II. DEFINING THE HERITAGE AREA
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II. DEFINING THE HERITAGE AREA
III. The Underground Railroad in Niagara Falls
The City of Niagara Falls possesses an Wellman of New York Historical Research
unparalleled density of historic resources, Associates, Inc., which is included in Appendix
narratives, sites, experiences, and research C of this Plan. A brief summary of the results
opportunities related to the Underground and resources described in the Historic
Railroad. Historical research and community Resources Survey report is included below.
outreach conducted during preparation
of this Plan resulted in the identification, Almost all Americans know something- or think
documentation, and interpretation of numerous they know something- about the Underground
historic resources related the Underground Railroad. In the minds of many, the Underground
Railroad located in the Heritage Area and Railroad was a secret movement, shrouded in
surrounding region (see Maps 17 and 18). The a romantic haze through which people dimly
results of these research and outreach efforts see kindly Quakers, tunnels, and quilts. New
are fully described in the comprehensive research in local communities, however, is
report entitled Survey of Sites Relating to the reshaping historians’ understanding of how
Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and the Underground Railroad worked, who
African American Life in Niagara Falls and was involved, and how it changed over time.
1847 Newspaper Article describing the ‘Riot at Niagara’ Surround Area, 1820-1880 (hereinafter Historic Recognizing that the Underground Railroad
Resources Survey), prepared by Dr. Judith
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 47
O N TA R I O , C A N A D A N E W Y O R K , U N I T E D S TAT E S
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
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Map 17: Underground Railroad Sites within the Heritage Area
UGRR Sites - Heritage Area
48 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
)
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III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
)
"
began with “the effort of enslaved African
Americans to gain their freedom by escaping
bondage” (NPS 2011a), current research
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62A
has indeed documented the participation of
Quakers (and other helpers), but so far has
uncovered no evidence of tunnels or quilts.
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Site of the
Home of
W.H. Childs
As this body of research begins to lift that shroud
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104
of secrecy, it paints a new portrait in which
St.
many parts of the Underground Railroad were Lawrence
Site of
well documented. This new understanding Hotel
£
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the Free
Soil Hotel
of the Underground Railroad describes how Site of Patterson Sa
lle Niagara St
freedom seekers themselves initiated this Site of
House and Robinson
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movement, with African Americans as well the Ferry
House Hotel
Prospect St
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as European Americans (and, in fact, entire Landing
Site of the
communities) playing exceptionally important )
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Falls Hotel
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roles as helpers and facilitators in Underground (before 1860)
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St. Peter's
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One of those communities was Niagara Falls. Cataract Church
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almost every border community, Niagara Falls
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Jerauld os
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was nationally important, acting like the small w y )
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end of a funnel to channel people from all over Site of the Home of
Augustus B. Porter Site of the Home
the South across the Niagara River into Ontario. Solon Whitney
House
of Peter A. Porter,
Elizabeth Porter,
On the Niagara Frontier, other crossing points and Josehine Porter
included Youngstown, Lewiston, and Black
Horseshoe
Rock. But, nationally, Niagara Falls rivaled Falls
Detroit as an international link for freedom
"
seekers.
Niagara River
Underground Railroad Site
Freedom seekers came to Niagara Falls )
"
primarily because it offered relatively easy Heritage Area Boundary 0 250 500 1,000
Feet N
access to Canada. The ferry at the base of the
American Falls brought both tourists and Map 18: Underground Railroad Sites within the Heritage Area- Detail
UGRR Sites - Detail
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 49
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
freedom seekers alike to Canada in a short, if from the South. Of the thousands of tourists The Historic Resources Survey report for the
dramatic, fifteen-minute ride. After 1855, a who came to Niagara Falls every summer, Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage
system of rail lines (including the New York about twenty percent were residents of the Area (see Appendix C) identifies 27 significant
Central Railroad, the Erie Railroad, and the South. Often, these families brought their sites (or historic resources) throughout the
Great Western Railroad in Canada) converged enslaved maids and valets with them. Close community and surrounding areas that served
on the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, with juxtaposition of southern slave-owners and important functions during the formation
fifty or more trains crossing the border each day black abolitionist hotel workers created an and operation of the Underground Railroad.
