Before touring the sites, visitors are encouraged to visit a world-class exhibit dedicated to interpreting the role that the Niagara region played in the Underground Railroad movement. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University recently opened the new Freedom Crossing: The Underground Railroad in Greater Niagara Regional Interpretive Center. The exhibit offers video, artifacts, photographs and audio stations.
Visitors to Freedom Crossing will learn how Harriet Tubman led escaping slaves to Canada over the Suspension Bridge at Niagara Falls and how Great Lakes steamship sailor, William Wells Brown, transported slaves across the Niagara River. (http://www.niagara.edu/cam)
To tour several Underground Railroad sites, Motherland Connextions, a Niagara Falls-based tour operator, offers a four-hour Freedom Seekers Tour of Niagara. Attendees sojourn the towns and sites that played host to thousands of freedom seekers passing through Niagara Falls on what is described as one of this country¡¦s ¡§First Multi-Cultural Humanitarian Efforts.¡¨ Tours are conducted by guides dressed in period clothing. (www.motherlandconnextions.com)
At Murphy Orchards in Burt, New York, visitors can tour an Underground Railroad site that has maintained much of its original character. The farm¡¦s original owners, Charles and Libby McClew, housed escaping slaves in a secret room beneath the barn, which is still preserved today. (www.murphyorchards.com)
Other stops related to the Underground Railroad movement include:
„X Lewiston First Presbyterian Church (33 Cayuga Street, Lewiston, NY). This church is the burial place of Rev. Josiah Tryon, an abolitionist leader, who with his business partners, Amos Tryon and Augustus and Peter Porter, founded a shipping business that they used as a front to assist escaping slaves. Tryon built a home on the Niagara River with nine descending mini-cellars, which were constructed to help slaves get as close as possible to the Niagara River and to Canada. Tryon¡¦s effort was referred to as ¡§Tryon's Folly.¡¨ Today, a commemorative monument stands at the church.
„X St. Johns AME Church (917 Garden Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY). This site, while not a hiding place for escaping slaves, played a key role in the Underground Railroad. The church helped fund the movement, providing funds for transportation and guides who helped slaves escape to Canada. A monument stands at the site.
„X Young Women¡¦s Christian Association of Lockport (32 Cottage Street, Lockport, NY). Originally the home of Abijah Moss, a prominent female banker, slaves found refuge in a secret room at this site. The home is now the YWCA Lockport headquarters. A monument stands in recognition of the movement.
Even after the Civil War, the Niagara region played a prominent role in the de-segregation movement. The modern-day NAACP traces its roots to the ¡§Niagara Movement,¡¨ founded by W.E.B. DuBois.
Visitors interested in more information should contact the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation at 1-877-FALLS-US or via the Internet at www.niagara-usa.com to request a free Visitor Guide or brochures about individual attractions.
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About Niagara USA and the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC)
In Niagara USA, there¡¦s more to experience than just the Falls. In this ¡§all American¡¨ destination, history, romance, family attractions and gaming combine to form the ideal vacation, group and meetings destination. The Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation (NTCC) is Niagara County¡¦s official, state-authorized Tourism Promotion Agency.
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