By Sandra Scott
The Underground Railroad was not a railroad, nor was it underground. It was a secret network of people who hid and guided slaves to freedom. Until the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, a runaway slave only had to get to a free state like New York to enjoy freedom. All that changed in 1850, when the new act required that escaped slaves had to be returned to their masters and that the people of the free states had to cooperate, thus making it necessary for a runaway to find freedom in Canada.
New York State, with its long border with Canada, became an integral part on the path to freedom. Many homes, churches, barns and other sites, some of which can be visited, were used to hide slaves throughout New York. Because of the danger in aiding and hiding runaways, many of the people who helped and the places slaves were secreted will never be known.
The National Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro is the perfect place to start for an overview of the UGRR. In 1835, when the NYS Antislavery Society tried to hold its meeting in Utica, they were driven out by a mob to Peterboro, where Gerrit Smith welcomed reformers, especially abolitionists. The Hall of Fame is located in the Smithfield Community Center where that historic meeting was held. The Gerrit Smith Estate, a National Historic Landmark, is located nearby.
Located in Fayetteville, a community with a strong anti-slavery tradition, the Gage Home was just one of many stations on the UGRR. Matilda Joslyn Gage publically declared her intention to defy the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law and offered her home as a safe house for runaways. Smith, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were just some of the abolitionists who visited the home. One room of the house is devoted to the UGRR.
The Onondaga Historical Association Museum and Research Center in Syracuse is the regional UGRR Interpretive Center, with a permanent exhibit titled "Freedom Bound: Syracuse and the Underground Railroad" with a multimedia exhibition that explores Syracuse's role in the movement along with local citizens who aided runaways. One of the more famous cases is that of Jerry McHenry, a runaway who was captured then hijacked from a Syracuse jail by local abolitionists and made his way to freedom in Canada. A monument in Clinton Square commemorates the event.
Harriet Tubman, the "Moses of her people," was an escaped slave who put herself in danger by making 13 trips into slave states and rescuing 70 enslaved family and friends. She was a Union spy and worked for women's suffrage. Her house in Auburn, now known as the Harriet Tubman House, was a home for the aged. She would tell the often frightened slaves that, "on my Underground Railroad, I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." She is buried in the local cemetery. Nearby is the Seward House. Seward's wife was deeply committed to the abolitionist's movement.
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester details her struggle to get the vote for women but also her aim of equal rights for all. Nearby, in a lovely local park, is a life-size statue of Anthony and Frederick Douglass having tea. Douglass was an escaped slave and powerful orator who promoted the cause of freedom. He was a close friend and ally of Anthony.
The abolitionists and women's rights movements were closely related. The National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls honors many women who were active in the abolitionist movement, including Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Grimke Sisters, who fought the injustices of slavery, racism and sexism. Nearby is the Elizabeth Cady Stanton home. Stanton's husband was a founding member of the New York Anti-Slavery Society.
Murphy's Orchard is a 65-acre family-owned farm in Burt, north of Lockport, that has a secret underground room accessed from the floor of the barn where runaway slaves were secreted on their way to freedom. The farm was established by Charles and Anna McClew, who were involved in the UGRR. The location of the farm's proximity to the Erie Canal made it an ideal location on the route to freedom in Canada. Tours are available.
In Lewiston, near the banks of the Niagara River, is the Freedom Crossing Monument, which honors fugitive slaves who sought freedom in Canada and the local volunteers who aided them. The Niagara River was a gateway to freedom and often the last stop on the way to Canada. Nearby at Niagara University, the Castellani Art Museum has a collection of artifacts and photographs plus several informative audio stations called "Freedom Crossing."
The Starr Clark Tin Shop and Underground Railroad Museum is one of the newest museums connected to the UGRR. It is located in Mexico (New York), where Starr Clark served as a stationmaster. Jerry McHenry, of the Jerry Rescue fame, is the most famous of the runaways who made their way to freedom, and most likely the Oswego County portion of his journey was organized by Clark. McHenry was hidden in a local barn for two weeks before being taken to Oswego and then by boat to Canada.
The North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm reveals the hidden history of the Champlain Line of the UGRR with compelling stories of fugitives from slavery who passed though the area on their way to Quebec and Ontario, Canada. The tour includes a multimedia production detailing the story of John Thomas and his family's escape from slavery.
WHEN YOU GO
For Underground Railroad tours in New York City, visit www.insideouttours.com/the-underground-railroad-tour.
Sandra Scott is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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