in this newly-integrated railway system. underlying social instability that threatened to These include 23 historic resources in the
disrupt the carefree holiday atmosphere of this City of Niagara Falls (see Maps 17 and 18)
An emerging system of ferries and railroads tourist town. Freedom seekers, their proslavery and four more—a fraction of the total—for
alone would have attracted people escaping opponents, and their abolitionist allies (both Niagara County. These 23 historic resources
from slavery to Niagara Falls. But the presence black and white) made Niagara Falls one of are summarized herein in the Inset entitled
of two groups of people made Niagara the country’s most important and dramatic “Underground Railroad Sites in Niagara Falls.”
Falls more dramatic and an even stronger crossing points from slavery into freedom. A more detailed description for each resource,
magnet for freedom seekers. First were large including an evaluation of significance and
numbers of local and regional abolitionists historical research that documents each site’s
who actively assisted people escaping from Underground Railroad Sites in association with the Underground Railroad, is
slavery. Most important locally were African Niagara Falls provided in Appendix C.
American waiters who worked in the large
As described in Appendix C, Niagara Falls
hotels, especially the Cataract House and the
has some of the richest Underground Railroad
International Hotel. Many of these waiters had
documentation of any community in the United
themselves escaped from slavery. These waiters
States. Memoirs and newspapers provide
were a select group of well-organized skilled
especially detailed information. In addition to
workers, and they provided critical assistance
general recollections about the Underground
to freedom seekers on the very last leg of
Railroad, we found 36 specific cases, often
the journey. Abolitionist allies also included
documented in great detail, of Underground
European Americans, such as William H. Child,
Railroad incidents in Niagara County (most of
the Whitney family (owners of the Cataract
them in Niagara Falls). These include stories of
House) and second-generation members of
relatively unknown freedom seekers such as
the Porter family (the first major post-Seneca
Thomas James, Isaac Williamson, and Charlotte
landholders in Niagara Falls).
Eglin, as well as details about nationally known
African Americans, including Harriet Tubman,
A second group of people in Niagara Falls
Samuel R. Ward, and Ann Maria Weems. As
challenged the efforts of freedom seekers and
additional research is conducted on this topic,
their allies. These were white elite families
more stories will most likely be found.
50 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the Ferry Landing Site of the Cataract House
(Foot of Niagara Falls, below Prospect Point) (Main Street at the Niagara River)
Before the War of 1812, an 80-foot-long ladder was constructed directly at The Cataract House was one of the two largest hotels in Niagara Falls,
the base of the American falls. It was destroyed during the War of 1812. operated by Parkhurst Whitney from 1825-45, and by his son Solon Whitney
Three years later, at the request of Augustus Porter, Parkhurst Whitney and sons-in-law James Trott and Dexter Jerauld from 1845 until the late-
built the first stairs at this location in 1818, echoing a similar staircase on nineteenth century. It was a magnet both for southern slave-holding tourists
the Canadian side. In 1820, Whitney started regular ferry service with small and for African American waiters, many of them southern-born. In 1850, more
rowboats, to carry passengers across the river. Many Africans Americans than sixty percent of African Americans working at the Cataract listed their
escaped to freedom on the ferry. The dramatic escape of “Martha” and birthplaces as a southern state or unknown/unlisted, suggesting that many
her husband, as they were chased down a steep staircase to the Ferry of these people had escaped from slavery. The Cataract House was also the
Landing by a would-be band of bounty hunters, is among the most notable. site of many escapes from slavery, and the staff of African American waiters
Accounts also exist to document Nancy Berry’s (much less dramatic) ferry (under head waiter John Morrison and others) helped enslaved people escape
ride, as well as Patrick Sneed’s unsuccessful attempt to cross the river at this to freedom. Famous cases included a failed rescue attempt in 1847 and the
location. John Morrison, head waiter at the Cataract House, often ferried successful escapes of Cecilia Jane Reynolds (1847), a woman named Martha
people across the river himself (see Appendix C: pages 142-160). (1853), and waiter Patrick Sneed (1853). The importance of the Cataract House
