- Denne artikel beskriver historiske flugtveje for amerikanske slaver. Se Offentlig transport til underjordiske skinnesystemer i bogstavelig forstand.
Det Underjordisk jernbane er et netværk af forskellige historiske ruter, der bruges af afroamerikanske slaver for at undslippe Forenede Stater og slaveri ved at nå frihed i Canada eller andre udenlandske territorier. I dag fungerer mange af stationerne langs "jernbanerne" som museer og mindesmærker for de tidligere slavers rejse nordpå.
Forstå
- Se også: De Forenede Staters tidlige historie
Fra dets fødsel som en uafhængig nation i 1776 indtil udbruddet af Borgerkrig over spørgsmålet i 1861 var De Forenede Stater en nation, hvor institutionen for slaveri forårsagede bitter splid. I syd var slaveri kernen i en landbrugsøkonomi, der blev drevet af massive plantager af bomuld og andre arbejdskrævende afgrøder. I mellemtiden mod nord lå stater som Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey og alt sammen Ny England, hvor slaveri var ulovligt og et afskaffelse bevægelse moralsk (og økonomisk) i modsætning til slaveri blomstrede. Mellem dem lå det, der blev kaldt "grænsestaterne", spredt vest mod øst over midten af landet fra Missouri igennem Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland og District of Columbia til Delaware, hvor slaveri var lovligt, men kontroversielt, med afskaffende sympatier, der ikke var ukendte blandt befolkningen.
I midten af det 19. århundrede havde det skrøbelige dødvande, der havde kendetegnet nord-syd-forhold i tidligere årtier, givet plads til stigende spændinger. Et stort flammepunkt var Fugitive Slave Act fra 1850, en føderal lov, der tillod undslapede slaver, der blev opdaget i frie stater, med magt at blive transporteret tilbage til slaveri i syd. I de nordlige stater, der allerede havde afsluttet slaveri inden for deres egne grænser, blev den nye lov opfattet som en massiv fornærmelse - desto mere som historier om voldelige bortførelser fra professionelle slavefanger begyndte at sprede sig blandt offentligheden. Da føderal lov kunne anvendes på ellers frie stater over for lokale indvendinger, havde alle undslapne slaver, der nåede nordlige stater, pludselig god grund til at fortsætte mod Canada, hvor slaveri længe var forbudt - og forskellige grupper fandt hurtigt motivation, som et princip eller religiøs tro, at tage væsentlige risici for at hjælpe deres udvandring mod nord.
Forskellige ruter blev brugt af sorte slaver for at flygte til frihed. Nogle flygtede sydpå fra Texas til Mexico eller fra Florida til forskellige punkter i Caribien, men langt størstedelen af ruter på vej mod nord gennem frie stater til Canada eller andre britiske territorier. Et par flygtede over New Brunswick til Nova Scotia (en Africville-ghetto eksisterede i Halifax indtil 1960'erne) men de korteste, mest populære ruter krydsede Ohio, som adskilt slaveri i Kentucky fra frihed på tværs Erie-søen i Øvre Canada.
Denne udvandring falder sammen med et enormt spekulativt boom i konstruktion af passagerbane som ny teknologi (Grand Trunk-hovedlinjen fra Montreal igennem Toronto åbnede i 1856), så dette løst sammenkoblede intermodale netværk vedtog let jernbaneterminologi. De, der rekrutterede slaver til at søge frihed, var "agenter", skjul- eller hvilestationerne undervejs var "stationer" med deres husejere "stationmestere", og de finansierede indsatsen "aktionærer". Afskaffelsesledere var "dirigenterne", hvoraf den mest berømte tidligere slave Harriet Tubman, rosede for sin indsats for at lede tre hundrede fra Maryland og Delaware gennem Philadelphia og nordpå over staten New York til frihed i Canada. I nogle sektioner rejste "passagerer" til fods eller skjult i hestevogne mod nord på mørke vinternætter; i andre rejste de med båd eller med konventionel jernbane. Religiøse grupper var fremtrædende i den afskaffende bevægelse, og sange, der var populære blandt slaver, henviste til det bibelske Mosebog fra Egypten. Effektivt var Tubman "Moses", og Big Dipper og nordstjernen Polaris pegede på det lovede land.
Underjordisk jernbane var relativt kortvarig: udbruddet af den amerikanske borgerkrig i 1861 skabte en krigszone ud af meget af grænsestaterne, hvilket gjorde den allerede farlige passage endnu mere, samtidig med at man stort set eliminerede behovet for en videre udvandring fra de nordlige stater. til Canada; i 1865 var krigen overstået og slaveri var elimineret landsdækkende. Alligevel huskes det som et afgørende kapitel i amerikansk historie generelt og afroamerikansk historie i særdeleshed med mange tidligere stationer og andre steder bevaret som museer eller historiske attraktioner.
Forberede
Mens der er forskellige ruter og stor variation i afstand, dækker udvandringen efter Harriet Tubmans sti mere end 800 km fra Maryland og Delaware gennem Pennsylvania og New York til Ontario, Canada.
Historisk set var det muligt og relativt let for borgere i begge lande at krydse grænsen mellem USA og Canada uden pas. I det 21. århundrede er dette stort set ikke længere sandt; grænsesikkerhed er blevet strengere i perioden efter den 11. september 2001.
