What Were Stations On The Underground Railroad? (Suits you)

Hiding places included private homes, churches and schoolhouses. These were called “stations,” “safe houses,” and “depots.” The people operating them were called “stationmasters.” There were many well-used routes stretching west through Ohio to Indiana and Iowa.

WHAT IS A stations in the Underground Railroad?

The slaves often wore disguises and traveled in darkness on the “railroad.” Railway terms were used in the secret system: Routes were called “lines,” stopping places were called “stations,” and people who helped escaped slaves along the way were “conductors.” One of the most famous “conductors” on the Underground

How many stops were there on the Underground Railroad?

6 Stops on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of people who hid fugitives from slavery in their homes during the day. At night they moved them north to free states, Canada or England. Refugees naturally headed for New England.

What groups made up the Underground Railroad?

Those who most actively assisted slaves to escape by way of the “railroad” were members of the free black community (including such former slaves as Harriet Tubman), Northern abolitionists, philanthropists, and such church leaders as Quaker Thomas Garrett.

What were underground railroad stations quizlet?

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early-to-mid 19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.

What were slaves called on the Underground Railroad?

The free individuals who helped runaway slaves travel toward freedom were called conductors, and the fugitive slaves were referred to as cargo. The safe houses used as hiding places along the lines of the Underground Railroad were called stations.

Where is the main station of the Underground Railroad?

Newport, Indiana, agents The Levi and Catherine Coffin home at Newport has been called the “Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad” along the route between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Canada. Between 1826 and 1846, more than 2,000 escaped slaves reportedly stopped there for aid.

Were there tunnels in the Underground Railroad?

Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels. While some people did have secret rooms in their houses or carriages, the vast majority of the Underground Railroad involved people secretly helping people running away from slavery however they could.

Which state has the most Underground Railroad routes?

That network became known as the Underground Railroad. Although there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, even in the South, Ohio had the most active network of any other state with around 3000 miles of routes used by escaping runaways.

Was there ever a real underground railroad?

Nope! Despite its name, the Underground Railroad wasn’t a railroad in the way Amtrak or commuter rail is. It wasn’t even a real railroad. The Underground Railroad of history was simply a loose network of safe houses and top secret routes to states where slavery was banned.

Who was the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad?

Our Headlines and Heroes blog takes a look at Harriet Tubman as the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman and those she helped escape from slavery headed north to freedom, sometimes across the border to Canada.

How many conductors were in the Underground Railroad?

These eight abolitionists helped enslaved people escape to freedom.

Who is the leader of the Underground Railroad?

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), a renowned leader in the Underground Railroad movement, established the Home for the Aged in 1908. Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman gained her freedom in 1849 when she escaped to Philadelphia.

What was the Underground Railroad quizlet Chapter 11?

– The Underground Railroad was a system of trails and people used by slaves to escape to freedom before the Civil War. – Harriet Tubman used this trail to rescue slaves.

How many slaves escaped on the Underground Railroad?

The total number of runaways who used the Underground Railroad to escape to freedom is not known, but some estimates exceed 100,000 freed slaves during the antebellum period.

What role did the Underground Railroad play?

The Underground Railroad provided hiding places, food, and often transportation for the fugitives who were trying to escape slavery. Along the way, people also provided directions for the safest way to get further north on the dangerous journey to freedom.

Eastern Illinois University : Teaching with Primary Sources

However, many of the intriguing and lesser known elements of the Underground Railroad are not included in many textbooks, despite the fact that it is an essential part of our nation’s history. It is intended that this booklet will serve as a window into the past by presenting a number of original documents pertaining to the Underground Railroad. Broadsides, prize posters, newspaper clippings, historical records, sheet music, pictures, and memoirs connected to the Underground Railroad are among the primary sources included in this collection.

The Underground Railroad was a covert structure established to assist fugitive slaves on their journey to freedom in the United States.

As a result, secret codes were developed to aid in the protection of themselves and their purpose.

Runaway slaves were referred to as cargo, and the free persons who assisted them on their journey to freedom were referred to as conductors.

These stations would be identified by a lantern that was lighted and hung outside.

A Dangerous Path to Freedom

However, many of the intriguing and lesser known elements of the Underground Railroad are not included in many textbooks, despite the fact that it is a vital part of our country’s history. This pamphlet will give a glimpse into the past through a range of primary documents pertaining to the Underground Railroad, which will be discussed in detail. Broadsides, prize posters, newspaper clippings, historical records, sheet music, pictures, and memoirs relating to the Underground Railroad are among the primary sources included in this collection.

The Underground Railroad was a covert structure established to assist fugitive slaves on their journey to freedom in the American Civil War.

