Network to Freedom March 2002 More than “safe houses” 39 New Listings in the The Underground Rail- to incorporate and • Sites associated with Network to road refers to efforts of encourage new and kidnappings enslaved African Ameri- original investiga- • Sites associated with rescues of freedom Freedom cans to gain their free- tions, interpretations, seekers dom by escaping and commemorative bondage. Wherever • properties associated The National Under- activities around the with prominent persons slavery existed, there ground Railroad Network country. • cemeteries were efforts to escape, to Freedom Program pre- • military sites, such as serves and commemorates at first to maroon com- battlefields where the history of the Under- munities in remote or “contraband” were rugged terrain on the protected ground Railroad, a signifi- edge of settled areas. cant heritage related to Their acts of self- While the Under- resistance to enslavement emancipation made ground Railroad and the flight to freedom. them “fugitives” accord- existed in the The National Park Service ing to the laws of the context of aboli- (NPS) is pleased to an- times, though in retro- tionism and anti- nounce that, as a result of spect “freedom seeker” slavery thought, the second round of appli- seems a more accurate As a result of the Union victory in April 1862, cations received by July Fort Pulaski became a haven for African those associa- description American refugees. tions alone are 15, 2001, the Network has not sufficient to accepted an additional 39 Connections to the Un- • Transportation include a site, facility, or listings—29 sites, 8 pro- derground Railroad and routes, including program in the Network grams, and 2 facilities. the resistance to slavery landscapes, water to Freedom. Participa- through flight can en- routes, caves, tion in the Underground Listing in the Network to compass various activi- swamps Railroad was a violation Freedom provides national ties. The most com- • Churches associ- of the federal fugitive recognition to well- monly recognized asso- ated with congrega- slave acts and hence ille- documented historic sites, tions active in the ciation is the safe house gal. Through their acts of programs, and facilities. Underground Rail- where shelter and food civil disobedience, these Network to Freedom list- were provided. How- road ings will be featured on • Sites associated individuals demonstrated ever, by focusing on the a higher level of commit- the Program’s web site with legal chal- (www.cr.nps.gov/ugrr). act of self-liberation, the lenges to slavery ment to the principles of Sites, programs, and facil- Network to Freedom • Enslavement sites freedom and self- recognizes a variety of with documented determination. It is this ities that have been ac- additional associations. escapes level of commitment that cepted in the Network will The following list sug- • Rebellion sites is recognized in the Net- have the privilege to use gests some of the possi- • Maroon communi- work to Freedom. and display the Network ble associations. The ties to Freedom logo. This list is meant to be fluid • Destination sites (Continued on page 2) 1 Network to Freedom 39 New Additions to the Network to Freedom validation of their Under- River, north of Alton, Illi- grams such as the Foot- ground Railroad associa- nois was an area known as steps to Freedom Study tions can be an important Rocky Fork, now known as Tour for California educa- tool for site preservation Camp Warren Levis. Here, tors and the living history and seeking funding. Inclu- in an area that became a based “A Fugitive’s Path— sion in the Network to Free- settlement for escaped Escape on the Under- dom is also required to be African Americans, was ground Railroad” interpret eligible for Network to one of the first “Free” state this history to people of all Freedom grants, when stops for freedom seekers ages and help to keep the funding is available. leaving Missouri. The com- memory alive. Similarly munity lasted long after facilities such as the River As the Network to Freedom 1865, with many descen- Road African American expands, information will dents still in the area, hold- Museum and be available to assist re- ing the oral traditions of Gallery in searchers in gaining a new their families. In New Louisiana help to Listing in the Net- appreciation of the com- York, the Oswego Market tell the story of work to Freedom plexity of this rich tapestry House was used as the seat the origins of the illustrating the quest for of local government. It Underground provides national freedom. For example, at was the location of the Lib- Railroad in the recognition to well- the Mary Meachum Free- erty Party’s 1850 annual deep South. documented historic dom Crossing in Missouri, convention where Gerrit sites, programs, and a