I dag kræver amerikanske statsborgere et pas, et amerikansk paskort, et Trusted Traveler Program-kort eller et forbedret kørekort for at vende tilbage til USA fra Canada. Yderligere krav gælder for amerikanske fastboende og tredjelandsstatsborgere; se de enkelte landeartikler (Canada # Kom ind og Amerikas Forenede Stater # Kom ind) eller tjek Canadiske regler og Amerikanske regler for de krævede dokumenter.
Mens de her beskrevne ruter for det meste kan gennemføres over land, er en historisk nøjagtig skildring af transport i damp æra ville finde vejrejser, der hænger dystert langt bagud dampbaner og skibe, som var deres vidunder. Vejene, som de var, var lidt mere end mudrede snavsstier, der i bedste fald passer til en hest og vogn; det var ofte hurtigere at sejle langs Atlantic Seaboard i stedet for at prøve en tilsvarende landrute. En historisk sand underjordisk jernbanetur ville være en bizar intermodal blanding af alt fra hestevogne til flodpramme til primitive godstog til at flygte til fods eller svømme over Mississippi. På nogle punkter, hvor ruter historisk krydsede Store søer, der er ingen rutefart i dag.
Det forskellige bøger skrevet efter borgerkrigen (såsom Wilbur Henry Siebert's Den underjordiske jernbane fra slaveri til frihed: En omfattende historie) beskriver hundreder af parallelle ruter og utallige gamle hjem, der måske har været en "station" i eksostusens storhedstid nordpå, men der er i sagens natur ingen komplet liste over alt. Da netværket fungerede hemmeligt, viser få samtidige poster med nogen sikkerhed, hvilken nøjagtig rolle hver enkelt figur eller mødested spillede - hvis nogen - i antebellum-æraen. De fleste af de originale "stationer" er blot gamle huse, der ligner ethvert andet hjem i tiden; af dem, der stadig står, bevares mange ikke længere på en historisk nøjagtig måde eller er private boliger, som ikke længere er åbne for rejsen. Et lokalt eller nationalt historisk register kan indeholde et dusin ejendomme i et enkelt amt, men kun et lille mindretal er historiske kirker, museer, monumenter eller vartegn, der opfordrer besøgende til at gøre noget mere end at køre forbi og se kort udefra.
Denne artikel viser mange af højdepunkterne, men vil i sagens natur aldrig være omfattende.
Hop ind
De mest almindelige indgangspunkter til Underground Railroad-netværket var grænsestater, der repræsenterede splittelsen mellem fri og slave: Maryland; Virginia, inklusive hvad der nu er West Virginia; og Kentucky. Meget af dette område kan let nås fra Washington DC.. Tubmans rejse begynder for eksempel i Dorchester County, på den Eastern Shore af Maryland og fører nordpå igennem Wilmington og Philadelphia.
| “ | Jeg møder dig om morgenen. Jeg er bundet til det lovede land. | ” |
—Harriet Tubman | ||
Gå
Der er flere ruter og flere udgangspunkt for at gå ombord på dette tog; de, der er anført her, er blot bemærkelsesværdige eksempler.
Tubmans Pennsylvania, Auburn og Niagara Railroad
Denne rute fører gennem Pennsylvania og New York, gennem forskellige steder forbundet med Underground Rail "dirigent" Harriet Tubman (undsluppet 1849, aktiv indtil 1860) og hendes samtidige. Født som slave i Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman blev slået og pisket af sine barndomsmestre; hun flygtede til Philadelphia i 1849. Da hun vendte tilbage til Maryland for at redde sin familie, guidede hun i sidste ende snesevis af andre slaver til frihed og rejste om natten i ekstrem hemmeligholdelse.
Maryland
Cambridge, Maryland - Tubmans fødested og startpunktet for hendes rute - er adskilt fra Washington, D.C. af Chesapeake Bay og ligger ca. 140 km sydøst for hovedstaden via US 50:
- 1 Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, 4068 Golden Hill Rd., Church Creek (17,2 km syd for Cambridge via State Routes 16 og 335), ☏ 1 410 221-2290. Dagligt kl. 9-17. 7 hektar stort monument med et besøgscenter, der indeholder udstillinger om Tubmans tidlige liv og udnytter som en underjordisk jernbaneleder. Støder op til Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge har dette landskab ændret sig lidt fra dagene med Underground Railroad. Ledig.
- 2 Harriet Tubman Organisation, 424 Race St., Cambridge, ☏ 1 410 228-0401. Dette museum med historiske memorabilia ligger i en periodisk bygning i centrum af Cambridge og er åben efter aftale. Der er også et tilknyttet samfundscenter med en fuld skifer af kulturel og uddannelsesmæssig programmering vedrørende Harriet Tubman og Underground Railroad.
Delaware
Som beskrevet for Wilbur Siebert i 1897, den del af Tubman's sti fra 1 Cambridge nordpå til Philadelphia ser det ud til at være en 190 km lang vej ad landevejen via 2 East New Market og 3 Poppelhals til delstatslinjen i Delaware og derefter via 4 Sandtown, 5 Willow Grove, 6 Camden, 7 Dover, 8 Smyrna, 9 Solsort, 10 Odessa, 11 Nyt slotog 12 Wilmington. Yderligere 48 km skulle nås 13 Philadelphia. Delaware-delen af ruten spores af den underskrevne Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway, hvor forskellige underjordiske jernbanesider er fremhævet.