Consequently, secret codes were developed to assist them in protecting themselves and their purpose.

It was the conductors that assisted escaped slaves in their journey to freedom, and the fugitive slaves were known as cargo when they were transported.

ConductorsAbolitionists

Train conductors on the Underground Railroad were free persons who provided assistance to escaped slaves moving via the Underground Railroad system. Runaway slaves were assisted by conductors, who provided them with safe transportation to and from train stations. They were able to accomplish this under the cover of darkness, with slave hunters on their tails. Many of these stations would be in the comfort of their own homes or places of work, which was convenient. They were in severe danger as a result of their actions in hiding fleeing slaves; nonetheless, they continued because they believed in a cause bigger than themselves, which was the liberation thousands of oppressed human beings.

  • They represented a diverse range of ethnicities, vocations, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
  • Due to the widespread belief that slaves were considered property, the freeing of slaves was perceived as a theft of slave owners’ personal belongings.
  • Captain Jonathan Walker was apprehended off the coast of Florida while attempting to convey slaves from the United States to freedom in the Bahamas.
  • With the following words from one of his songs, abolitionist poet John Whittier paid respect to Walker’s valiant actions: “Take a step forward with your muscular right hand, brave ploughman of the sea!
  • She never lost sight of any of them during the journey.
  • He went on to write a novel.
  • John Parker is yet another former slave who escaped and returned to slave states in order to aid in the emancipation of others.

Rankin’s neighbor and fellow conductor, Reverend John Rankin, was a collaborator in the Underground Railroad project.

The Underground Railroad’s conductors were unquestionably anti-slavery, and they were not alone in their views.

Individuals such as William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur and Lewis Tappan founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which marked the beginning of the abolitionist movement.

The group published an annual almanac that featured poetry, paintings, essays, and other abolitionist material.

Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who rose to prominence as an abolitionist after escaping from slavery.

His other abolitionist publications included the Frederick Douglass Paper, which he produced in addition to delivering public addresses on themes that were important to abolitionists.

Anthony was another well-known abolitionist who advocated for the abolition of slavery via her speeches and writings.

For the most part, she based her novel on the adventures of escaped slave Josiah Henson.

Efforts of Abolitionists Telling Their Story:Fugitive Slave Narratives

Henry Bibb was born into slavery in Kentucky in the year 1815, and he was the son of a slave owner. After several failed efforts to emancipate himself from slavery, he maintained the strength and persistence to continue his struggle for freedom despite being captured and imprisoned numerous times. His determination paid off when he was able to successfully escape to the northern states and then on to Canada with the assistance of the Underground Railroad, which had been highly anticipated. The following is an excerpt from his tale, in which he detailed one of his numerous escapes and the difficulties he faced as a result of his efforts.

  1. I began making preparations for the potentially lethal experiment of breading the shackles that tied me as a slave as soon as the clock struck twelve.
  2. On the twenty-fifth of December, 1837, the long-awaited day had finally arrived when I would put into effect my previous determination, which was to flee for Liberty or accept death as a slave, as I had previously stated.
  3. It took every ounce of moral strength I have to keep my emotions under control as I said goodbye to my small family.
  4. Despite the fact that every incentive was extended to me in order to flee if I want to be free, and the call of liberty was booming in my own spirit, ‘Be free, oh, man!
  5. I was up against a slew of hurdles that had gathered around my mind, attempting to bind my wounded soul, which was still imprisoned in the dark prison of mental degeneration.
  6. Furthermore, the danger of being killed or arrested and deported to the far South, where I would be forced to spend the rest of my days in hopeless bondage on a cotton or sugar plantation, all conspired to discourage me.
  7. The moment has come for me to follow through on my commitment.
  8. This marked the beginning of the construction of what was known as the underground rail route to Canada.
See also:  How The Underground Railroad Caused The Civil War? (Professionals recommend)

For nearly forty-eight hours, I pushed myself to complete my journey without food or rest, battling against external difficulties that no one who has never experienced them can comprehend: “not knowing when I might be captured while traveling among strangers, through cold and fear, braving the north winds while wearing only a thin layer of clothing, pelted by snow storms through the dark hours of the night, and not a single house in which I could enter to protect me from the storm.” This is merely one of several accounts penned by runaway slaves who were on the run from their masters.

Sojourner Truth was another former slave who became well-known for her work to bring slavery to an end.

Green and many others, including Josiah Henson, authored autobiographies in which they described their own personal experiences.

Perhaps a large number of escaped slaves opted to write down their experiences in order to assist people better comprehend their struggles and tribulations; or perhaps they did so in order to help folks learn from the mistakes of the past in order to create a better future for themselves.

