NEWS RELEASE                                     U.S Department of the Interior                               

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

For Release:              February 9, 1996    David Barna 202/208-6843
                                                             Elaine Sevy  202/208-6844

NATIONAL PARK  SERVICE  STUDY EXPLORES OPTIONS FOR PRESERVING, COMMEMORATING

HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 

     “I hated slavery always, and my desire for freedom needed only a favorable breeze to fan it to a blaze at any moment,” wrote the eloquent Frederick Douglass. His journey aboard the “Underground Railroad” brought him triumph over slavery and acclaim as the Nation’s leading 19^th–century African American orator. 

     The Underground Railroad was perhaps the most dramatic protest against human bondage in United States history.  It was a clandestine operation that began during colonial times, grew as part of the organized abolitionist movement, and reached a peak between 1830 and 1865. The story is filled with excitement and triumph as well as tragedy –-individual heroism and sacrifice as well as cooperation to help enslaved people reach freedom. 

     The National Park Service (NPS) has completed a Congressionally authorized study of options for commemorating and interpreting this important chapter in American History.  While many books have been written about the history of the Underground Railroad, the NPS study focuses on the sites, routes, and other resources that remain available for public appreciation and education. 

     In considering more than 380 suggestions for sites throughout the Eastern and mid-Western United States, it became apparent to study participants that the Underground Railroad was far more than a single trail leading from the South to the North.  It was a complex network of individuals, sites and routes with a legacy that includes musical traditions and entire communities as well as hiding places in barns, caves, and secret compartments. Underground Railroad destinations included the Caribbean, Mexico, and Africa as well as the Northern states and Canada. 

     While a few individuals such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman are well known for their association with the Underground Railroad, this study highlights the efforts of hundreds of others who have often been overlooked in the history books. 

     Important sites, in danger of being lost or destroyed, are identified in the study as is the concern that other sites have yet to be located and documented. 

     “The Underground Railroad wasn’t a place; it was one of the most important social, humanitarian movements in the history of this nation,” said NPS Director Roger Kennedy. “It forged a bond between diverse people--African Americans, Africans, Caucasians, Indians, the enslaved, free men and women, Quakers and others-- and created one of the strongest, united forces for freedom that the world has ever known.” 

     “This study provides the means for forging new bonds among Americans to bring this story to life for this and future generations,” Kennedy said.  “Private sector support and enthusiasm, so vital to the success of this program, is very strong as evidenced in local efforts to plan the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The National Park Service is looking forward to collaborating in such efforts to ensure that the Underground Railroad’s extraordinary story is told.” 

     The study outlines five different concepts for preserving, commemorating and interpreting Underground Railroad associated resources. These concepts can stand alone or be combined to better serve resource protection and interpretation objectives: 

     Concept A.  Establish an Education and Research Center, enabling visitors to understand the whole story of the Underground Railroad and its significance in their area or region, and in U.S. history. 

     Concept B.  Enhance Interpretation and Preservation of multiple NPS sites, such as Frederick Douglass’ home or Harpers Ferry, the site of John Brown’s raid.  An appreciation of the Underground Railroad would be accomplished by improving existing park interpretative programs and by implementing new programs that would provide visitors with a complete, in-depth understanding of the Underground Railroad while focusing on local aspects of the story of each site. 

      Concept C.  Establish a National Park System Project Area. Visitors would have an opportunity to encounter a concentration of Underground Railroad resources over a large geographic area (up to several hundred miles).  These resources could include national historic landmarks and existing NPS units associated with the Underground railroad story; documented escape routes used by enslaved Americans; related structures, sites and landscapes; and opportunities to illustrate the Underground Railroad’s international connection. 

    Concept D. Establish a Commemorative Monument. The history, meaning, significance, and legacy of the Underground Railroad would be remembered through a single commemorative monument.  The monument would honor the people who risked or lost their lives to escape the oppression of slavery and reach freedom on the Underground Railroad.    

     Concept E.  Establish Underground Railroad National Recreation Trails(s). Visitors would have an opportunity to travel along trail systems that evoke the perilous experience encountered by those who sought freedom through escape on the Underground Railroad.  A variety of natural resources (e.g., swamps, forest, and rivers) and cultural resources (e.g., Underground Railroad stations, homes of significant individuals, and archaeological sites) along these trail systems would help to bring this story alive.    

NPS Underground Railroad Special Resource Study 1995
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service