- 3 Appoquinimink Friends Meetinghouse, 624 Main St., Odessa. Åben for tjenester 1. og 3. sø i hver måned, kl. 1785 mursten Quaker hus af bøn, der tjente som en station på Underground Railroad under John Hunn og Thomas Garrett. En anden historie havde et aftageligt panel, der førte til mellemrum under tagskægget; en kælder blev nået ved en lille sideåbning på jordoverfladen.
- 4 [tidligere dødt link]Old New Castle Court House, 211 Delaware St., New Castle, ☏ 1 302 323-4453. Tu-Sa 10.00-16.30, Su 1: 30-4: 30 PM. Et af de ældste overlevende retsbygninger i USA, bygget som mødested for Delawares koloniale og første statsforsamling (da New Castle var Delaware hovedstad, 1732-1777). Underjordiske jernbanekonduktører Thomas Garrett og John Hunn blev retsforfulgt og dømt her i 1848 for overtrædelse af loven om flygtig slave, idet de gik konkurs med bøder, som kun tjente til at hærde følelserne over slaveri af alle involverede. Donation.
Skillelinjen mellem slave og frie stater var Mason-Dixon-linjen:
- 5 Mason-Dixon Line, Mason-Dixon Farm Market, 18166 Susquehanna Trail South, Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania. En konkret stolpe markerer grænsen mellem Maryland og Pennsylvania i Shrewsbury, hvor slaver blev frigivet efter at have krydset ind i Pennsylvania i løbet af Amerikansk borgerkrig. Gårdsmarkedsejere har historier at fortælle om Underground Railroad huse og andre slave stop mellem Maryland og Pennsylvania. Fri til at stå og tage et billede med den konkrete stolpemarkør.
Pennsylvania
Den første "frie" stat på ruten, Pennsylvania afskaffede slaveri i 1847.
Philadelphia, den føderale hovedstad i store dele af George Washingtons æra, var et udgangspunkt for afskaffelse, og loven om gradvis afskaffelse af slaveri, vedtaget af statsregeringen i marts 1780, var den første til at forbyde yderligere import af slaver til en stat. Mens et smuthul undtog medlemmer af kongressen i Philadelphia, undgik George og Martha Washington (som slaveejere) nøjagtigt at tilbringe seks måneder eller mere i Pennsylvania for ikke at blive tvunget til at give deres slaver frihed. Ona Judge, datter af en slave arvet af Martha Washington, frygtede at blive ført med magt tilbage til Virginia i slutningen af Washingtons præsidentskab; ved hjælp af lokale frie sorte og afskaffelseseksperter blev hun sat på et skib til New Hampshire og frihed.
I 1849 undslap Henry Brown (1815-1897) Virginia-slaveri ved at arrangere at have sig selv sendt i en trækasse til afskaffelse i Philadelphia. Derfra flyttede han til England fra 1850-1875 for at undslippe den flygtige slave-lov, blive en tryllekunstner, showman og åbenlyst afskaffelse.
- 6 Johnson House Historical Site, 6306 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, ☏ 1 215 438-1768. Sa 13.00-17.00 året rundt, Th-F 10.00-16.00 fra 2. februar til 9. juni og 7. september til 24. november, kun M-W efter aftale. Ture afgår hvert 60. minut kl. 15 minutter over timen, og den sidste tur afgår kl. 15:15. Tidligere sikkert hus og værtshus i Germantown-området, besøgt af Harriet Tubman og William Still, en af 17 underjordiske jernbanestationer i Pennsylvania, der er anført i den lokale guide Underground Railroad: Trail to Freedom. Stadig var en afroamerikansk afskaffelse, kontorist og medlem af Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Timelange guidede ture tilbydes. $ 8, seniorer 55 $ 6, børn 12 og under $ 4.
- 7 Belmont Mansion, 2000 Belmont Mansion Dr., Philadelphia, ☏ 1 215 878-8844. Tu-F 11: 00-17: 00, sommerweekend efter aftale. Historisk palæ i Philadelphia med underjordisk jernbanemuseum. $ 7, studerende / senior $ 5.
- 8 Christiana Underground Railroad Center, 11 Green St., Christiana, ☏ 1 610 593-5340. M-F 9 AM-4 PM. I 1851 angreb og dræbte en gruppe på 38 lokale afroamerikanere og hvide afskaffelseseksperter Edward Gorsuch, en slaveejer fra Maryland, der var ankommet til byen for at forfølge fire af hans undslapede slaver og sårede to af hans ledsagere. De blev anklaget for forræderi for overtrædelse af loven om flygtig slave, og Zercher's Hotel er stedet, hvor retssagen fandt sted. I dag er det tidligere hotel hjemsted for et museum, der fortæller historien om, hvad der blev kendt som modstanden ved Christiana. Ledig.
- 9 [dødt link]Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, 119 N. 10th St., Læsning, ☏ 1 610 371-8713, fax: 1 610 371-8739. W & F 10:30 - 13:30, Su lukket, alle andre dage efter aftale. Den tidligere Bethel AME-kirke i Reading var engang en station på Underground Railroad, nu er det et museum, der beskriver det sorte samfunds historie og Underground Railroad i det centrale Pennsylvania. $ 8, ældre og studerende med ID $ 6, børn 5-12 $ 4, børn 4 og derunder gratis. Guidede ture $ 10.