as the center of Underground Railroad activism in Niagara Falls cannot be
over-estimated. The African American waiters who worked as Underground
Railroad agents made this site one of the most important Underground
Railroad nodes in the entire nation (see Appendix C: pages 48-79).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 51
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS Site of the Eagle/International Hotel Site of the Falls Hotel (Southwest corner of Falls and Main Streets; present Comfort Inn) (Falls Street) The Eagle Hotel was the first hotel in Niagara Falls, owned by Parkhurst Between 1847 and 1854, the Falls Hotel housed the offices of The Iris, a Whitney. In 1853, B.F. Childs added on to this building to create the world- newspaper with antislavery sympathies owned by editor George Hackstaff renowned International Hotel, equal in size and stature to the Cataract and printer William Tunis. Tunis also published tourist guides, operated House. Like the Cataract, this hotel employed many black waiters. Eagle/ a bookstore across the river in Ontario, and served as an agent for the International Hotel staff (including Daniel R. Cosby, headwaiter from 1853 Railway Express System, delivering New York City periodicals to inland into the 1870s) were involved in rescue attempts, including a failed rescue cities. In 1860, African Americans lived in homes of both William Tunis and of a young woman staying at the hotel in 1847 (see Appendix C: pages 79- the proprietor of the Falls Hotel. The hotel burned in 1861 (see Appendix 84). C: pages 117-118). 52 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the Free Soil Hotel Site of the Patterson/Robinson House
(Main Street, west side, just north of Falls Street) (313 Prospect Street, originally Mechanic Street)
James S. Patterson (also known as Samuel J. Patterson) was born in 1809 James and Luvisa Patterson, operators of the Free Soil Hotel on Main Street,
in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a stronghold of southern slavery. lived in this house. After their daughter Mary Luvisa Patterson married
Patterson came to Niagara Falls in 1836, and worked for years as a porter at Charles Kersey Jackson from Virginia, the Pattersons moved this house to
the Cataract House. He would go on to take full advantage of his personal a nearby back lot on Fall Street and built the Robinson House Hotel at
and financial liberties as a free African American in Niagara Falls when this site on the original Mechanic Street. Charles and Mary Luvisa became
he and his wife became proprietors of the Free Soil Hotel in or around proprietors of the Robinson House Hotel. By 1929, when the home was
1850. The Pattersons, also known to support local Underground Railroad demolished, local resident Julius Krakoski remembered it as “the home of
activities, operated the Free Soil Hotel until the early 1860’s, when they Jim Patterson, a slave who escaped from the South during the early years
leased it to other proprietors. James Patterson was remarkable, not only of the Civil War” (see Appendix C: pages 86-89).
because he owned a hotel but also because he did not fear to advertise his
political principles by naming it the Free Soil Hotel (see Appendix C: pages
84-86).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 53
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the St. Lawrence Hotel Home of Dexter Jerauld
(Main Street, west side, near Niagara Street) (24 Buffalo Avenue, corner of Buffalo Avenue and First Street)
At a time when many African Americans could not find adequate hotel Dexter Jerauld, part owner of the Cataract House, constructed this elegant
accommodations, Christopher Smith, proprietor of the St. Lawrence Gothic Revival structure sometime before 1867 and perhaps as early as the
Hotel, hosted Frederick Douglass here in 1848. Although Douglass had to 1840s. In 1836, Dexter R. Jerauld married Angeline Whitney (1847-1857),
eat at a separate table, he recommended the St. Lawrence Hotel to other daughter of Parkhurst and Celinda Whitney. Two African Americans,
abolitionists. The St. Lawrence Hotel was a smaller hotel than the flagship Margaret Truss and Sarah Brown, lived in the Jerauld household in 1860.
Cataract, Eagle, or Falls hotels. A map prepared by G.W. Johnson in 1849- As part owner of the Cataract House, Dexter Ray Jerauld hired dozens of
50 clearly shows the St. Lawrence Hotel it on the west side of Main Street African Americans, most as waiters and cooks in the hotel, many of whom
(No. 4 on map), identifying it as one of the four main hotels in Niagara Falls had escaped from slavery. Living only one block from the Cataract House,
(see Appendix C: pages 96-99). he interacted daily with staff and clientele. He was certainly aware of
Underground Railroad activities associated with the Cataract House (see
Appendix C: pages 128-133).
