Picture courtesy of
Cayuga Museum
(Click picture to enlarge)
Harriet
Tubman
"The Conductor"
By Carl A. Pierce
(click picture to enlarge)
TUBMAN-GARRETT RIVERFRONT PARK
Wilmington, Delaware
July 10, 1997
Park named after freedom conductor Harriet Tubman and
abolitionist Thomas Garrett. My great great great grandfather
Abraham D. Shadd was a shoemaker and a part of Thomas Garrett's
underground railroad network in the
Baltimore/Wilmington/Philadelphia area. Jim Shreve.
Photo by Jim Shreve
#0499
President Baker
Sponsor: Council
Member
Oliver
Whereas, the City and
State, through the Riverfront Development Corporation and the
Christina Gateway Corporation, will be developing a new
riverfront park at the southern gateway to the city adjacent to
the Amtrak Rail Station and the South Market Street Bridge; and
Whereas, the park is
close to a number of locations connected to the history of the
Underground Railroad that network for courageous blacks and
whites whose efforts enabled thousands of enslaved human beings
to escape to the blessings of freedom; and
Whereas, Wilmington has
no physical remains from the era that mark these locations,
which included the road from the south over the Christina bridge
at Market Street, over which Harriet Tubman led hundreds to
freedom at the end of repeated dangerous trips to slave areas,
and the nearby home of Thomas Garrett, who lost most of his
material possessions in punishment for helping slaves escape to
free states; and
Whereas, it is
appropriate that people today have a continual reminder of the
past evils of slavery, and the courage of individuals from
varied backgrounds who risked their lives and fortunes to free
others from its chains.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WILMINGTON that the Council
recommends to the Riverfront Development Corporation that the
new riverfront park at the foot of King Street be named the
Tubman-Garrett Park, and that appropriate commemorations of
their work and the association of the site with the Underground
Railroad be included in the park’s design.
Passed by City Council, July 10,
1997
Attest: Leo Marshall