- 10 William Goodridge House and Museum, 123 E. Philadelphia St., York, ☏ 1 717 848-3610. Første F i hver måned kl. 16-20 og efter aftale. William C. Goodridge blev født i slaveri i Maryland og blev en fremtrædende forretningsmand, der mistænkes for at have skjult flygtende slaver i en af godsvogne på hans jernbanevogn Reliance Line. Hans smukke to-og-en-halv etagers murstenhus i udkanten af York centrum er nu et museum dedikeret til hans livshistorie.
Mens Pennsylvania grænser op til Canada over Erie-søen i sit nordvestligste hjørne, fortsatte frihedssøgere, der ankom fra østlige byer, generelt over land gennem staten New York til Canada. Mens Harriet Tubman ville have flygtet direkte nord fra Philadelphia, krydsede mange andre passagerer ind til Pennsylvania flere steder langs Mason-Dixon-linjen, hvor staten grænsede op til Maryland og en del af Virginia (nu West Virginia). Dette skabte mange parallelle linjer, der førte nordpå gennem det centrale og vestlige Pennsylvania ind i New York State's Sydlig tier.
- 1 Fairfield Inn 1757, 15 W. Main St., Fairfield (13 km vest for Gettysburg via rute 116), ☏ 1 717 642-5410. Den ældste kontinuerligt drevne kro i Gettysburg-området, der dateres til 1757. Slaver gemte sig på tredje sal efter at have kravlet gennem åbninger og fældedøre. I dag er et vindue skåret ud for at afsløre, hvor slaverne gemte sig, da kroen var en "sikker station" på den underjordiske jernbane. $ 160 / nat.
- 11 Gamle fængsel, 175 E. King St., Chambersburg, ☏ 1 717 264-1667. Tu-Sa (maj-oktober), Th-Sa (året rundt): 10-16, sidste tur 15:00. Bygget i 1818 overlevede fængslet et angreb, hvor Chambersburg blev brændt af de konfødererede i 1864. Fem kuplede fangehuller i kælderen havde ringe i væggene og gulvene for at bøje modstridende fanger; disse celler kan også have været hemmeligt brugt til at beskytte løbende slaver, der rejser til frihed i nord. $ 5, børn 6 og over $ 4, familier $ 10.
- 12 Blairsville Underground Railroad History Center, 214 E. South Ln., Blairsville (27 km syd for Indiana, Pennsylvania via rute 119), ☏ 1 724 459-0580. Maj-oktober efter aftale. Den anden baptistkirkebygning daterer metroen med mere end et halvt århundrede - den blev bygget i 1917 - men den er den ældste sortejede struktur i byen Blairsville, og i dag fungerer den som et historisk museum med to udstillinger relateret til slaveri og frigørelse: "Freedom in the Air" fortæller historien om afskaffelsesfolk i Indiana County og deres bestræbelser på at hjælpe flygtninge slaver, mens titlen "En dag i et slavebarns liv" er selvforklarende.
- 13 Freedom Road Cemetery, Freedom Rd., Loyalsock Township (2,4 km nord for Williamsport via Market Street og Bloomingrove Road). Daniel Hughes (1804-1880) var en raftsman, der transporterede tømmer fra Williamsport til Havre de Grace, Maryland på den vestlige gren af Susquehanna-floden og skjulte løbende slaver i lastrummet på sin pram på returflyvningen. Hans gård er nu en lille Borgerkrig kirkegård, det sidste hvilested for ni afroamerikanske soldater. Mens der er en historisk markør, er dette sted (omdøbt fra Nigger Hollow til Freedom Road i 1936) lille og let at gå glip af.
Den mest populære mulighed var imidlertid at følge kysten fra Philadelphia til New York City på vej til Albany eller Boston.
New York State
Undslapne slaver var på venlige græsplæner i Upstate New York, en af de mest stærke afskaffelsesregioner i landet.
- 14 [dødt link]Stephen og Harriet Myers Residence, 194 Livingston Ave., Albany, ☏ 1 518 432-4432. Ture M-F 5-8 PM, Sa middag-16 PM eller efter aftale. Stephen Myers var en tidligere slave, der blev frigivet og afskaffelse, der var en central skikkelse i den lokale underjordiske jernbane, og af alle de mange huse, han beboede i Albany's Arbor Hill-kvarter i midten af det 19. århundrede, er dette den eneste, der er stadig bevaret. Det daværende forfaldne hus blev reddet fra den ødelæggende kugle i 1970'erne, og restaureringsarbejdet pågår, men for nu kan besøgende nyde guidede ture i huset og en lille, men værdifuld skifer med museumsudstillinger på Myers, Dr. Thomas Elkins, og andre fremtrædende medlemmer af Albany Vigilance Committee of abolitionists. $ 10, seniorer $ 8, børn 5-12 $ 5.
I Albany eksisterede der flere muligheder. Flygtninge kunne fortsætte mod nord mod Montreal eller Quebec's Eastern Townships via Champlain-søen, eller (mere almindeligt) kunne de dreje mod vest langs Erie-kanalen linje igennem Syracuse til Oswego, Rochester, Bøffel, eller Niagara Falls.
- 15 Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office, 5304 Oxbow Rd., Peterboro (15,1 km øst for Cazenovia via amtsruter 28 og 25), ☏ 1 315 280-8828. Museum Sa-Su kl. 17-17, slutningen af maj-slutningen af august, grunde dagligt daggry-skumring. Smith var præsident for New York Anti-Slavery Society (1836-1839) og en "stationsmester" på Underground Railroad i 1840'erne og 1850'erne. Den vidtrækkende ejendom, hvor han boede gennem hele sit liv, er nu et museumskompleks med indvendige og udvendige udstillinger om frihedssøgere, Gerrit Smiths rigdom, filantropi og familie og den underjordiske jernbane.