54 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
Clinton Brown, Intensive Level Survey Historic Resources- Downtown Neighborhood, City of Niagara Falls; Phase I, 3-8, http://
buffaloah.com/surveys/nf/3.pdf.
Site of the Augustus Porter House Solon Whitney Home
(Buffalo Avenue at the entrance to Goat Island) (335 Buffalo Avenue)
Augustus S. Porter and his brother Peter B. Porter were the first private Solon Myron Napoleon Whitney, son of Parkhurst Whitney, owned the
European American owners of land in Niagara Falls. As part of Porter, Cataract Hotel for more than 50 years with his brothers-in-law Dexter
Barton, and Company, they established ports in Niagara Falls, Lewiston, Jerauld and James Trott. All of them hired African Americans as waiters.
and Black Rock (now part of Buffalo). Augustus Porter built a house in Many of these waiters had born in the South and had likely escaped from
Niagara Falls in 1808. After the British burned it in 1813, he rebuilt it on the slavery. The house is architecturally significant, associated with both
same site in 1818. Before he moved to Niagara Falls, Augustus Porter owned the history of tourism and industrial development in Niagara Falls, and
at least one person in slavery in Canandaigua, New York. He reputedly also is one of the few surviving structures in the City associated with the
brought the first African American family to Niagara Falls, Harry and Kate Underground Railroad (see Appendix C: pages 133-136).
Wood. In the 1820 census, the Wood family and the Abraham Thompson
family, all free people of color, lived near the Porter family. The Porter
family home was demolished in the 1920s. (see Appendix C: pages 42-44).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 55
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the Home of Peter A. Porter, Elizabeth Porter, and Josephine Porter St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
(Southeast corner of Buffalo Avenue and Fourth Street) (228 Second Street, formerly 140 Rainbow Boulevard)
The Porters were one of the first European American families to own Many prominent local families, both African American and European
land within the Niagara Frontier, and would go on to become major land American, were associated with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Peter A.
speculators throughout the region. Elizabeth Porter and her brother Peter Porter and Elizabeth Porter, both associated with the Underground
A. Porter became major benefactors for African Americans in Niagara Railroad, belonged to this church, as did Parkhurst and Celinda Whitney,
Falls. In a dramatic incident in 1861, they helped a young woman named Solon and Frances Whitney, and Dexter and Angeline Whitney Jerauld.
Cassey escape from slave-catchers. Although both his wives came from Several African Americans were also affiliated with this church, including
southern slaveholding families, Peter A. Porter served as colonel of the Samuel Edwards and Charles Kersey Jackson. In 1864, St. Peter’s conducted
Eighth Heavy Artillery during the Civil War, facing Confederate troops led a burial service in Oakwood Cemetery for Samuel Edwards, “a colored
by his cousin at Cold Harbor in 1864, where he lost his life (see Appendix man” and hotel waiter who died of consumption on September 12, 1864, at
C: pages 89-96). the age of thirty-three. When abolitionist Elizabeth Porter died in 1876, she
was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, with a service in St. Peter’s Church (see
Appendix C: pages 139-142).
56 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management PlanIII. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the Peter Buell Porter House Site of the Home of William H. Childs
(Falls Street, south side, just east of Main Street) (615 Main Street, originally Ontario Street; present site of United States Post Office)
The Peter B. Porter family represents the tension between slavery and W.H. Childs was a major anchor of abolitionism in Niagara Falls, “a most
freedom embodied in personal family relationships. Both Peter B. Porter zealous anti-slavery man,” from at least 1840 to the Civil War, working
and his son Peter A. Porter married women from slaveholding families. with philanthropist Gerrit Smith to distribute land to African Americans in
In 1821, while he was still living at Black Rock (now part of the City of 1846-47, consistently supporting the Liberty Party, and helping to establish
Buffalo) Peter B. Porter tried to recapture a woman who had escaped from the Congregational Church at Suspension Bridge. Childs was also actively
his household; in 1837, he assisted his brother-in-law, David Castleman, involved in the Underground Railroad, and was involved in assisting at
in Castleman’s attempt to recapture Solomon Moseby. The Porter children least two fugitives. He appears on Wilbur Siebert’s 1898 list of Underground
(Elizabeth and Peter A. Porter), however, had antislavery sympathies and Railroad agents (see Appendix C: pages 100-103).
