou is, was die verbinding tussen Buffalo en Fort Erie per veerboot, en baie slawe wat op die vlug geslaan het, het die rivier op hierdie manier oorgesteek. Daar is 'n gedenkteken en historiese plate op die terrein wat die belang van die terrein illustreer, asook historiese weergawes van tyd tot tyd.
Soos vroeër genoem, het sommige ontsnaptes eerder uit die suide nader gekom en van Wes-Pennsylvania deur die Southern Tier na die grens beweeg.
- 30 [voorheen dooie skakel]Howe-Prescott Pioneer House, 3031 Roete 98 Suid, Franklinville, ☏ 1 716 676-2590. So Jun-Aug op afspraak. Hierdie huis is omstreeks 1814 gebou deur 'n familie van prominente afskaffers en het in die jare voor die burgeroorlog as 'n stasie op die ondergrondse spoorweg gedien. Die Ischua Valley Historical Society het die terrein herstel as 'n pioniersopstal, met uitstallings en demonstrasies wat die lewe in die vroeë dae van die blanke nedersetting in Wes-New York illustreer.
Ontario
Die einde van die lyn is St. Catharines in Ontario's Niagara-streek.
- 31 British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel, 92 Geneva St., St. Catharines, ☏ 1 905-682-0993. Dienste So 11:00, begeleide toere op afspraak. St. Catharines was een van die belangrikste Kanadese stede wat deur ontsnapte Amerikaanse slawe gevestig moes word - Harriet Tubman en haar gesin het ongeveer tien jaar daar gewoon voordat hulle na die VSA teruggekeer het en hulle in Auburn, New York, gevestig het - en hierdie eenvoudige, maar mooi houtkerk was gebou in 1851 om as hul aanbiddingsplek te dien. Dit word nou as 'n Nasionale Historiese Gebied van Kanada gelys, en verskeie plate word buite die gebou geplaas om die geskiedenis te verklaar.
- 32 Neger-begraafplaas, Niagara-aan-die-meer (oostekant van Mississauga St. tussen John en Mary St.), ☏ 1 905-468-3266. Die Niagara Baptistekerk - die huis van aanbidding van Niagara-on-the-Lake se gemeenskap van ondergrondse spoorwegvlugtendes - is lankal verby, maar die begraafplaas op sy voormalige terrein, waar baie van sy gemeentes begrawe is, bly.
- 33 Griffin House, 733 Mineral Springs Rd., Voorhoof, ☏ 1 905-648-8144. So 1-4PM, Jul-Sep. Die vlugtige Virginia-slaaf Enerals Griffin het in 1834 na Kanada ontsnap en hom as boer in die stad Ancaster gevestig; sy ru-gekapte stompboerdery is nou in sy oorspronklike tydperk herstel. Wandelroetes agteruit lei na die lieflike Dundasvallei en 'n reeks watervalle. Donasie.
Die Niagara-streek is nou deel van die Goue hoefyster, die digste bevolkte deel van die provinsie. Verder het die Toronto Transit Commission (☏ 1 416-393-INFO (4636)) het jaarliks geloop Ondergrondse vryheidstreinrit om die Emansipasie-dag te herdenk. Die trein verlaat Union Station in middestad Toronto betyds om op 1 Augustus na middernag Sheppard-Wes (die voormalige noordwestelike punt van die reël) te bereik. Dit is onder meer sang, poësielesing en tromspel.
Die Ohio-lyn
Kentucky, 'n slaafstaat, word deur die Ohio-rivier van Indiana en Ohio geskei. Vanweë die ligging van Ohio (wat aan die suidelikste punt in Kanada aan die Erie-meer grens), het verskeie parallelle lyne noordwaarts oor die staat heen na vryheid in Bo-Kanada gelei. Sommige het deur Indiana na Ohio getrek, terwyl ander Ohio direk vanaf Kentucky binnegekom het.
Indiana
Direk oorkant die rivier vanaf Louisville, Kentucky, die stad van New Albany gedien as een van die belangrikste rivieroorgangspunte vir vlugtelinge wat noordwaarts op pad is.
- 34 Town Clock Church, 300 E. Main St., New Albany, ☏ 1 812 945-3814. Dienste So 11:00, toere op afspraak. Hierdie gerestaureerde Griekse Revival-kerk in 1852 huisves vroeër die Second Presbyterian Church, 'n stasie van die Underground Railroad waarvan die kenmerkende kloktoring die ligging van New Albany aan die bootvaartmense van die Ohio-rivier aangedui het. Die kerk is nou die tuiste van 'n Afro-Amerikaanse gemeente en die onderwerp van fondsinsamelingspogings wat daarop gemik is om die gebou na jare se verwaarlosing tot sy oorspronklike prag te herstel, bied gereelde dienste, begeleide toere op afspraak en af en toe historiese herdenkings en ander geleenthede.
Indianapolis is 210 km na die noorde; Vissers en Westfield is tussen sy voorstede.
- 35 Conner Prairie Museum, 13400 Allisonville Rd., Fishers, ☏ 1 317 776-6000, tolvry: 1-800 966-1836. Kyk op die webwerf vir skedule. Die tuiste van die "Follow the North Star" teaterprogram-cum-historiese weergawe, waar deelnemers teruggaan na die jaar 1836 en die rol aanvaar as vlugtende slawe wat vryheid soek op die Underground Railroad. Leer deur 'n vlugtende slaaf te word in 'n interaktiewe ontmoeting waar museumpersoneel die slawejagters, vriendelike kwakers, vrygestelde slawe en spoorwegleiers word wat u lot bepaal. $20.
Westfield is 'n wonderlike dorp vir staptoere; die Westfield-Washington Historical Society (sien hieronder) kan agtergrondinligting verskaf. Historiese Indiana Ghost Walks & Tours (☏ 1 317 840-6456) dek ook "spoke van die ondergrondse spoorweg" tydens een van sy Westfield-toere (besprekings is nodig, kyk skedule).
