Joining more than 700 locations across the country, the National Park Service has added 16 new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Each played an important role in the history of freedom seekers who escaped slavery and those who assisted in the effort.
The additions come as the National Parks Service (NPS) celebrates the 200th birthday of Harriet Tubman, the person most associated with the Underground Railroad.
“It’s fitting to welcome new additions to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom as we celebrate Harriet Tubman’s 200th birthday,” Diane Miller, national program manager of the Network to Freedom, said in a release. “Like Harriet Tubman, the freedom seekers and allies highlighted in each Network to Freedom listing remind us of what can be accomplished when people take action against injustice.”
New Listings
- Marianna Expedition on Santa Rosa Island (Florida)
- Winterset Cemetery (Iowa)
- Dinsmore Homestead (Kentucky)
- LeCompte Plantation (Louisiana)
- Emmanuel Prudhomme Plantation (Louisiana)
- Mass Escape at Mackall Plantation (Maryland)
- Port Tobacco Jail Sites (Maryland)
- St. Stephens A.M.E. Church Cemetery, Unionville (Maryland)
- Robert Gould Shaw 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial (Massachusetts)
- Elijah Fish and George Taylor Burial Sites at Greenwood Cemetery (Michigan)
- Huntoon-Van Rensalier Underground Railroad Site (New Jersey)
- Presbyterian Plane Street Colored Church (New Jersey)
- Rev. Robert Everett and Family Gravesite, Capel Ucha Welsh Congregational Church Cemetery (New York)
- Spring Grove Cemetery (Ohio)
- Cozad-Bates House Interpretive Center (Ohio)
- Destination Freedom Underground Railroad Walking Tour (Pennsylvania)
“Each listing holds a unique part of the Underground Railroad story, and we look forward to working with members to amplify the power of these places,” Miller said.
The Network to Freedom is meant to honor, preserve, and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.
“Through its mission, the Network to Freedom helps to advance the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression,” the NPS says.
It was created in 1998 through legislation by Congress. Sites that can prove their significance and earn a majority vote by members of a review committee are accepted into the network, according to Miller.
“We are empowering communities and descendants to tell their stories,” Miller told Capital News Service.
The network contains a mixture of both public and private sites, with many offering experiences and opportunities to explore.
The network also has a virtual passport, allowing visitors to collect stamps as they go through various experiences.
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