most likely helped on the Underground Railroad (see Appendix C: pages
44-48).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 57III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS Oakwood Cemetery Emma Tanner Home (Portage Road) (619 Ashland Avenue) Oakwood Cemetery has been the main cemetery for the village and city of Emma Louise Jordan Tanner was born in Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls since it was established in 1852 on land donated by Lavinia Canada, about 1859. Her father, Samuel Jordan, had escaped from slavery Porter, daughter of Niagara Falls founder Augustus Porter. Oakwood in Virginia on the Underground Railroad to live in Lundy’s Lane, Ontario, includes graves from many families, both African American and European Canada. By 1928, Emma Tanner moved to Niagara Falls, New York, and American, related to the story of slavery, freedom, and African American became a noted corset saleswoman in a local department store. Emma life in Niagara Falls. These include European Americans such as the Tanner represents the social and economic success, as well as the close Porter, Whitney, Childs, and Townsend families and African Americans ties to family members in Canada, of many children of people who had such as the Pattersons, Jacksons, Hamiltons, and Lees. Edward and Mary escaped from slavery (see Appendix C: pages 121-125). Sarsnett are also buried in Oakwood. Edward Sarsnett was a grandson of John Sarsnett, brought in slavery from Maryland to Lyons, New York, in 1797. Edward was a Civil War veteran, and his wife Mary was active in the Grand Army of the Republic (see Appendix C: pages 118-121). 58 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS
Site of the Whitney-Trott House Site of the International Suspension Bridge
(Main Street across from Chilton Avenue) (Whirlpool Street)
This site is significant for three reasons. It was the home of Parkhurst The Suspension Bridge across the Niagara Gorge served as a point of
and Celinda Whitney, original owners of the Cataract House, which hired crossing for many fugitives into Canada. Built in 1848 as a carriage and
dozens of African Americans as waiters and cooks, many of whom had footbridge, the Suspension Bridge was rebuilt in two levels to incorporate
been enslaved in the South. It was also the home of their daughter Celinda rail traffic in 1855. This bridge became a magnet for freedom seekers, a
Eliza Whitney, who married and James Fullerton Trott, who (along with crossing point that funneled hundreds and perhaps thousands of people
his wife’s brother and brother-in-law) went on to own the Cataract House from slavery to freedom. After 1855, people took the railroad—principally
upon Parkhurst’s retirement. Upon his own retirement, James Fullerton the New York Central Railroad from New York City, Albany, Syracuse, and
Trott also went on to establish Niagara Falls’ public school system. The Rochester or the Canandaigua Railroad from Elmira--directly across the
Whitney-Trott House was also the center of the largest commercial farm in Suspension Bridge. Harriet Tubman was the most famous person to travel
the Town of Niagara (see Appendix C: pages 103-111). from slavery to freedom at the Suspension Bridge. Her crossings included
one with Joe Bailey, who escaped from slavery with Tubman and three
others in November 1856 (see Appendix C: pages 160-172).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 59III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS Site of the Maid of the Mist Landing First Congregational Church and Society of Niagara City (Dock at Niagara River, just south of Suspension Bridge) (822 Cleveland Avenue) From 1846, when the Maid of the Mist began service, until after Captain Joel The First Congregational Church and Society of Niagara City was Robinson took her through the Whirlpool to be sold in 1861, she docked in constructed in 1855-56, and located just a block away from the Suspension Bellevue, just above the Suspension Bridge. In August 1853, U.S. marshals Bridge. Founding members struggled to decide between Congregational pursued Cataract Hotel waiter Patrick Sneed, accusing him not of escaping and Presbyterian incorporation; the former institution was noted for its from slavery but of murder. Ferry boat rowers took Sneed almost to the abolitionist sympathies, while the latter often opposed abolitionism and Canada ferry landing before learning of his murder charge. At that point, allowed slaveholders as members. As the membership debated these they changed course and rowed Sneed to the Maid of the Mist landing ideals, efforts to unify the congregations failed, and the anti-abolitionist near the Suspension Bridge. Aided by Irish workers, marshals captured congregants left to form a separate church. Noted abolitionist members Sneed at the landing and took him by rail and carriage to jail in Buffalo. His of the Congregational Church included William H. Childs and Minister subsequent trial revealed the murder charge to be fraudulent and resulted Benjamin F. Bradford (see Appendix C: pages 136-139). in Sneed’s release. (see Appendix C: pages 172-177). 60 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management Plan