- 36 Westfield-Washington Historical Society & Museum, Penn St. 130, Westfield, ☏ 1 317 804-5365. Sa 10:00 tot 14:00, of op afspraak. Dit is 'n verbasing deur Quakers, wat beslis vasgetrek is, en dit hoef geen verrassing te wees dat Westfield een van Indiana se ondergrondse spoorweg-hotbeds was nie. Lees meer oor hierdie en ander elemente van die plaaslike geskiedenis in hierdie museum. Donasie.
Vanaf die Indianapolis-gebied word die roete verdeel: u kan ooswaarts na Ohio gaan, of noordwaarts na Michigan.
- 37 Levi en Catharine Coffin State Historic Site, 201 US Route 27 North, Fountain City (9.2 miles/14.8 km north of Richmond via US 27), ☏ 1 765 847-1691. Tu-Su 10AM-5PM. The "Grand Central Station" of the Underground Railroad where three escape routes to the North converged is where Levi and Catharine Coffin lived and harbored more than 2,000 freedom seekers to safety. A family of well-to-do Quakers, the Coffins' residence is an ample Federal-style brick home that's been restored to its period appearance and opened to guided tours. A full calendar of events also take place. $10, seniors (60 ) $8, children 3-17 $5.
Another option is to head north from Kentucky directly into Ohio.
Ohio
The stations listed here form a meandering line through Ohio's major cities — Cincinnati aan Dayton aan Columbus aan Cleveland aan Toledo — and around Lake Erie to Detroit, a journey of approximately 800 mi (1,300 km). In practice, Underground Railroad passengers would head due north and cross Lake Erie at the first possible opportunity via any of multiple parallel routes.
Van Lexington, Kentucky, you head north 85 mi (137 km) on this freedom train to Covington. Directly across the Ohio River and the state line is Cincinnati, one of many points at which thousands crossed into the North in search of freedom.
- 38 National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, ☏ 1 513 333-7500. Di-So 11: 00-17: 00. Among the most comprehensive resources of Underground Railroad-related information anywhere in the country, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center should be at the top of the list for any history buff retracing the escapees' perilous journey. The experience at this "museum of conscience" includes everything from genuine historical artifacts (including a "slave pen" built c. 1830, the only known extant one of these small log cabins once used to house slaves prior to auction) to films and theatrical performances to archival research materials, relating not only the story of the Underground Railroad but the entirety of the African-American struggle for freedom from the Colonial era through the Civil War, Jim Crow, and the modern day. $12, seniors $10, children $8.
30 mi (48 km) to the east, Williamsburg and Clermont County were home to multiple stations on the Underground Railroad. 55 mi (89 km) north is Springboro, just south of Dayton in Warren County.
- 39 Springboro Historical Society Museum, 110 S. Main St., Springboro, ☏ 1 937 748-0916. F-Sa 11AM-3PM. This small museum details Springboro's storied past as a vital stop on the Underground Railroad. While you're in town, stop by the Chamber of Commerce (325 S. Main St.) and pick up a brochure with a self-guided walking tour of 27 local "stations" on the Railroad, the most of any city in Ohio, many of which still stand today.
East of Dayton, one former station is now a tavern.
- 1 Ye Olde Trail Tavern, 228 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs, ☏ 1 937 767-7448. Su-Th 11AM-10PM, F-Sa 11AM-11PM; closes an hour early Oct-Mar. Kick back with a cold beer and nosh on bar snacks with an upscale twist in this 1844 log cabin that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Mains $8-12.
Continue east 110 mi (180 km) through Columbus and onward to Zanesville, then detour north via Route 60.
- 40 Vooruitsig plek, 12150 Main St., Trinway (16 miles/26 km north of Zanesville via Route 60), ☏ 1 740 221-4175. Sa-Su noon-4PM, Mar 17-Nov 4. An ongoing historic renovation aims to bring this 29-room Italianate-style mansion back to its appearance in the 1850s and '60s, when it served as the home of railroad baron, local politico, and abolitionist George Willison Adams — not to mention one of the area's most important Underground Railroad stations. The restored portions of the mansion are open for self-guided tours (weather-dependent; the building is not air-conditioned and the upper floors can get stifling in summer, so call ahead on hot days to make sure they're open), and Prospect Place is also home to the G. W. Adams Educational Center, with a full calendar of events,
Another 110 mi (180 km) to the northeast is Alliance.
- 41 Haines House Underground Railroad Museum, 186 W. Market St., Alliance, ☏ 1 330 829-4668. Open for tours the first weekend of each month: Sa 10AM-noon; Su 1PM-3PM. Sarah and Ridgeway Haines, daughter and son-in-law of one of the town's first settlers, operated an Underground Railroad station out of their stately Federal-style home, now fully restored and open to the public as a museum. Tour the lovely Victorian parlor, the early 19th century kitchen, the bedrooms, and the attic where fugitive slaves were hidden. Check out exhibits related to local Underground Railroad history and the preservation of the house. $3.
The next town to the north is 42 Kent, the home of Kent State University, which was a waypoint on the Underground Railroad back when the village was still named Franklin Mills. 36 mi (58 km) further north is the Lake Erie shoreline, east of Cleveland. From there, travellers had a few possible options: attempt to cross Lake Erie directly into Canada, head east through western Pennsylvania and onward to Buffalo...
- 43 Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum, 1603 Walnut Blvd., Ashtabula, ☏ 1 440 964-8168. F-Su 1PM-5PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day, or by appointment. William and Catharine Hubbard's circa-1841 farmhouse was one of the Underground Railroad's northern termini — directly behind the house is Lake Erie, and directly across the lake is Canada — and today it's the only one that's open to the public for tours. Peruse exhibits on local Underground Railroad and Civil War history set in environs restored to their 1840s appearance, complete with authentic antique furnishings. $5, seniors $4, children 6 and over $3.