Syracuse var en afskaffelse højborg, hvis centrale placering gjorde det til et "stort centraldepot på den underjordiske jernbane", hvorigennem mange slaver passerede på vej til frihed.
- 16 Jerry redningsmonument, Clinton Square, Syracuse. Under statskonventionen fra 1851 for anti-slaveri Liberty Party, kastede en vred pøbel af flere hundrede afskaffelseseksister slap væk slave William "Jerry" Henry ud af fængsel; derfra blev han hemmeligt transporteret til byen Mexico, New York og skjult der, indtil han kunne blive taget om bord på et britisk-canadisk tømmerskib en mørk nat til transport over Lake Ontario til Kingston. Ni af dem, der hjalp til med at flygte (inklusive to religionsministre) flygtede til Canada; af de 29, der blev stillet for retten i Syracuse, blev alle undtagen en frikendt. Fængslet står ikke længere, men der er et monument på Clinton Square til minde om disse vigtige begivenheder.
I dette område rejste passagerer, der ankom fra Pennsylvania over det sydlige niveau, igennem Ithaca og Cayuga Lake for at slutte sig til hovedruten ved Auburn, en by vest for Syracuse i USA 20. Harriet Tubman boede her startende i 1859 og etablerede et hjem for ældre.
- 17 St. James AME Zion Church, 116 Cleveland Ave., Ithaca, ☏ 1 607 272-4053. M-Sa 09: 00-17: 00 eller efter aftale. Den afrikanske metodistiske episkopale zionskirke blev oprettet i begyndelsen af 1800-tallet i New York City som et udløb for den metodistiske bispekirke for at tjene sorte sognebørn, der på det tidspunkt stødte på åbenlyst racisme i eksisterende kirker. St. James, der blev grundlagt 1836, var en station på Underground Railroad, der var vært for tjenester, der deltog i sådanne afroamerikanske armaturer fra det 19. århundrede som Harriet Tubman og Frederick Douglass, og i 1906 var vært for en gruppe studerende, der grundlagde Alpha Phi Alpha, nationens ældste officielt sort broderskab.
- 18 Harriet Tubman hjem, 180 South St., Auburn, ☏ 1 315 252-2081. Tu-F 10:00 til 16:00, Sa 10:00 - 15:00. Kendt som "Hendes folks Moses" bosatte Tubman sig i Auburn efter borgerkrigen i dette beskedne, men smukke murhus, hvor hun også drev et hjem for ældre og uheldig afroamerikanere. I dag er det et museum, der huser en samling af historiske memorabilia. $ 4,50, seniorer (60) og universitetsstuderende $ 3, børn 6-17 $ 1,50.
- 19 Thompson AME Zion Church, 33 Parker St., Auburn. Lukket til restaurering. En afrikansk Methodist Episcopal Zion Church fra 1891, hvor Harriet Tubman deltog i gudstjenester; hun gjorde senere det ovennævnte hjem for ældre til kirken for at klare sig efter hendes død.
- 20 Fort Hill kirkegård, 19 Fort St., Auburn, ☏ 1 315 253-8132. M-F 9 AM-13 PM. Beliggende på en bakke med udsigt over Auburn blev dette sted brugt til gravhøje af indianere så tidligt som 1100 e.Kr. Det inkluderer gravstederne for Harriet Tubman samt en række andre lokale historiske lysarmaturer. Webstedet indeholder et printbart kort og selvstyret vandretur.
Hovedruten fortsætter mod vest mod Buffalo og Niagara Falls, som stadig er det travleste sæt krydsninger ved grænsen mellem Ontario og New York i dag. (Alternative ruter involverede krydsning af Lake Ontario fra Oswego eller Rochester.)
- 21 Palmyra Historiske Museum, 132 Market St., Palmyra, ☏ 1 315 597-6981. Tu-Th 10 AM-5 PM året rundt, Tu-Sa 11 AM-4 PM i højsæsonen. Et af fem separate museer i Historic Palmyra Museum Complex; hver præsenterer et andet aspekt af livet i gamle Palmyra. Flagskibsmuseet huser forskellige permanente udstillinger om lokal historie, herunder Underground Railroad. $ 3, seniorer $ 2, børn under 12 gratis.
Rochester, hjemsted for Frederick Douglass og et væld af andre afskaffelse, gav også flygtninge passage til Canada, hvis de var i stand til at gøre deres vej til Kelsey's Landing lige nord for Lower Falls of the Genesee. Der var en række sikkerhedshuse i byen, herunder Douglass 'eget hjem.
- 22 Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Ave., Rochester, ☏ 1 585 271-4320. M-Sa 09: 00-17: 00, sø 11: 00-17: 00. Rochesters interaktive videnskabsmuseum har en semi-permanent udstilling kaldet Flyvning til frihed: Rochester's Underground Railroad. Det lader børn få et glimt af historien om jernbanen gennem øjnene på et fiktivt barn, der flygter til Canada. Voksne $ 15, seniorer / college $ 14, i alderen 3-18 $ 13, under 3 gratis.
