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The paths
of freedom were the tracks of the Underground Railroad and many led
to the Buffalo Niagara area as African-American slaves sought the best
routes to Canada.
Begin your tour of the Underground Railroad at the Buffalo Niagara Visitor
Center at the Market Arcade (617 Main Street, Buffalo). From the Arcade's
rear entrance on Washington Street, proceed four blocks to Clinton Street.
Go left to Michigan. Turn left and look for the Michigan Street Baptist
Church, 511 Michigan Avenue in downtown Buffalo. A station on the
Underground Railroad, it is the oldest property continuously owned,
operated, and occupied by African-Americans in Western New York. Head
north on Michigan turning left on Goodell Street, right on Delaware
Avenue (Route 384) to West Ferry Street. Turn left on W. Ferry Street
and continue to its end at Broderick Park on the Niagara River.
Fugitive slaves crossed the river to Canada from here before there was
a bridge. From Broderick Park take Niagara Street south to the Peace
Bridge and cross into Canada.
After clearing Customs (be sure to bring birth certificates or passports),
turn right onto Goderich Street and go two blocks to Queen Street, turn
right and proceed three blocks to the Niagara Parkway, one of the world's
great drives. Take a left on the Parkway. A few miles to the north is
the Dollhouse Museum (formerly Bertie Hall) which was known as
a safe house and where smuggling operations were rumored to have taken
place as well.
Continue north on Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake where you'll
find the Negro Burial Ground which is all that remains of the
Calvinistic Baptist Church. At its opening in 1831 the congregation
was all white, but from 1849-1853 became all black. (An optional leg
to the tour includes taking Route 55 from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the
QEW to St. Catharines for a visit to the "Follow the North Star"
exhibit at the St. Catharines Museum at the Welland Canal Centre.)
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Return
south on the Niagara Parkway to the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge and cross
back into New York. From the bridge, follow signs to the village of
Lewiston to visit the Lewiston First Presbyterian Church. Its
pastor, Rev. Josiah Tryon, was rumored to have sheltered many slaves
in a place called "Tryon's Folly" which was built atop the
Niagara Gorge with four descending cellars leading toward the Niagara
River which provided an excellent hiding place and escape route for
the slaves' late-night crossing into Canada.
Leaving Lewiston, follow Robert Moses Parkway south to the Whirlpool
Bridge exit in Niagara Falls. The first connection between the U.S.
and Canada across the lower Niagara gorge, the Whirlpool Bridge was
known as the "Freedom Crossing" and was used in 1849
by Harriet Tubman en route from slavery in Bucktown, Maryland to her
first home in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was modified for train traffic
in 1855 and became a major route for escaping slaves in cattle or baggage
cars aboard the 4 a.m. Northern Central Railroad line.
From the bridge, take Whirlpool Street south to Rainbow Boulevard which
will connect with Robert Moses Parkway. Go south on Robert Moses Parkway
to I-190 south to return to Buffalo.
For additional
information:
Motherland Connextions
716-282-1028
www.motherlandconnextions.com
Proper
documentation is required to cross the Canadian/US border.
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