...or turn west.
- 44 Lorain Underground Railroad Station 100 Monument, 100 Black River Ln., Lorain (At Black River Landing), ☏ 1 440 328-2336. Not a station, but rather a historic monument that honors Lee Howard Dobbins, a 4-year-old escaped slave, orphaned en route to freedom with his mother, who later died in the home of the local family who took him in. A large relief sculpture, inscribed with an inspirational poem read at the child's funeral (which was attended by a thousand people), is surrounded by a contemplative garden.
West of Lorain is Sandusky, one of the foremost jumping-off points for escaped slaves on the final stage of their journey to freedom. Among those who set off across Lake Erie from here toward Canada was Josiah Henson, whose autobiography served as inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Modern-day voyagers can retrace that journey via the MV Jiimaan[dooie skakel], a seasonal ferry plying the route from Sandusky to Leamington en Kingsville, Ontario, or else stop in to the Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Center at 4424 Milan Rd. and pick up a brochure with a free self-guided walking tour of Sandusky-area Underground Railroad sites.
- 45 Maritime Museum of Sandusky, 125 Meigs St., Sandusky, ☏ 1 419 624-0274. Year-round F-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM; also Tu-Th 10AM-4PM Jun-Aug. This museum interprets Sandusky's prominent history as a lake port and transportation nexus through interactive exhibits and educational programs on a number of topics, including the passenger steamers whose owners were among the large number of locals active in the Underground Railroad. $6, seniors 62 and children under 12 $5, families $14.
- 46 Path to Freedom Sculpture, Facer Park, 255 E. Water St., Sandusky, ☏ 1 419 624-0274. In the center of a small harborfront park in downtown Sandusky stands this life-size sculpture of an African-American man, woman and child bounding with arms outstretched toward the waterfront and freedom, fashioned symbolically out of 800 ft (240 m) of iron chains.
As an alternative to crossing the lake here, voyagers could continue westward through Toledo to Detroit.
Michigan
Detroit was the last American stop for travellers on this route: directly across the river lies Windsor, Ontario.
- 47 First Living Museum, 33 E. Forest Ave., Detroit, ☏ 1 313 831-4080. Call museum for schedule of tours. The museum housed in the First Congregational Church of Detroit features a 90-minute "Flight to Freedom" reenactment that simulates an escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad: visitors are first shackled with wrist bands, then led to freedom by a "conductor" while hiding from bounty hunters, crossing the Ohio River to seek refuge in Levi Coffin's abolitionist safe house in Indiana, and finally arriving to "Midnight" — the code name for Detroit in Railroad parlance. $15, youth and seniors $12.
- 48 Mariners' Church, 170 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, ☏ 1 313 259-2206. Services Su 8:30AM & 11AM. An 1849 limestone church known primarily for serving Great Lakes sailors and memorializing crew lost at sea. In 1955, while moving the church to make room for a new civic center, workers discovered an Underground Railroad tunnel under the building.
If Detroit was "Midnight" on the Underground Railroad, Windsor was "Dawn". A literal underground railroad does stretch across the river from Detroit to Windsor, along with another one to the north between Port Huron en Sarnia, but since 2004 the tunnels have served only freight. A ferry crosses here for large trucks only. An underground road tunnel also runs to Windsor, complete with a municipal Tunnel Bus service (C$4/person, one way).
- Gateway to Freedom International Memorial. Historians estimate that as many as 45,000 runaway slaves passed through Detroit-Windsor on the Underground Railroad, and this pair of monuments spanning both sides of the riverfront pays homage to the local citizens who defied the law to provide safety to the fugitives. Sculpted by Ed Dwight, Jr. (the first African-American accepted into the U.S. astronaut training program), the 49 Gateway to Freedom Memorial at Hart Plaza in Detroit depicts eight larger-than-life figures — including George DeBaptiste, an African-American conductor of local prominence — gazing toward the promised land of Canada. On the Windsor side, at the Civic Esplanade, the 50 Tower of Freedom depicts four more bronze figures with arms upraised in relief, backed by a 20 ft (6.1 m) marble monolith.
There is a safehouse 35 mi (56 km) north of Detroit (on the U.S. side) in Washington Township:
- 51 Loren Andrus Octagon House, 57500 Van Dyke Ave., Washington Township, ☏ 1 586 781-0084. 1-4PM on 3rd Sunday of month (Mar-Oct) or by appointment. Erected in 1860, the historic home of canal and railroad surveyor Loren Andrus served as a community meeting place and station during the latter days of the Underground Railroad, its architecture capturing attention with its unusual symmetry and serving as a metaphor for a community that bridges yesterday and tomorrow. One-hour guided tours lead through the house's restored interior and include exhibits relevant to its history. $5.
Ontario
The most period-appropriate way to replicate the crossing into Canada used to be the Bluewater Ferry across the St. Clair River between Marine City, Michigan and Sombra, Ontario. The ferry no longer operates. Instead, cross from Detroit to Windsor via the Ambassador Bridge or the aforementioned tunnel, or else detour north to the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.
- 52 Sandwich First Baptist Church, 3652 Peter St., Windsor, ☏ 1 519-252-4917. Services Su 11AM, tours by appointment. The oldest existing majority-Black church in Canada, erected in 1847 by early Underground Railroad refugees, Sandwich First Baptist was often the first Canadian stop for escapees after crossing the river from Detroit: a series of hidden tunnels and passageways led from the riverbank to the church to keep folks away from the prying eyes of slave catchers, the more daring of whom would cross the border in violation of Canadian law in pursuit of escaped slaves. Modern-day visitors can still see the trapdoor in the floor of the church.