Ontario's hele internationale grænse er vand. Der var et par færger steder som Buffalo, men infrastrukturen var sparsom. Niagara Falls havde en 251 m jernbanehængebro, der sluttede sig til den canadiske og den amerikanske tvillingebyer under faldet.
- 23 Castellani kunstmuseum, 5795 Lewiston Rd., Niagara Falls, ☏ 1 716 286-8200, fax: 1 716 286-8289. Tu-Sa 11: 00-17: 00, sø 13: 00-17: 00. En del af den permanente samling af Niagara Universitets kunstgalleri på campus er "Freedom Crossing: The Underground Railroad in Greater Niagara", der fortæller historien om Underground Railroad-bevægelsen på Niagara Frontier.
- 24 [dødt link]Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Interpretive Center, 2245 Whirlpool St., Niagara Falls (ved siden af Whirlpool Bridge og Amtrak Station). Tu-W & F-Sa 10.00-18.00, Th 10.00-20.00, Su 10.00-16.00. Det tidligere amerikanske brugerhus (1863-1962) er nu et museum dedikeret til Niagara Frontiers underjordiske jernbaneshistorie. Udstillinger inkluderer rekreation af "Cataract House", et af de største hoteller i Niagara Falls på det tidspunkt, hvis stort set afroamerikanske tjenestemand var medvirkende til at hjælpe undslapte slaver på den sidste del af deres rejse. $ 10, gymnasieelever og universitetsstuderende med ID $ 8, børn 6-12 $ 6.
- 25 Niagara Falls-hængebrostedet. Bygget i 1848 var denne første hængebro over Niagara-floden den sidste etape i Harriet Tubmans egen rejse fra slaveri i Maryland til frihed i Canada, og hun ville vende tilbage mange gange i løbet af det næste årti som en "dirigent" for andre flygter. Efter 1855, da den blev genindlagt som en jernbanebro, blev slaver smuglet over grænsen i kvæg eller bagagebiler. Webstedet er nu Whirlpool Bridge.
Mod nord er Lewiston, et muligt krydsningspunkt til Niagara-on-the-Lake i Canada:
- 26 [dødt link]First Presbyterian Church og Village Cemetery, 505 Cayuga St., Lewiston, ☏ 1 716 794-4945. Åben for tjenester sø 11:15. En skulptur foran Lewistons ældste kirke (opført 1835) fejrer den fremtrædende rolle, den spillede i Underground Railroad.
- 27 Freedom Crossing Monument (Ved Lewiston Landing Park, på vestsiden af N. Water St. mellem Center og Onondaga Sts.). En udendørs skulptur på bredden af Niagara-floden, der skildrer den lokale underjordiske jernbanestationsmester Josiah Tryon, der brænder en familie af frihedssøgere væk på deres endelige tilgang til Canada. Tryon betjente sin station ud af huset til de syv kældre, hans brors bopæl lige nord for landsbyens centrum, hvor en række trin førte fra et netværk på flere niveauer af sammenkoblede kældre til flodbredden , hvorfra Tryon ville færge de undslippede over floden som vist i skulpturen.
Mod syd er Buffalo, modsat Fort Erie i Ontario:
- 28 Michigan Street Baptist Church, 511 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, ☏ 1 716 854-7976. Den ældste ejendom, der kontinuerligt ejes, drives og besættes af afroamerikanere i Buffalo, dette historisk kirke tjente som en station på Underground Railroad. Historiske ture tilbydes efter aftale. $5.
- 29 Broderick Park (ved Niagara-floden i slutningen af West Ferry Street), ☏ 1 716 218-0303. Mange år før Peace Bridge blev bygget mod syd var forbindelsen mellem Buffalo og Fort Erie med færge, og mange flygtende slaver krydsede floden til Canada på denne måde. Der er et mindesmærke og historiske plaketter på stedet, der illustrerer stedets betydning samt historiske genoptagelser fra tid til anden.
Som nævnt tidligere nærmede nogle flygtninge sig i stedet fra syd og passerede fra det vestlige Pennsylvania gennem det sydlige niveau mod grænsen.
- 30 [tidligere dødt link]Howe-Prescott Pioneer House, 3031 Rute 98 syd, Franklinville, ☏ 1 716 676-2590. Su juni-august efter aftale. Dette hus blev bygget omkring 1814 af en familie af fremtrædende afskaffelseseksperter og tjente som en station på underjordisk jernbane i årene før borgerkrigen. Ischua Valley Historical Society har genoprettet stedet som en pionergård med udstillinger og demonstrationer, der illustrerer livet i de tidlige dage af den hvide bosættelse i det vestlige New York.
Ontario
Slutningen af linjen er St. Catharines i Ontario's Niagara-regionen.
- 31 British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel, 92 Geneva St., St. Catharines, ☏ 1 905-682-0993. Services Su 11AM, guidede ture efter aftale. St. Catharines var en af de vigtigste canadiske byer, der skulle bosættes af undslapte amerikanske slaver - Harriet Tubman og hendes familie boede der i omkring ti år, før de vendte tilbage til USA og bosatte sig i Auburn, New York - og denne enkle, men smukke trækirke var bygget i 1851 for at tjene som deres sted for tilbedelse. Det er nu opført som et nationalt historisk sted i Canada, og flere plaketter er placeret uden for bygningen, der forklarer dets historie.