The Secret History of the Underground Railroad

Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race was the title of a series published by De Bow’s Review, a leading Southern periodical, a decade before the Civil War. The series was deemed necessary by the editors because it had “direct and practical bearing” on 3 million people whose worth as property totaled approximately $2 billion. When it comes to African Americans’ supposed laziness (“deficiency of red blood in the pulmonary and arterial systems”), love of dancing (“profuse distribution of nervous matter to the stomach, liver, and genital organs”), and extreme aversion to being whipped (“skin.

  • However, it was Cartwright’s discovery of a previously undiscovered medical illness, which he coined “Drapetomania, or the sickness that causes Negroes to flee,” that grabbed the most attention from readers.
  • Despite the fact that only a few thousand individuals, at most, fled slavery each year—nearly all of them from states bordering the free North—their migration was seen by many Southern whites as a portent of a greater calamity.
  • How long do you think it will take until the entire cloth begins to unravel?
  • Rather, it was intentionally supported and helped by a well-organized network that was both large and diabolical in scope.
  • The word “Underground Railroad” brings up pictures of trapdoors, flickering lamps, and moonlit routes through the woods in the minds of most people today, just as it did in the minds of most Americans in the 1840s and 1850s.
  • At least until recently, scholars paid relatively little attention to the story, which is remarkable considering how prominent it is in the national consciousness.
  • The Underground Railroad was widely believed to be a statewide conspiracy with “conductors,” “agents,” and “depots,” but was it really a fiction of popular imagination conjured up from a succession of isolated, unconnected escapes?
  • Which historians you trust in will determine the solutions.

One historian (white) questioned surviving abolitionists (most of whom were also white) a decade after the Civil War and documented a “great and complicated network” of agents, 3,211 of whom he identified by name, as well as a “great and intricate network” of agents (nearly all of them white).

  • “I escaped without the assistance.
  • C.
  • “I have freed myself in the manner of a man.” In many cases, the Underground Railroad was not concealed at all.
  • The journal of a white New Yorker who assisted hundreds of runaway slaves in the 1850s was found by an undergraduate student in Foner’s department at Columbia University while working on her final thesis some years ago, and this discovery served as the inspiration for his current book.
  • One of the book’s most surprising revelations is that, according to the book’s subtitle, the Underground Railroad was not always secret at all.
  • The New York State Vigilance Committee, established in 1850, the year of the infamous Fugitive Slave Act, officially declared its objective to “welcome, with open arms, the panting fugitive.” Local newspapers published stories about Jermain W.

Bazaars with the slogan “Buy for the sake of the slave” provided donated luxury items and handcrafted knickknacks just before the winter holidays, and bake sales in support of the Underground Railroad, no matter how unlikely it may seem, became popular fund-raisers in Northern towns and cities.

  1. Political leaders, especially those who had taken vows to protect the Constitution — including the section ordering the return of runaways to their proper masters — blatantly failed to carry out their obligations.
  2. Judge William Jay, a son of the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, made the decision to disregard fugitive slave laws and contributed money to aid runaway slaves who managed to flee.
  3. One overlooked historical irony is that, up until the eve of Southern secession in 1860, states’ rights were cited as frequently by Northern abolitionists as they were by Southern slaveholders, a fact that is worth noting.
  4. It was not recognized for its abolitionist passion, in contrast to places like as Boston and Philadelphia, which had deep-rooted reformer traditions—­as well as communities in upstate New York such as Buffalo and Syracuse.

Even before the city’s final bondsmen were released, in 1827, its economy had become deeply intertwined with that of the South, as evidenced by a gloating editorial in the De Bow newspaper, published shortly before the Civil War, claiming the city was “nearly as reliant on Southern slavery as Charleston.” New York banks lent money to plantation owners to acquire slaves, while New York merchants made their fortunes off the sale of slave-grown cotton and sugar.

  • Besides properly recapturing escapees, slave catchers prowled the streets of Manhattan, and they frequently illegally kidnapped free blacks—particularly children—in order to sell them into Southern bondage.
  • The story begins in 1846, when a man called George Kirk slipped away aboard a ship sailing from Savannah to New York, only to be discovered by the captain and shackled while awaiting return to his owner.
  • The successful fugitive was escorted out of court by a phalanx of local African Americans who were on the lookout for him.
  • In this case, the same court found other legal grounds on which to free Kirk, who rolled out triumphantly in a carriage and made his way to the safety of Boston in short order this time.
  • In addition to being descended from prominent Puritans, Sydney Howard Gay married a wealthy (and radical) Quaker heiress.
  • Co-conspirator Louis Napoleon, who is thought to be the freeborn son of a Jewish New Yorker and an African American slave, was employed as an office porter in Gay’s office.
  • Gay was the one who, between 1855 and 1856, maintained the “Record of Fugitives,” which the undergraduate discovered in the Columbia University archives and which chronicled more than 200 escapes.