- 1 Emancipation Day Celebration, Lanspeary Park, Windsor. Held annually on the first Saturday and Sunday in August from 2-10PM, "The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth" commemorates the Emancipation Act of 1833, which abolished slavery in Canada as well as throughout the British Empire. Live music, yummy food, and family-friendly entertainment abound. Admission free, "entertainment area" with live music $5 per person/$20 per family.
Amherstburg, just south of Windsor, was also a destination for runaway slaves.
- 53 Amherstburg Freedom Museum, 277 King St., Amherstburg, ☏ 1 519-736-5433, tolvry: 1-800-713-6336. Tu-F noon-5PM, Sa Su 1-5PM. Telling the story of the African-Canadian experience in Essex County is not only the museum itself, with a wealth of historic artifacts and educational exhibits, but also the Taylor Log Cabin, the home of an early black resident restored to its mid-19th century appearance, and also the Nazrey AME Church, a National Historic Site of Canada. A wealth of events takes place in the onsite cultural centre. Adult $7.50, seniors & students $6.50.
- 54 John Freeman Walls Historic Site and Underground Railroad Museum, 859 Puce Rd., Lakeshore (29 km/18 miles east of downtown Windsor via Highway 401), ☏ 1 519-727-6555, faks: 1 519-727-5793. Tu-Sa 10:30AM-3PM in summer, by appointment other times. Historical museum situated in the 1846 log-cabin home of John Freeman Walls, a fugitive slave from Noord-Carolina turned Underground Railroad stationmaster and pillar of the small community of Puce, Ontario (now part of the Town of Lakeshore). Dr. Bryan Walls, the museum's curator and a descendant of the owner, wrote a book entitled The Road that Leads to Somewhere detailing the history of his family and others in the community.
Following the signed African-Canadian Heritage Tour eastward from Windsor, you soon come to the so-called "Black Mecca" of Chatham, which after the Underground Railroad began quickly became — and to a certain extent remains — a bustling centre of African-Canadian life.
- 55 Chatham-Kent Museum, 75 William St. N., Chatham, ☏ 1 519-360-1998. W-F 1-7PM, Sa Su 11AM-4PM. One of the highlights of the collection at this all-purpose local history museum are some of the personal effects of American abolitionist John Brown, whose failed 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia was contemporaneous with the height of the Underground Railroad era and stoked tensions on both sides of the slavery divide in the runup to the Civil War.
- 56 Black Mecca Museum, 177 King St. E., Chatham, ☏ 1 519-352-3565. M-F 10AM-3PM, till 4PM Jul-Aug. Researchers, take note: the Black Mecca Museum was founded as a home for the expansive archives of the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society detailing Chatham's rich African-Canadian history. If that doesn't sound like your thing, there are also engaging exhibits of historic artifacts, as well as guided walking tours (call to schedule) that take in points of interest relevant to local black history. Self-guided tours free, guided tours $6.
- 57 Oom Tom's Cabin Historiese terrein, 29251 Uncle Tom's Rd., Dresden (27 km/17 miles north of Chatham via County Roads 2 and 28), ☏ 1 519-683-2978. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM, May 19-Oct 27; also Mon 10AM-4PM Jul-Aug; Oct 28-May 18 by appointment. This sprawling open-air museum complex is centred on the restored home of Josiah Henson, a former slave turned author, abolitionist, and minister whose autobiography was the inspiration for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. But that's not the end of the story: a restored sawmill, smokehouse, the circa-1850 Pioneer Church, and the Henson family cemetery are just some of the authentic period buildings preserved from the Dawn Settlement of former slaves. Historical artifacts, educational exhibits, multimedia presentations, and special events abound.
- 58 Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, 21975 A.D. Shadd Rd., North Buxton (16 km/10 miles south of Chatham via County Roads 2, 27, and 14), ☏ 1 519-352-4799, faks: 1 519-352-8561. Daily 10AM-4:30PM, Jul-Aug; W-Su 1PM-4:30PM, May & Sep; M-F 1PM-4:30PM, Oct-Apr. The Elgin Settlement was a haven for fugitive slaves and free blacks founded in 1849, and this museum complex — along with the annual Buxton Homecoming cultural festival in September — pays homage to the community that planted its roots here. In addition to the main museum building (containing historical exhibits) are authentic restored buildings from the former settlement: a log cabin, a barn, and a schoolhouse. $6, seniors and students $5, families $20.
Across the Land of Lincoln
Though Illinois was de jure a free state, Southern cultural influence and sympathy for the institution of slavery was very strong in its southernmost reaches (even to this day, the local culture in Kaïro and other far-downstate communities bears more resemblance to the Mississippi Delta than Chicago). Thus, the fate of fugitive slaves passing through Illinois was variable: near the borders of Missouri and Kentucky the danger of being abducted and forcibly transported back to slavery was very high, while those who made it further north would notice a marked decrease in the local tolerance for slave catchers.
Die Mississippi-rivier was a popular Underground Railroad route in this part of the country; a voyager travelling north from Memphis would pass between the slave-holding states of Missouri and Kentucky to arrive 175 mi (282 km) later at Cairo, a fork in the river. From there, the Mississippi continued northward through St. Louis while the Ohio River ran along the Ohio-Kentucky border to Cincinnati and beyond.
- 59 Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, 826 N. Second St., Memphis, Tennessee, ☏ 1 901 527-7711. Daily 10AM-4PM, till 5PM Jun-Aug. Built in 1849 by Jacob Burkle, a livestock trader and baker originally from Duitsland, this modest yet handsome house was long suspected to be a waypoint for Underground Railroad fugitives boarding Mississippi river boats. Now a museum, the house has been restored with period furnishings and contains interpretive exhibits. Make sure to go down into the basement, where the trap doors, tunnels and passages used to hide escaped slaves have been preserved. A three-hour historical sightseeing tour of thirty local sites is also offered for $45. $12.