- 32 Neger gravplads, Niagara-on-the-Lake (østsiden af Mississauga St. mellem John og Mary Sts.), ☏ 1 905-468-3266. Niagara Baptist Church - huset for tilbedelse af Niagara-on-the-Lake-samfundet af underjordiske jernbaneslukkere - er for længst væk, men kirkegården på det tidligere sted, hvor mange af dens kolleger blev begravet, forbliver tilbage.
- 33 Griffin House, 733 Mineral Springs Rd., Ancaster, ☏ 1 905-648-8144. Sø kl. 14-16, jul-sep. Fugitive Virginia slave Enerals Griffin flygtede til Canada i 1834 og bosatte sig i byen Ancaster som landmand; hans ruhuggede tømmerbondehus er nu blevet restaureret til sin oprindelige periode. Vandrestier ud bagfra fører ind i den dejlige Dundas Valley og en række vandfald. Donation.
Niagara Region er nu en del af Gylden hestesko, den tættest befolkede del af provinsen. Længere væk, Toronto Transit Commission (☏ 1416-393-INFO (4636)) har kørt et årligt Underjordisk Freedom Train Ride for at fejre frigørelsesdagen. Toget forlader Union Station i downtown Toronto i tide til at nå Sheppard West (den tidligere nordvestlige ende af linjen) lige efter midnat den 1. august. Fejring inkluderer sang, poesilæsning og trommespil.
Ohio-linjen
Kentucky, en slavestat, er adskilt fra Indiana og Ohio af Ohio-floden. På grund af Ohio's placering (som grænser op til det sydligste punkt i Canada over Lake Erie) førte flere parallelle linjer nordover over staten til frihed i Upper Canada. Nogle passerede gennem Indiana til Ohio, mens andre kom ind i Ohio direkte fra Kentucky.
Indiana
Direkte over floden fra Louisville, Kentucky, byen New Albany tjente som en af de vigtigste flodovergangssteder for flygtninge mod nord.
- 34 Town Clock Church, 300 E. Main St., New Albany, ☏ 1 812 945-3814. Services Su 11AM, ture efter aftale. Denne restaurerede græske genoplivningskirke fra 1852 plejede at huse Second Presbyterian Church, en station i Underground Railroad, hvis karakteristiske klokketårn signaliserede New Albany's placering til bådsmændene i Ohio River. Nu hjemsted for en afroamerikansk menighed og genstand for indsamlingsindsats, der tager sigte på at genoprette bygningen til sin oprindelige pragt efter mange års forsømmelse, er kirken vært for regelmæssige tjenester, guidede ture efter aftale og lejlighedsvis historisk mindehøjtidelighed og andre begivenheder.
Indianapolis er 210 km mod nord; Fiskere og Westfield er blandt dens forstæder.
- 35 Conner Prairie Museum, 13400 Allisonville Rd., Fishers, ☏ 1 317 776-6000, momsfri: 1-800 966-1836. Tjek hjemmesiden for tidsplan. Hjemmet for det teatralske program "Follow the North Star" -kum-historisk gengivelse, hvor deltagerne rejser tilbage til året 1836 og påtager sig rollen som flygtige slaver, der søger frihed på den underjordiske jernbane. Lær ved at blive en flygtig slave i et interaktivt møde, hvor museumspersonale bliver slavejægere, venlige kvækere, frigjorte slaver og jernbaneledere, der bestemmer din skæbne. $20.
Westfield er en stor by til vandreture; Westfield-Washington Historical Society (se nedenfor) kan give baggrundsinformation. Historiske Indiana Ghost Walks & Tours (☏ 1 317 840-6456) dækker også "spøgelser fra undergrundsbanen" på en af dens Westfield-ture (reservationer kræves, tjek tidsplanen).
- 36 Westfield-Washington Historical Society & Museum, 130 Penn St., Westfield, ☏ 1 317 804-5365. Sa 10:00 til 14:00 eller efter aftale. Afgjort af stærkt afskaffende quakers, bør det ikke komme som nogen overraskelse, at Westfield var en af Indiana's Underground Railroad hotbeds. Lær alt om disse og andre elementer i lokalhistorien på dette museum. Donation.
Fra Indianapolis-området opdeles ruten: Du kan enten køre østpå i Ohio eller nordpå i Michigan.
- 37 Levi og Catharine Coffin State Historic Site, 201 US Route 27 North, Fountain City (14,8 km nord for Richmond via US 27), ☏ 1 765 847-1691. Tu-Su kl. 10-17. 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 til Dayton til Columbus til Cleveland til 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.
Fra 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. Tu-Su kl. 11-17. 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 Prospekt sted, 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, Onkel Tom's Cabin. Modern-day voyagers can retrace that journey via the MV Jiimaan[dødt link], a seasonal ferry plying the route from Sandusky to Leamington og 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 og 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, momsfri: 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, fax: 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 North 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 færge, 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 Onkel Tom's Cabin Historic Site, 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 Onkel 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, fax: 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 Kairo and other far-downstate communities bears more resemblance to the Mississippi Delta end 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.
Det Mississippi-floden 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 Tyskland, 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 Huckleberry Finns eventyr (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. Det Morgan County Historical Society kører en 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 Onkel Tom's Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Tours of the campus are offered during the summer months (see internet side 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 eller 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 provinser 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 Island, Massachusetts og Maine to reach New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
- 2 Wedgwood Inn, 111 W. Bridge St., New Hope, Pennsylvania, ☏ 1 215 862-2570. Placeret i 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.). Services Su 10:30AM. 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 [dødt link]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.