Dr.

One first-person narrative starts, “I ate one meal a day for eight years.” “It has been sold three times, and it is expected to be sold a fourth time.

Undoubtedly, a countrywide network existed, with its actions sometimes shrouded in secrecy.

Its routes and timetables were continually changing as well.

As with Gay and Napoleon’s collaboration, its operations frequently brought together people from all walks of life, including the affluent and the poor, black and white.

Among others who decamped to Savannah were a light-skinned guy who set himself up in a first-class hotel, went around town in a magnificent new suit of clothes, and insouciantly purchased a steamship ticket to New York from Savannah.

At the height of the Civil War, the number of such fugitives was still a small proportion of the overall population.

It not only played a role in precipitating the political crisis of the 1850s, but it also galvanized millions of sympathetic white Northerners to join a noble fight against Southern slave­holders, whether they had personally assisted fugitive slaves, shopped at abolitionist bake sales, or simply enjoyed reading about slave escapes in books and newspapers.

  • More than anything else, it trained millions of enslaved Americans to gain their freedom at a moment’s notice if necessary.
  • Within a few months, a large number of Union soldiers and sailors successfully transformed themselves into Underground Railroad operatives in the heart of the South, sheltering fugitives who rushed in large numbers to the Yankees’ encampments to escape capture.
  • Cartwright’s most horrific nightmares.
  • On one of the Union’s railway lines, an abolitionist discovered that the volume of wartime traffic was at an all-time high—­except on one of them.
  • The number of solo travelers is quite limited.” And it’s possible that New Yorkers were surprised to open their eyes in early 1864.

The accompanying essay, on the other hand, soon put their worries at ease. It proposed a plan to construct Manhattan’s first subway line, which would travel northward up Broadway from the Battery to Central Park. It was never built.

Detroit’s Underground Railroad History & Historical Sites

You’ve arrived in Detroit, a city that stands out as a beacon of optimism and freedom on a global scale unlike any other. If that doesn’t seem like the Detroit you’re familiar with, how about the fact that more than 50,000 individuals — enough to fill Ford Field – escaped slavery and went to Detroit via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War? The Underground Railroad was a network of passageways that ran throughout the United States and eventually to Canada, where slavery was abolished and everyone was afforded equal protection under the laws.

Because of its near proximity to Canada, Detroit’s “stations” (or hiding sites) were critical stops on the road to escape for the Underground Railroad.

Why was the Underground Railroad important?

The city of Detroit, unlike any other location on the planet, stands as an international symbol of optimism and freedom. That doesn’t seem like the Detroit you know, does it? What if I told you that more than 55,000 slaves were freed and fled to Detroit via the Underground Railroad, a number large enough to fill Ford Field? In the United States, there existed an underground railroad system that connected routes to Canada, where slavery was abolished and everyone was afforded equal protection under the law.

See also:  How Many People Helped Slaves Escape The Underground Railroad? (Suits you)

As a result of Detroit’s near proximity to Canada, its “stations” (or hiding sites) were critical on the road to liberation.

How did the Underground Railroad Work?

This hidden system was not always subterranean, and it was not a railroad in the traditional sense. Conductors were guides who guided freedom seekers to the next safest hiding location, while station masters provided them with food and lodging for a brief period of time before their daring departure from the country. While Hollywood portrays sensationalized versions of these perilous exploits, it’s crucial to remember that the Underground Railroad’s decades-long success may be attributed to the ingenuity with which the persecuted managed to remain hidden in plain sight.

In a time when maps were few, evacuees relied on methods such as maps sewed into quilts, directions disguised as songs, stars, or even the moss on trees to pinpoint their whereabouts in the north.

The Underground Railroad was comprised of around 3,000 individuals of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds who, by 1861, had assisted 75,000 people in their quest for freedom, many of whom had escaped through Detroit.

Next Stop: Midnight

For so many people who were brought or were born in this country under the oppression of slavery, Detroit represented a beacon of hope for a better future. In those days, Detroit was referred to as Midnight, and it was the penultimate destination before reaching Canada, which had abolished slavery.

Michigan has played a significant role in that tradition, and Detroit is the personification of freedom’s unbroken spirit of determination. This, I believe, opens up fresh perspectives on the essence of our city’s Spirit of Detroit.