Placing fugitives onto vessels on the Mississippi was a monumental risk that figured prominently in the literature of the era. There was even a "Reverse Underground Railroad" used by antebellum slave catchers to kidnap free blacks and fugitives from free states to sell them back into slavery.
Because of its location on the Mississippi River, St. Louis was directly on the boundary between slaveholding Missouri and abolitionist Illinois.
- 2 Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, 28 E Grand Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, ☏ 1 314 584-6703. The Rev. John Berry Meachum of St. Louis' First African Baptist Church arrived in St. Louis in 1815 after purchasing his freedom from slavery. Ordered to stop holding classes in his church under an 1847 Missouri law prohibiting education of people of color, he instead circumvented the restriction by teaching on a Mississippi riverboat. His widow Mary Meachum was arrested early in the morning of May 21, 1855 with a small group of runaway slaves and their guides who were attempting to cross the Mississippi River to freedom. These events are commemorated each May with a historical reenactment of the attempted crossing by actors in period costume, along with poetry, music, dance, and dramatic performances. Even if you're not in town for the festival, you can still stop by the rest area alongside the St. Louis Riverfront Trail and take in the colorful wall mural and historic plaques.
Author Mark Twain, whose iconic novel Die avonture van Huckleberry Finn (1884) describes a freedom-seeking Mississippi voyage downriver to New Orleans, grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, a short distance upriver from St. Louis. Hannibal, in turn, is not far from Quincy, Illinois, where freedom seekers would often attempt to cross the Mississippi directly.
- 60 Dr. Richard Eells House, 415 Jersey St., Quincy, ☏ 1 217 223-1800. Sa 1PM-4PM, group tours by appointment. Connecticut-born Dr. Eells was active in the abolitionist movement and is credited with helping several hundred slaves flee from Missouri. In 1842, while providing aid to a fugitive swimming the river, Dr. Eells was spotted by a posse of slave hunters. Eells escaped, but was later arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive slave. His case (with a $400 fine) was unsuccessfully appealed as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, with the final appeal made by his estate after his demise. His 1835 Greek Revival-style house, four blocks from the Mississippi, has been restored to its original appearance and contains museum exhibits regarding the Eells case in particular and the Underground Railroad in general. $3.
70 mi (110 km) east of Quincy is Jacksonville, once a major crossroads of at least three different Underground Railroad routes, many of which carried passengers fleeing from St. Louis. Several of the former stations still stand. Die Morgan County Historical Society runs a Sunday afternoon bus tour twice annually (spring and fall) from Illinois College to Woodlawn Farm with guides in period costume.
- 61 Beecher Hall, Illinois College, 1101 W. College Ave., Jacksonville, ☏ 1 217 245-3000. Founded in 1829, Illinois College was the first institution of postsecondary education in the state, and it quickly became a nexus of the local abolitionist community. The original building was renamed Beecher Hall in honor of the college's first president, Edward Beecher, brother of Uncle Tom's Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Tours of the campus are offered during the summer months (see webwerf for schedule); while geared toward prospective students, they're open to all and offer an introduction to the history of the college.
- 62 Woodlawn Farm, 1463 Gierkie Ln., Jacksonville, ☏ 1 217 243-5938, ✉[email protected]. W & Sa-Su 1PM-4PM, late May-late Sep, or by appointment. Pioneer settler Michael Huffaker built this handsome Greek Revival farmhouse circa 1840, and according to local tradition hid fugitive slaves there during the Underground Railroad era by disguising them as resident farmhands. Nowadays it's a living history museum where docents in period attire give guided tours of the restored interior, furnished with authentic antiques and family heirlooms. $4 suggested donation.
50 mi (80 km) further east is the state capital of 63 Springfield, the longtime home and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. During the time of the Underground Railroad, he was a local attorney and rising star in the fledgling Republican Party who was most famous as Congressman Stephen Douglas' sparring partner in an 1858 statewide debate tour where slavery and other matters were discussed. However, Lincoln was soon catapulted from relative obscurity onto the national stage with his win in the 1860 Presidential election, going on to shepherd the nation through the Civil War and issue the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves once and for all.
From Springfield, one could turn north through Bloomington and Princeton to Chicago, or continue east through Indiana to Ohio or Michigan.
- 64 Owen Lovejoy Homestead, 905 E. Peru St., Princeton (21 miles/34 km west of Peru via US 6 or I-80), ☏ 1 815 879-9151. F-Sa 1PM-4PM, May-Sep or by appointment. The Rev. Owen Lovejoy (1811-1864) was one of the most prominent abolitionists in the state of Illinois and, along with Lincoln, a founding father of the Republican Party, not to mention the brother of newspaper editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy, whose anti-slavery writings in the Alton Observer led to his 1837 lynching. It was more or less an open secret around Princeton that his modest farmhouse on the outskirts of town was a station on the so-called "Liberty Line" of the Underground Railroad. The house is now a city-owned museum restored to its period appearance (including the "hidey-holes" where fugitive slaves were concealed) and opened to tours in season. Onsite also is a one-room schoolhouse with exhibits that further delve into the pioneer history of the area.
- 65 Graue Mill and Museum, 3800 York Rd., Oak Brook, ☏ 1 630 655-2090. Tu-Su 10AM-4:30PM, mid Apr-mid Nov. German immigrant Frederick Graue housed fugitive slaves in the basement of his gristmill on Salt Creek, which was a favorite stopover for future President Abraham Lincoln during his travels across the state. Today, the building has been restored to its period appearance and functions as a museum where, among other exhibits, "Graue Mill and the Road to Freedom" elucidates the role played by the mill and the surrounding community in the Underground Railroad. $4.50, children 4-12 $2.