group of enslaved Smith was nominated for We encourage facilities. Africans seeking their free- the presidency of the eligible Under- dom crossed the Mississippi United States and, Samuel ground Railroad River, just north of St. R. Ward, a fugitive from sites, programs, Louis. On the Illinois side, enslavement, was nomi- and facilities to they were met by a group of nated for the vice presi- apply. We welcome your police and owners resulting dency. participation in the Net- in the death of one orga- work. nizer, the arrest of Mary Equally important to sites, Meachum, and the sale of are the programs and facili- another woman in the party. ties accepted in the Net- Further up the Mississippi work to Freedom. Pro- Network to Freedom Grants Thanks to support from the geted grant application period will be eligible for grants in Delaware congressional for the remaining $250,000 is fiscal year 2002.. Grant fund- delegation, the National April1-May 15, 2002. A ing is appropriated by Underground Railroad Net- minimum requirement for ap- Congress on an annual basis. work to Freedom has been plication will be listing in the For further details, contact allocated $500,00 for com- National Underground Rail- your regional coordinator or munity grants, of which road Network to Freedom. Diane Miller at $250,000 will go to the Un- Sites, programs, and facilities [email protected] or 402- derground Railroad Coali- that were accepted through 221-3749. tion of Delaware. The tar- the first three rounds of Net- work to Freedom applications 2 Network to Freedom Candidates for Round 3 of the Network to Freedom Programs State Name City Massachusetts Resisting for Justice- The African Meeting House Boston and the Rescue of Shadrach Minkins Michigan Free Soil Underground Railroad Sightseeing Bus Vandalia Tour Ohio Plantation Quilts and Gifts Columbus Facilities State Name City Florida Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC), NPS Tallahassee New York Oswego School District Public Library Oswego Richardson-Bates House Museum Oswego Virginia Alexandria Archeology Museum Alexandria The Library of Virginia Richmond State Name City Illinois Lucius Read House Byron Indiana Eleutherian College Madison Levi Coffin House Historic Site Fountain City Lyman Hoyt House Madison Iowa Nishnabotna Ferry House Lewis Maryland Antietam National Battlefield Sharpsburg Ferry Hill, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP Sharpsburg Massachusetts Ross Homestead Northampton New York Harriet Tubman Home Auburn Orson Ames House Mexico Ohio Benjamin Lundy House/Free Labor Store Mount Pleasant Bloomingburg Presbyterian Church Bloomingburg Charles B. Huber Farm Williamsburg Dr. John Roger Homesite New Richmond Fee Villa Moscow Gus West Site/Abolition Road Washington Court House Haines House Alliance New Richmond, Ohio Waterfront New Richmond Old Cavalry Methodist Church Moscow Roger Fee Homesite Moscow Spring Hill Historic Home Massillon Sugar Tree Wesleyan Church Cemetery Bethel Will Sleet Homesite Felicity Virginia Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Arlington Alexandria Freedmen's Cemetery Alexandria West Virginia Harpers Ferry NHP Harpers Ferry 3 Network to Freedom Listings Accepted in the Second Round of the Network to Freedom Sites State Name City District of Columbia Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Washington Illinois Camp Warren Levis Godfry Dr. Richard Eells House Quincy Kimzey Crossing/Locust Hill Tamaroa Owen Lovejoy Homestead Princeton Iowa Hitchcock House Lewis Todd House Tabor Maryland President Street Station Baltimore Massachusetts Nathan and Polly Johnson House New Bedford Michigan Guy Beckley House Ann Arbor Missouri Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing St. Louis New York Asa Wing Parish Bristol Hill Church (First Congregational Church and Society of Volney) Fulton Buckout-Jones Building Oswego Edwin W. Clarke House Oswego Gerritt Smith Estate Peterboro John B. and Lydia Edwards House Oswego Hamilton and Rhoda Littlefield House Oswego Oswego Market House Oswego Starr Clark Tin Shop Mexico Ohio Charles B. Huber Homesite Williamsburg Dr. L.T. Pease Homesite Williamsburg Felicity Wesleyan Church Felicity Homesite of Dr. William E. Thompson Bethel Lindale Baptist Church and Cemetery Amelia Tate Township Cemetery Bethel Williamsburg Cemetery Williamsburg Pennsylvania Independence National Historical Park Philadelphia Tennessee Fort Donelson National Battlefield Dover State Name City California Footsteps to Freedom Study Tour Riverside Georgia From Africa to Eternity (Traveling Exhibit) Brunswick Indiana Indiana Freedom Trails Educational and Research Program Indianapolis “The Underground Railroad in Floyd County, Indiana” New Albany New York Tudor E. Grant: From Fugitive Slave to Oswego Businessman Oswego Ohio “A