Ny England
- 68 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford, Connecticut, ☏ 1 860 522-9258. The author of the famous antislavery novel Onkel 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. Dagligt kl. 9-17. 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, mellem Warwick og 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 [dødt link]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 Syd. 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.
Det Nationalpark 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 til 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 Nedre 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. Ledig.
- 77 King's Landing, 5804 Route 102, Prince William, New Brunswick (40 km/25 miles west of downtown Fredericton via Trans-Canada Highway), ☏ 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, momsfri: 1-800-465-0767, fax: 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 Første Verdenskrig and the destruction of Africville) as well. $6.
- 79 Africville Museum, 5795 Africville Rd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, ☏ 1 902-455-6558, fax: 1 902-455-6461. Tu-Sa 10-16. 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. Dette museum, der ligger på østsiden af Seaview Memorial Park i en replika af Africvilles Seaview United Baptist Church, blev oprettet som en del af byens regerings forsinkede undskyldning og restitution til Halifax sorte samfund og fortæller sin historie gennem historiske artefakter, fotografier og fortolkningsskærme, der inspirerer den besøgende til at overveje de ætsende virkninger af racisme på samfundet og til at anerkende den styrke, der kommer gennem mangfoldighed. En "Africville Reunion" afholdes i parken hver juli. $ 5,75, studerende og seniorer $ 4,75, børn under 5 år gratis.
Pas på dig selv
Derefter
Med overførelsen af den flygtige slave-lov af Kongressen i 1850 var slaver, der var flygtet til de nordlige stater, i umiddelbar fare for at blive tvunget bortført og bragt tilbage til det sydlige slaveri. Slavefangere fra syd opererede åbent i de nordlige stater, hvor deres brutalitet hurtigt fremmedgjorde lokalbefolkningen. Føderale embedsmænd blev også bedst omhyggeligt undgået, da indflydelsen fra plantageejere fra det daværende mere folkerige syd var magtfuld i Washington på det tidspunkt.
Slaver måtte derfor ligge lavt om dagen - skjule, sove eller foregive at arbejde for lokale mestre - og bevæge sig nordpå om natten. Jo længere mod nord, jo længere og koldere blev disse vinternætter. Faren for at støde på amerikanske føderale marskaler ville ende, når den canadiske grænse var blevet krydset, men passagererne på Underground Railroad skulle være i Canada (og holde øje med slavefangere, der krydser grænsen i strid med canadisk lov) indtil slaveri blev afsluttet via den amerikanske borgerkrig i 1860'erne.
Selv efter slaveriets afslutning ville racekampene fortsætte i mindst et andet århundrede, og "rejser mens sort" var fortsat noget af et farligt forslag. Det Negro Motorist Green Book, der opregnede virksomheder, der er sikre for afroamerikanske rejsende (nominelt) landsdækkende, vil forblive på tryk i New York City fra 1936 til 1966; ikke desto mindre var der i mere end et par "solnedgangsbyer" ingen steder for en farvet rejsende at overnatte.
Nu
I dag er slavefangerne væk, og de føderale myndigheder står nu imod forskellige former for raceadskillelse i handel mellem lande. Mens en almindelig grad af forsigtighed stadig er tilrådelig på denne rejse, er den primære moderne risiko kriminalitet, når man rejser gennem større byer, ikke slaveri eller adskillelse.
Gå videre
Derefter
Kun et lille mindretal af succesrige flygtninge opholdt sig i Canada i lang tid. På trods af at slaveri var ulovligt der, var racisme og nativisme lige så stort et problem som andre steder. Efterhånden som tiden gik, og flere og flere undslippede slaver hældte over grænsen, begyndte de at bære deres velkomst blandt hvide canadiere. Flygtningene ankom normalt med kun tøjet på ryggen, uforberedt på de barske canadiske vintre og levede en fattig eksistens isoleret fra deres nye naboer. Med tiden blomstrede nogle afrikansk-canadiere i landbrug eller forretning og endte med at blive bagud i deres nye hjem, men ved udbruddet af den amerikanske borgerkrig i 1861 sprang mange tidligere flygtninge chancen for at slutte sig til EU-hæren og spille en rolle i frigørelsen af landsmændene, de havde efterladt i syd. Selv Harriet Tubman forlod selv sit hjem i St. Catharines for at verve som kok, læge og spejder. Andre drev simpelthen tilbage til USA, fordi de var trætte af at bo et ukendt sted langt fra deres venner og kære.
Nu
- Slutningen af Ohio Line falder sammen med begyndelsen af Windsor-Quebec-korridor, det mest folkerige og stærkt urbaniserede område i Canada. Kør mod øst langs motorvej 401 mod den majestætiske Niagara Falls, kosmopolitisk Toronto, den dejlige Tusind øerog fransk-aromatiseret Montreal og Quebec City.
- Hvis du er gået østkystruten, ville du være villig til ikke at udforske Atlantiske provinser, hvor hvalsafari, smukke landskaber ved havet, velsmagende fisk og skaldyr og keltiske kulturelle påvirkninger bugner.
Se også
- Atlantisk slavehandel - den snigende proces, som slaver kom fra Afrika til Nordamerika til at begynde med
- Tidlig amerikansk historie - en sammenfiltret saga, hvor slaverispørgsmålet kun var en tråd