From Chicago (or points across the Wisconsin border such as Racine of Milwaukee), travel onward would be by water across the Great Lakes.
Into the Maritime Provinces
Another route, less used but still significant, led from New England through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, mainly from Boston to Halifax. Though the modern-day Maritime Provinces did not become part of Canada until 1867, they were within the British Empire, and thus slavery was illegal there too.
One possible route (following the coast from Philadelphia through Boston to Halifax) would be to head north through New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode eiland, Massachusetts en Maine to reach New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
- 2 Wedgwood Inn, 111 W. Bridge St., New Hope, Pennsylvania, ☏ 1 215 862-2570. Located in Bucks County some 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Philadelphia, New Hope is a town whose importance on the Underground Railroad came thanks to its ferry across the Delaware River, which escaped slaves would use to pass into New Jersey on their northward journey — and this Victorian bed and breakfast was one of the stations where they'd spend the night beforehand. Of course, modern-day travellers sleep in one of eight quaintly-decorated guest rooms, but if you like, your hosts will show you the trapdoor that leads to the subterranean tunnel system where slaves once hid. Standard rooms with fireplace $120-250/night, Jacuzzi suites $200-350/night.
With its densely wooded landscape, abundant population of Quaker abolitionists, and regularly spaced towns, South Jersey was a popular east-coast Underground Railroad stopover. Swedesboro, with a sizable admixture of free black settlers to go along with the Quakers, was a particular hub.
- 66 Mount Zion AME Church, 172 Garwin Rd., Woolwich Township, New Jersey (1.5 miles/2.4 km northeast of Swedesboro via Kings Hwy.). Dienste So 10:30. Founded by a congregation of free black settlers and still an active church today, Mount Zion was a reliable safe haven for fugitive slaves making their way from Virginia and Maryland via Philadelphia, providing them with shelter, supplies, and guidance as they continued north. Stop into this handsome 1834 clapboard church and you'll see a trapdoor in the floor of the vestibule leading to a crawl space where slaves hid.
New York City occupied a mixed role in the history of American slavery: while New York was a free state, many in the city's financial community had dealings with the southern states and Tammany Hall, the far-right political machine that effectively controlled the city Democratic Party, was notoriously sympathetic to slaveholding interests. It was a different story in what are now the outer boroughs, which were home to a thriving free black population and many churches and religious groups that held strong abolitionist beliefs.
- 67 [dooie skakel]227 Abolitionist Place, 227 Duffield St., Brooklyn, New York. In the early 19th Century, Thomas and Harriet Truesdell were among the foremost members of Brooklyn's abolitionist community, and their Duffield Street residence was a station on the Underground Railroad. The house is no longer extant, but residents of the brick rowhouse that stands on the site today discovered the trapdoors and tunnels in the basement in time to prevent the building from being demolished for a massive redevelopment project. The building is now owned by a neighborhood not-for-profit with hopes of turning it into a museum and heritage center focusing on New York City's contribution to abolitionism and the Underground Railroad; in the meantime, it plays host to a range of educational events and programs.
Nieu-Engeland
- 68 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford, Connecticut, ☏ 1 860 522-9258. The author of the famous antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin lived in this delightful Gothic-style cottage in Hartford (right next door to Mark Twain!) from 1873 until her death in 1896. The house is now a museum that not only preserves its historic interior as it appeared during Stowe's lifetime, but also offers an interactive, "non-traditional museum experience" that allows visitors to really dig deep and discuss the issues that inspired and informed her work, including women's rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, and — of course — abolitionism. There's also a research library covering topics related to 19th-century literature, arts, and social history.
- 69 Greenmanville Historic District, 75 Greenmanville Ave., Stonington, Connecticut (At the Mystic Seaport Museum), ☏ 1 860 572-5315. Daagliks 09: 00-17: 00. The Greenman brothers — George, Clark, and Thomas — came in 1837 from Rhode Island to a site at the mouth of the Mystic River where they built a shipyard, and in due time a buzzing industrial village had coalesced around it. Staunch abolitionists, the Greenmans operated a station on the Underground Railroad and supported a local Seventh-Day Baptist church (c. 1851) which denounced slavery and regularly hosted speakers who supported abolitionism and women’s rights. Today, the grounds of the Mystic Seaport Museum include ten of the original buildings of the Greenmanville settlement, including the former textile mill, the church, and the Thomas Greenman House. Exhibits cover the history of the settlement and its importance to the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement. Museum admission $28.95, seniors $26.95, children $19.95.
- 70 Pawtuxet Village, tussen Warwick en Cranston, Rhode Island. This historically preserved neighborhood represents the center of one of the oldest villages in New England, dating back to 1638. Flash forward a couple of centuries and it was a prominent stop on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves. Walking tours of the village are available.
- 71 [dooie skakel]Jackson Homestead and Museum, 527 Washington St., Newton, Massachusetts, ☏ 1 617 796-1450. W-F 11AM-5PM, Sa-Su 10AM-5PM. This Federal-style farmhouse was built in 1809 as the home of Timothy Jackson, a Revolutionary War veteran, factory owner, state legislator, and abolitionist who operated an Underground Railroad station in it. Deeded to the City of Newton by one of his descendants, it's now a local history museum with exhibits on the local abolitionist community as well as paintings, photographs, historic artifacts, and other curiosities. $6, seniors and children 6-12 $5, students with ID $2.
Boston was a major seaport and an abolitionist stronghold. Some freedom seekers arrived overland, others as stowaways aboard coastal trading vessels from the Suid. The Boston Vigilance Committee (1841-1861), an abolitionist organization founded by the city's free black population to protect their people from abduction into slavery, spread the word when slave catchers came to town. They worked closely with Underground Railroad conductors to provide freedom seekers with transportation, shelter, medical attention and legal counsel. Hundreds of escapees stayed a short time before moving on to Canada, England or other British territories.