Underground Railroad Historical Sites in Detroit

The city of Detroit still has a number of historical landmarks where you may practically stand in the places where fugitive slaves persevered in their efforts to gain freedom. Located in Hart Plaza, this statue, which overlooks the Detroit River and is unquestionably an international emblem of freedom, is unquestionably a national and worldwide symbol of freedom. Behind the monument, you can see youngsters waving and asking for more to join them as a conductor leads them to safety. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (also known as Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church): It was founded in 1839 as the Colored Methodist Society and played an important role in the Underground Railroad at both of its early locations.

  1. Antoine St.
  2. Second Baptist Church: Croghan Street Station is located in the basement of Second Baptist Church, which is located in what is now Detroit’s Greektown district.
  3. William C.
  4. Approximately 5,000 fugitive slaves took shelter in this subterranean hiding place.
  5. Workers uncovered a tunnel beneath the river that had been utilized in the Underground Railroad when the church was moved in 1955 to make space for a new civic center.
  6. The Residence of George DeBaptiste: This entrepreneur and politician, who was born a free man, assisted former slaves in their escape to freedom over the river from Detroit to Canada.
  7. Despite the fact that his house is no longer extant, the location is noted at the intersection of East Larned and Beaubien street.
  8. The Finney Hotel, which originally stood on the southeast intersection of Woodward and Griswold streets in downtown Detroit, was demolished in 2011.
  9. He was a conductor for the cause even before there were any discussions about reconstruction.
  10. Tommy’s Detroit BarGrill: It is said that the structure that houses this sports bar was formerly a stop on the Underground Railroad, which is a fascinating fact (and Prohibition for that matter).

An underground passageway beneath the bar is thought to have served as an escape route during both periods of history.

Underground Railroad Tours in Detroit

The city of Detroit still has a number of historical landmarks where you may practically stand in the places where fugitive slaves persevered in their efforts to find freedom. Located in Hart Plaza, this statue, which overlooks the Detroit River and is unquestionably a worldwide emblem of freedom, is unquestionably a national and international symbol of liberty. Behind the statue, youngsters are seen calling out to others to join them as a conductor leads them to safety. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (also known as the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church) is an African Methodist Episcopal church located in Bethel, South Carolina.

  1. Antoine St.
  2. Located in the basement of Second Baptist Church in what is now Detroit’s Greektown area, Croghan Street Station is a public transportation stop.
  3. William C.
  4. Approximately 5,000 runaway slaves took sanctuary in this underground hideout.
  5. As part of the church’s relocation in 1955 to make space for a new municipal center, construction workers uncovered a tunnel that ran beneath the river to Canada and had been utilized in the Underground Railroad.
  6. Slavery was transported over the river by a steamer, operated by a white man, that he acquired disguised as a business vessel but was actually employed to transfer slaves.
  7. Additionally, DeBaptiste was laid to rest at Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery.
  8. Finney was a tailor who eventually went on to work in the hospitality industry and was an outspoken supporter of the anti-slavery movement.
  9. Seen on the northeast corner of State and Griswold, his historical marker is well worth a visit.
  10. An underground passageway beneath the bar is thought to have served as an escape route during both historical periods.

Learn more aboutDetroit’s black history.

Was this article of assistance? YesNo

  1. City Tour Detroit, Detroit, MI 48226313-757-1283
  2. 3Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202313-833-1805
  3. 4Gateway to Freedom Marker, Detroit, MI 48202313-833-1805
  4. 1
  5. 2City Tour Detroit, Detroit, MI 48226313-757-1283
  6. 3Detroit Historical Museum The Hart Plaza is located at Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan, USA
  7. 5 and 6Mariner’s Church is located at 170 E Jefferson Ave in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Phone: 313-259-2206
  8. Address: 1200 Elmwood St, Detroit, MI 48207, USA
  9. Elmwood Cemetery 8George DeBaptiste’s Home Marker415 E Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48226, United States
  10. 9Finney Hotel Historical Marker1212 Griswold St, Detroit, MI 48226, United States
  11. 10Tommy’s Detroit BarGrill624 3rd Ave, Detroit, MI 48226, United States 313-965-2269

The Underground Railroad

It was far-reaching in scope, covering the whole United States and beyond, and profound in significance for a nation whose very existence was intertwined with the sale of human life.

However, because of its secrecy, that history has proven to be a tough one to uncover.

What was the Underground Railroad?

