Page 4 - Volume 2 2016
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Underground Railroad
By Elaine Parker Adams
History & Keeping Informed John Legend’s video drama series “Underground” has stimulated
renewed interest in this vital but mysterious part of the history of
American slavery. The term “Underground Railroad” refers to the
clandestine nature of the escape routes and the use of railroad
terminology as a code language. The Underground Railroad enabled
as many as 100,000 slaves to escape the brutal system of enforced
servitude in the South and find freedom in northern cities and
Canada. Followers of John Wesley were deeply involved as members
of the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.), African Methodist Episcopal (AME),
British Methodist Episcopal (BME), and Wesleyan Churches. To learn
more about the Underground Railroad, there are museums and tours
focused on Underground Railroad history located across the country.
The following are some with specific links to Methodists:
To keep up-to-date on activities, McMillinTours
you can subscribe to the
Underground Railroad Free Press, Sponsors several Underground Railroad tours. From
a widely read independent October 27-31, 2016 there will be a tour to the 90th
newspaper covering current reunion of the town of North Buxton, a haven for escaped
programs and projects involving American slaves and one of Canada’s most historic black
the Underground Railroad and its towns. Methodists played a significant role in its
history. The Press awards prizes development. For more information on tours, contact:
for leadership, preservation, and stewart@mcmillintours.com.
the advancement of knowledge Underground Railroad Bicycle Route Signs along the
on Underground Railroad issues. Underground Railroad
A map of Underground Railroad Guides you up a 2,007 mile corridor from Mobile, AL to Owen Bicycle Route from Mobile,
safe-houses and routes in Sound, Ontario, Canada. There are multiple historical stops on AL to Ontario, Canada.
Frederick County, MD is
presented in the Press. The the way, but the termination point, Owen Sound, is a special
newsletter also calendars tours place. Owen Sound’s British Methodist Episcopal Church, a black
and other events related to the church also called Zion, was established in 1856. Like other area
Underground Railroad. For more AME churches, members chose to emphasize British in the name
information, contact:
info@urrfreepress.com. The to disassociate themselves from the American slavery issue and
newsletter is free. protect church members from the drastic effects of the American
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In 1911, Westside Methodist Church,
having outgrown its facility, sold its church building for $1 to the
BME Church, an Ontario Heritage site.
It is important for today’s Travel Services, Inc. Offers tours emphasizing
Methodists to be aware of the
significant role that the Underground Railroad sites in the Cincinnati, OH region.
Methodist church played in
securing freedom from tyranny Wilberforce University and its Museum are part of the tour.
for the enslaved. The church
continues to fight against The university was developed on land that included a station
contemporary slavery in keeping
with its reputation as a of the Ohio Underground Railroad. This tour also features a
“freedom” church.
visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a
Shackles from the slave pen premier educational resource on the history of the
at the National Underground Underground Railroad, and an opportunity to see the home of
Harriet Beecher Stowe. Contact travelservices@comcast.net
Railroad Freedom Center
to learn more.
Underground Railroad Museum
Elaine Parker Adams is the author Flushing, OH has several tours visiting locations where the railroad was active, including
of The Reverend Peter W. Clark: black schools, churches, and early communities formed by escaped slaves. One of the
Sweet Preacher and Steadfast museum’s tours includes a visit to Cadiz, a former home of Methodist Bishop Matthew
Reformer. She can be reached at
epadams@aol.com. Simpson, spiritual advisor to President Lincoln. The museum itself contains an extensive
collection of publications, books, memorabilia and other articles. It also lends a traveling
trunk (mobile mini- museum). For more information, contact Dr. John S. Mattox, Curator at
curator@ugrrf.org.