Die National Park Service offers a ranger-led 1.6 mi (2.6 km) Boston Black Heritage Trail tour through Boston's Beacon Hill district, near the Massachusetts State House and Boston Common. Several old houses in this district were stations on the line, but are not open to the public.
A museum is open in a former meeting house and school:
- 72 Museum of African-American History, 46 Joy St., Boston, Massachusetts, ☏ 1 617 725-0022. M-Sa 10: 00-16: 00. The African Meeting House (a church built in 1806) and Abiel Smith School (the nation's oldest public school for black children, founded 1835) have been restored to the 1855 era for use as a museum and event space with exhibit galleries, education programs, caterers' kitchen and museum store.
Once in Boston, most escaped slaves boarded ships headed directly to Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. A few crossed Vermont or New Hampshire into Lower Canada, eventually reaching Montreal...
- 73 Rokeby Museum, 4334 US Route 7, Ferrisburgh, Vermont (11 miles/18 km south of Shelburne), ☏ 1 802 877-3406. 10AM-5PM, mid-May to late Oct; house only open by scheduled guided tour. Rowland T. Robinson, a Quaker and ardent abolitionist, openly sheltered escaped slaves on his family's sheep farm in the quiet town of Ferrisburgh. Now a museum complex, visitors can tour nine historic farm buildings furnished in period style and full of interpretive exhibits covering Vermont's contribution to the Underground Railroad effort, or walk a network of hiking trails that cover more than 50 acres (20 ha) of the property. $10, seniors $9, students $8.
...while others continued to follow the coastal routes overland into Maine.
- 74 Abyssinian Meeting House, 75 Newbury St., Portland, Maine, ☏ 1 207 828-4995. Maine's oldest African-American church was erected in 1831 by a community of free blacks and headed up for many years by Reverend Amos Noé Freeman (1810-93), a known Underground Railroad agent who hosted and organized anti-slavery speakers, Negro conventions, and testimonies from runaway slaves. But by 1998, when the building was purchased from the city by a consortium of community leaders, it had fallen into disrepair. The Committee to Restore the Abyssinian plans to convert the former church to a museum dedicated to tracing the story of Maine's African-American community, and also hosts a variety of events, classes, and performances at a variety of venues around Portland.
- 75 Chamberlain Freedom Park, Corner of State and N. Main Sts., Brewer, Maine (Directly across the river from Bangor via the State Street bridge). In his day, John Holyoke — shipping magnate, factory owner, abolitionist — was one of the wealthiest citizens in the city of Brewer, Maine. When his former home was demolished in 1995 as part of a road widening project, a hand-stitched "slave-style shirt" was found tucked in the eaves of the attic along with a stone-lined tunnel in the basement leading to the bank of the Penobscot River, finally confirming the local rumors that claimed he was an Underground Railroad stationmaster. Today, there's a small park on the site, the only official Underground Railroad memorial in the state of Maine, that's centered on a statue entitled North to Freedom: a sculpted figure of an escaped slave hoisting himself out of the preserved tunnel entrance. Nearby is a statue of local Civil War hero Col. Joshua Chamberlain, for whom the park is named.
- 76 Maple Grove Friends Church, Route 1A near Up Country Rd., Fort Fairfield, Maine (9 miles/14.5 km east of Presque Isle via Route 163). 2 mi (3.2 km) from the border, this historic Quaker church was the last stop for many escaped slaves headed for freedom in New Brunswick, where a few African-Canadian communities had gathered in the Saint John River Valley. Historical renovations in 1995 revealed a hiding place concealed beneath a raised platform in the main meeting room. The building was rededicated as a house of worship in 2000 and still holds occasional services.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Once across the border, a few black families settled in places like Upper Kent along the Saint John River in New Brunswick. Many more continued onward to Nova Scotia, then a separate British colony but now part of Canada's Maritime Provinces.
- 3 Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom, Glenburn Rd., Carlingford, New Brunswick (7.2 km/4.5 miles west of Perth-Andover via Route 190). first Sa in Oct. After successfully crossing the border into New Brunswick, the first order of business for many escaped slaves on this route was to seek out the home of Sgt. William Tomlinson, a British-born lumberjack and farmer who was well known for welcoming slaves who came through this area. Every year, the fugitives' cross-border trek to Tomlinson Lake is retraced with a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) family-friendly, all-ages-and-skill-levels "hike to freedom" in the midst of the beautiful autumn foliage the region boasts. Gather at the well-signed trailhead on Glenburn Road, and at the end of the line you can sit down to a hearty traditional meal, peruse the exhibits at an Underground Railroad pop-up museum, or do some more hiking on a series of nature trails around the lake. There's even a contest for the best 1850s-period costumes. Vry.
- 77 King's Landing, 5804 Route 102, Prince William, New Brunswick (40 km/25 miles west of downtown Fredericton via die Trans-Canada snelweg), ☏ 1 506 363-4999. Daily 10AM-5PM, early June-mid Oct. Set up as a pioneer village, this living-history museum is devoted primarily to United Empire Loyalist communities in 19th century New Brunswick. However, one building, the Gordon House, is a replica of a house built by manumitted slave James Gordon in nearby Fredericton and contains exhibits relative to the Underground Railroad and the African-Canadian experience, including old runaway slave ads and quilts containing secret messages for fugitives. Onsite also is a restaurant, pub and Peddler's Market. $18, seniors $16, youth (6-15) $12.40.
Halifax, the final destination of most fugitive slaves passing out of Boston, still has a substantial mostly-black district populated by descendants of Underground Railroad passengers.