For enslaved persons seeking freedom, Western Pennsylvania served as a key corridor via which they might travel. They traveled largely on foot, with the odd trip in secret compartments of wagons and other modes of conveyance. They followed paths that had been sculpted by nature through rivers, streams, and mountains, and they did it mostly on foot. It is impossible to know how many there were because no formal records were kept and just a few informal ones have survived. Some writings written by people who aided in this subterranean process—sometimes referred to as “conductors”—have survived, providing some indication of the hardships suffered by those going on the railroad.

  • Affected by the Fugitive Slave Laws were also free individuals of African descent who resided in the region.
  • Even more were transformed into the voice of social transformation and self-empowerment for all Blacks of the time period and beyond.
  • From Slavery to Freedom, an exhibition at the Senator John Heinz History Center, will take you on a journey through more than 250 years of African-American history.
  • One of the several Underground Railroad routes in western Pennsylvania entered through Uniontown in Fayette County, proceeded through Blairsville in Indiana County, and then continued on into Mercer, Venango, and Erie Counties before coming to an end in the city of Pittsburgh.

Western Pennsylvania Underground Railroad Sites

Mt. Washington, PA 15211 Chatham Village Olympia Road Mt. Washington, PA 15211 Building constructed in 1849 that served as a station on the Underground Railroad inside the boundaries of Chatham Village T. James Bigham was an abolitionist barrister and the editor of The Commercial Journal Anti-Slavery Newspaper, which was published in London in 1848. Lucinda Bigham, the Black family nurse of Bigham, is said to have kept a vigilant eye out from the Bigham home’s tower for escaped slaves or professional slave hunters.

More information may be found in this wesa.fm story.

City Baths

Third Street between Market and Ferry Streets in downtown Pittsburgh is home to a barbershop and safehouse that serves the community. Slaves were given a fresh appearance as well as a head start on their escape to the United States. Using lists of famous hotel visitors and advertisements made by persons seeking for escaped slaves, historians have confirmed the hotel’s role in the abolitionist movement.

Daytime: A economic, social, and political club for the city’s white elites; nighttime: a station on the Underground Railroad for slaves fleeing to the United States.

Freedom Road Cemetery

Mercer County Historical Society 119 South Pitt St. Mercer, PA 16137 (724.662.3490) Mercer County Historical Society The Stoneboro Fairgrounds Cemetery is located on the right side of the road, directly across from the entrance gate. Liberia was a runaway slave settlement founded by the Travis family, who were themselves free Blacks. All that is left of Liberia is a cemetery. For many years, this town served as a haven for tired travelers on their journey. A popular target of slave catchers, it was also a frequent target of their raids.

Only a handful of people remained in the region, including one entrepreneur who sold cigars and alcohol to his neighbors.

Gibson House (Mark Twain Manor)

The Jamestown Future Foundation is located at 210 Liberty St. in Jamestown, Pennsylvania 16134 and can be reached at 724.932.5455. Dr. William Gibson, a well-known Jamestown physician, accompanied Samuel Clemens on his journey to Russia. Clemens authored a book on their adventures, titled Innocents Abroad, which is available on Amazon. It has been speculated that the home served as a halt on the Underground Railroad. There is evidence of a tiny chamber that was utilized as a station on the Underground Railroad in the basement.

See also:  How Many Slaves Did The Underground Railroad Save? (Best solution)

The Gibson House is a historic structure that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

John C. Peck Oyster House

Fourth Street between Wood and Market Streets in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania A station halt on the Underground Railroad.

Plaque Honoring Jane Gray Swisshelm

600 Grant St., in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh In downtown Pittsburgh, on Sixth Avenue, at the Heinz headquarters is the Heinz Museum. Jane Grey Swisshelm had direct experience with slavery and became committed to the abolitionist fight for the Underground Railroad as a result. She started publishing an abolitionist weekly in Pittsburgh in 1848, called the Pittsburgh Saturday Visitor.

Private homes in Arthurville and Hayti

Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill neighborhood It is believed that the fugitives were hiding out in private homes in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods of Arthurville and Hayti, where they were assisted by agents and conductors such as the Rev. Lewis Woodson, Samuel Bruce, George Gardner and Bishop Benjamin Tanner, the father of the noted black artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, who is depicted on a United States postage stamp.

St. Matthew’s A.M.E. Church in Sewickley

Sewickley is located at 345 Thorn St. Built in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, in 1857, they functioned as Underground Railroad operators. One common technique of providing food to escaped slaves in the Pittsburgh region was for conductors to disguise as hunters at night and carry a game bag full with foodstuffs to their destination.

Wylie A.M.E. Church

Hill District, 2200 Wylie Avenue, 2200 Wylie Avenue On July 11, 1850, a group of African American residents gathered at the church and passed resolutions criticizing the recently proposed Fugitive Slave Bill, which had been sponsored by the United States Congress.

A request was made at this assembly for the complete amalgamation of their organizations in order to secure protection against slave hunters who come into Pittsburgh in search of fugitives.

Demolished Sites

Hill District: 2200 Wylie Avenue African American residents assembled in the church on July 11, 1850, and passed resolutions condemning the recently proposed Fugitive Slave Bill, which had been submitted by the United States Congress. To provide security against slave hunters who come into Pittsburgh in search of fugitives, the members of this assembly advocated for the complete amalgamation of their organizations.

Crawford Grill

In the Hill District, this was a hub of Black social life where performers such as Art Blakey, Mary Lou Williams, and John Coltrane drew a racially diverse and international audience. Founded by William “Gus” Greenlee, a major person in Pittsburgh’s Black community who was also the owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the city’s Negro League baseball club, the Pittsburgh Crawfords was founded in 1903.

Monongahela House

Formerly located at the junction of Water and Smithfield Streets, this hotel has been demolished. One of the city’s most luxurious hotels, as well as a hotbed of anti-slavery activities. It had a staff of 300 free Blacks who were in regular touch with a steady stream of affluent Southern merchants who arrived from the north and east.

Point View Hotel

On Brownsville Road in Brentwood, there is a family-owned historic pub and restaurant that was originally used as a stopping point on the Underground Railroad. Slaves who had escaped were housed in the basement.

Underground Railroad Stop

This is a narrative about survival, about overcoming adversity and about finding strength in one’s own abilities. Kentucky was the final state that enslaved peoples needed to travel through on their way to liberation via the Underground Railroad’s northern path. A concealed “station” on the Underground Railroad was placed in Lexington’s St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church on North Upper Street, which was built in the early 1800s. It was first installed in 1850 and is still in use today.

  • St.
  • A single window and unpainted wood flooring complement the stark plaster walls and unpolished wood floors of this six-by-ten-foot studio apartment.
  • “It is an incredible responsibility to be not just the hallowed custodians of the space, but also the proclaimers of keeping history alive,” says Hale of his position.
  • Slavery cannot be reduced to a single chapter of a book.
  • Paul AME Church is regarded to be the city’s oldest continuously-used institution of worship, according to local historians.
  • In 1885, prominent black Kentuckians gathered in the church to debate, draft, and ultimately accept a resolution requesting improved public schools as well as the establishment of a school for educating African-American teachers.
  • Proctor Knott signed a measure calling for the establishment of the teachers’ school, which is now known as Kentucky State University in Frankfort and serves the surrounding area.
  • While sitting in the seats, he would think of the slaves who had been held captive in the room above him more than a century before, waiting in silence to the sound of their breath and the pounding of their hearts.
  • Paul AME Church, located at 251 North Upper Street in New Orleans.
  • The Ernie Pyle Hall at Indiana University Bloomington, where I attended journalism school, is where I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky.
  • One of my recurring themes appears to be writing about circumstances in which there is a significant amount of money at risk.

I make it a point to immerse myself in realms that haven’t been reported on. I work in a variety of forms, including print, public radio, the web, and video. In addition, I write and consult with corporations and charitable organizations.

List of Sites for the Underground Railroad Travel Itinerary

KANSAS 1.John Brown Cabin -Osawatomie 2.Fort Scott National Historic Site- Bourbon County

IOWA1.Tabor Antislavery Historic District -Tabor2. George B. Hitchcock House -Lewis vicinity3.Henderson Lewelling House -Salem4.Jordan House -West Des Moines

WISCONSIN 1.Milton House -Milton

ILLINOIS 1.Owen Lovejoy House -Princeton 2.John Hossack House -Ottawa3.Dr. Richard Eells House -Quincy 4.Beecher Hall -Jacksonville5.Rutherford House- Oakland

MICHIGAN1.Dr. Nathan Thomas House -Schoolcraft2.SecondBaptist Church -Detroit

INDIANA 1.Bethel AME Church -Indianapolis 2.Levi Coffin House -Fountain City 3.Eleutherian College Classroom and Chapel Building -Lancaster4.Lyman and Asenath Hoyt House -Madison5.Madison Historic District -Madison

OHIO 1.Harriet Beecher Stowe House -Cincinnati2.JohnP. Parker House -Ripley3.John Rankin House -Ripley 4.Village of Mt. Pleasant Historic District -Mt. Pleasant 5.Wilson Bruce Evans House -Oberlin6.RushR. Sloane House -Sandusky7.Daniel Howell Hise House -Salem 8.Col. William Hubbard House -Ashtabula9. Reuben Benedict House -Marengo10.Samuel and SallyWilson House -Cincinnati11.James and Sophia ClemensFarmstead -Greenville12.Spring Hill -Massillon13.Putnam Historic District -Zanesville