- 78 Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 10 Cherry Brook Rd., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (20 km/12 miles east of downtown Halifax via Highway 111 and Trunk 7), ☏ 1 902-434-6223, tolvry: 1-800-465-0767, faks: 1 902-434-2306. M-F 10AM-4PM, also Sa noon-3PM Jun-Sep. Situated in the midst of one of Metro Halifax's largest African-Canadian neighbourhoods, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia is a museum and cultural centre that traces the history of the Black Nova Scotian community not only during the Underground Railroad era, but before (exhibits tell the story of Black Loyalist settlers and locally-held slaves prior to the Emancipation Act of 1833) and afterward (the African-Canadian contribution to Eerste Wêreldoorlog and the destruction of Africville) as well. $6.
- 79 Africville Museum, 5795 Africville Rd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, ☏ 1 902-455-6558, faks: 1 902-455-6461. Di-Sa 10: 00-16: 00. Africville was an African-Canadian neighbourhood that stood on the shores of Bedford Basin from the 1860s; it was condemned and destroyed a century later for bridge and industrial development. Hierdie museum, geleë aan die oostekant van Seaview Memorial Park, in 'n replika van die Seaview United Baptist Church van Africville, is gestig as deel van die stadse regering se laat verskoning en restitusie aan Halifax se swart gemeenskap, en vertel sy verhaal deur historiese artefakte, foto's en interpretatiewe uitstallings wat die besoeker inspireer om die korrosiewe effekte van rassisme op die samelewing in ag te neem en om die krag wat diversiteit het, te herken. Elke Julie word 'n "Africville-reünie" in die park gehou. $ 5,75, studente en seniors $ 4,75, kinders onder 5 jaar gratis.
Bly veilig
Dan
Met die aanvaarding van die Fugitive Slave Act deur die Kongres in 1850, het slawe wat na die noordelike state ontsnap het, die onmiddellike gevaar gehad om met geweld te ontvoer en terug te bring na die suidelike slawerny. Slaafvangers uit die suide het openlik in die noordelike state opereer, waar hul brutaliteit die inwoners vinnig vervreem het. Federale amptenare kan ook die beste versigtig vermy word, aangesien die invloed van plantasie-eienaars uit die destyds meer bevolkte Suide destyds in Washington sterk was.
Slawe moes dus bedags laag lê - wegkruip, slaap of voorgee dat hulle vir plaaslike meesters werk - en snags noordwaarts trek. Hoe verder noord, hoe langer en kouer het daardie winternagte geword. Die gevaar om Amerikaanse federale marshale teë te kom sou eindig sodra die Kanadese grens oorgesteek is, maar die passasiers van die Underground Railroad sal in Kanada moet bly (en 'n wakende oog moet hou vir slaafvangers wat die grens oortree in stryd met die Kanadese wet) tot slawerny is beëindig via die Amerikaanse burgeroorlog van die 1860's.
Selfs na die einde van die slawerny sou rassestryde nog minstens 'n eeu voortduur, en 'reis terwyl swart' bly iets van 'n gevaarlike voorstel. Die Negro Motoriste Groenboek, wat ondernemings wat veilig is vir Afro-Amerikaanse reisigers (nominaal) landwyd genoteer het, van 1936 tot 1966 in die stad New York sou bly; nietemin, in meer as 'n paar 'sonondergedeelde dorpe' kon die kleurlingreisiger nêrens oornag nie.
Nou
Vandag is die slaafvangers weg en staan die federale owerhede nou teen verskillende vorme van rasseskeiding in die interstaatlike handel. Alhoewel 'n gewone mate van versigtigheid op hierdie reis aanbeveel word, is die primêre moderne risiko misdaad as u deur groot stede reis, nie slawerny of segregasie nie.
Gaan volgende
Dan
Slegs 'n klein minderheid suksesvolle ontsnaptes het vir lang termyn in Kanada gebly. Ondanks die feit dat slawerny daar onwettig was, was rassisme en nativisme net soveel probleme as elders. Na verloop van tyd en al hoe meer ontsnapte slawe oor die grens uitgestort het, het hulle hul welkom onder wit Kanadese begin uitput. Die vlugtelinge het gewoonlik met net die klere op hul rug opgedaag, onvoorbereid op die harde Kanadese winters, en 'n noodlottige bestaan gevoer, geïsoleer van hul nuwe bure. Mettertyd het sommige Afrika-Kanadese voorspoed gehad met boerdery of besigheid en hulle het uiteindelik in hul nuwe huis agtergebly, maar met die uitbreek van die Amerikaanse burgeroorlog in 1861 het baie voormalige vlugtelinge die kans gespring om by die leër van die Unie aan te sluit en 'n rol te speel. in die bevryding van die landgenote wat hulle in die Suide agtergelaat het. Selfs Harriet Tubman het haar huis in St. Catharines self verlaat om as kok, medikus en verkenner aan te teken. Ander het bloot na die VSA teruggedryf omdat hulle nie meer van hul vriende en geliefdes op 'n onbekende plek wou woon nie.
Nou
- Die einde van die Ohio Line val saam met die begin van die Windsor-Quebec-gang, die mees bevolkte en sterkste verstedelikte gebied van Kanada. Ry oos langs snelweg 401 in die rigting van die majestueuse Niagara waterval, kosmopolities Toronto, die lieflike Duisend Eilande, en die Franse geur Montreal en Quebec-stad.
- As u die Ooskus-roete gevolg het, kan u dit nie verken nie Atlantiese provinsies, waar walviskyk, pragtige natuurskoon aan die see, lekker seekos en Keltiese kulturele invloede in oorvloed is.
Sien ook
- Atlantiese slawehandel - die verraderlike proses waardeur slawe vandaan kom Afrika aan Noord-Amerika in die eerste plek
- Vroeë geskiedenis van die Verenigde State - 'n deurmekaar sage waarvan die slawerny-vraag net een draad was