PENNSYLVANIA 1.F. Julius LeMoyne House -Washington2.JohnBrown House -Chambersburg3.Bethel AME Zion Church -Reading 4.Oakdale -Chadds Ford5.White HorseFarm -Phoenixville6.Johnson House -Philadelphia

NEW YORK 1.Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Residence and ThompsonAME Zion Church -Auburn 2.St. James AME Zion Church -Ithaca 3.Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office -Peterboro 4.John Brown Farm and Gravesite -Lake Placid 5.Foster Memorial AME Zion Church -Tarrytown6.Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims -Brooklyn7.Asa and Caroline Wing House -Oswego8.Edwin W. and Charlotte Clarke House -Oswego9.John P. and Lydia Edwards House -Oswego10.Orson Ames House -Oswego11.Starr Clock Tinshop -Mexico

VERMONT 1.Rokeby -Ferrisburgh

MAINE 1.Harriet Beecher Stowe House -Brunswick2.Abyssinian Meeting House -Portland

MASSACHUSETTS 1.African American National Historic Site -Boston 2.WilliamLloyd Garrison House -Boston 3.William Ingersoll Bowditch House -Brookline4.The Wayside -Concord5.Liberty Farm -Worcester6.Nathan and Mary Johnson House -New Bedford7.Jackson Homestead -Newton8.Ross Farm (Hill Ross Farm)Northampton9.Dorsey-Jones House- Northampton10.Mount Auburn Cemetary -Cambridge

CONNECTICUT 1.Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House -Farmington

NEW JERSEY 1.The Grimes Homestead -Mountain Lakes2.PeterMott House -Lawnside Borough3.Bethel AME Church -Greenwich4.Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and Mount ZionCemetery -Woolwich Township

DELAWARE 1.Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House -Odessa2.Friends Meeting House -Wilmington3.New Castle County Courthouse -New Castle

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1.Frederick Douglass National Historic Site 2.Mary Ann Shadd Cary House

MARYLAND 1.John Brown’s Headquarters -Sample’s Manor 2.Riley-Bolten House -North Bethesda

VIRGINIA 1.Bruin’s Slave Jail-Alexandria 2.Fort Monroe -Richmond3.Moncure Conway House -Falmouth4.Theodore Roosevelt Island- Rosslyn

WEST VIRGINIA1.Jefferson County Courthouse -Charles Town2.HarpersFerry National Historical Park -Harpers Ferry

FLORIDA 1.British Fort -Sumatra vicinity2.Ft.Mose Site -St. John’s County

COLORADO1.Barney L. Ford Building -Denver

NEBRASKA 1.Mayhew Cabin -Nebraska City

Kentucky 1.Camp Nelson -Jessamine County

Main Map |Home



Celebrate Harriet Tubman Day by Exploring Philly’s Underground Railroad Sites

This is a narrative about survival, about overcoming adversity and about finding strength in one’s own character. In order to go north on the Underground Railroad’s northern path to liberation, enslaved peoples had to cross through Kentucky last. North Upper Street in Lexington is home to St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was one of the Underground Railroad’s “stations” that was hidden from view. In 1850, it was put in place, and it is still in place today. An unmarked series of winding steps hidden behind the pulpit leads to a small room where the enslaved peoples waited for the passage to be safe and for aid to be available so that they could cross the river into Cincinnati.

  1. Paul AME Church has made as little changes as possible to the space in order to honor its history.
  2. According to the pastor of the church, William Hale, the chamber “breathes history,” with the bravery, resolve, terror, and optimism that were displayed there ever present.
  3. However, it is impossible to erase the history of a people.” A single page of a book cannot adequately describe slavery’s existence.
  4. It is thought that St.
  5. In its current position since 1826, it has served the community.
  6. The next spring, Governor J.
  7. During his childhood years, Pastor Hale used to attend services at the church.

According to him, “it is a calling on our part as a community to protect this hallowed area.” In his own words, “The Underground Railroad is a narrative of survival, of a titanic battle, and of the ability to triumph.” The church office can be reached at (859) 255-7945 to enquire about the possibility of visiting the Underground Railroad stop at St.

Guttman, Leslie, is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.

As seen by the vast range of topics covered in my articles, essays, and commentaries, I have a very broad range of interests.

To immerse myself in hitherto unexplored environments is a constant goal of mine. Besides print, I also work in other media such as radio and the web. Besides that, I write and consult for a variety of business and charity organizations.

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