III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS
Colt Block Site of the School for the Deaf or Blind African American Children
(Northeast corner of Main and Ontario Streets) (1810 Main Street)
Leander Colt represents widespread local support for helping people to get From 1858-61, Dr. P.H. Skinner and his wife Jarusha Skinner kept a school
out of slavery. Colt “and lady” attended a benefit concert for George Goines here for African American children who were deaf, mute, or blind, espousing
in Lockport, who was raising money to buy freedom for his mother and ideals of equality and abolitionism. The school published and printed The
brother. After Colt constructed this limestone commercial block in 1855, Mute and the Blind, an abolitionist newspaper. Students helped to run
he rented part of the building to George Hackstaff, editor of the Niagara the printing press, and proceeds from the paper were used to support the
Herald, who had antislavery sympathies (see Appendix C: pages 127-128). school. The Skinner School for Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind Children
is one of the most remarkable institutions in the Heritage Area, unique in
the U.S. for focusing on African American children—many of them born in
Canada—who were deaf, dumb, or blind (see Appendix C: pages 111-117).
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 61III. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
also stopped here six days a week, making a
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES IN NIAGARA FALLS Underground Railroad Sites in
regular circuit of both U.S. and Canadian ports
Niagara County, Outside the City of on Lake Ontario. U.S. captains such as Horatio
Niagara Falls Nelson Throop (master of the Rochester and the
In addition to identifying the significant Ontario) and Canadian captains such as Hugh
historic resources located within the Heritage Richardson (master of the Chief Justice William
Area, the Historic Resources Survey for the Robinson) willingly picked up people escaping
project identified numerous sites and stories from slavery at the Lewiston landing and took
associated with the Underground Railroad them to Toronto and Kingston. Today, the area
from the surrounding Niagara Frontier region near the historic landing and suspension bridge
(see Appendix C). Selected sites from outside is marked by a bronze, larger-than-life statue,
Niagara Falls are listed below (see Map 19) designed by sculptor Susan Geissler and erected
and are more fully described in Appendix C. in 2009 to commemorate Margaret Goff Clark’s
Continued research to identify, document, and Freedom Crossing (1969) (see Appendix C:
evaluate historic resources located throughout pages 181-192).
Colt House the Study Area is a worthwhile ongoing
(1018 Ontario Avenue) Hannah and John Johnston Home, Site of
objective for the Heritage Area Commission.
The Colt family represents widespread East of Elmwood Avenue, North of Sweeney
local sympathy for enslaved people. Ferry Landing, Youngstown, Town of Porter Street (Fonner-Basenberg-Bush Farm),
They were founding members of the The ferry across the Niagara River at Youngstown North Tonawanda
Congregational Church in Suspension was an important crossing point for freedom John Johnson, born in Washington, D.C., and
Bridge, which was sympathetic to seekers, particularly before completion of the Hannah Johnson, born in Albany, lived in North
abolitionism, and in 1855, Leander Colt Tonawanda from about 1825 until John’s death
Suspension Bridges at Niagara Falls in 1848 and
“and lady” attended a benefit concert sometime before 1870 and Hannah’s death in
Lewiston in 1851. It remained an alternative even
in Lockport to raise money to buy
when these other crossing points were patrolled 1883. They owned about twelve acres of land near
George Goines’ brother and mother out
by slave catchers. Thomas James crossed here in the home of John Chadwick. John Johnson may
of slavery. The house is architecturally
1821 (see Appendix C: pages 177-181). have escaped from slavery on the Underground
significant, and is one of the few surviving
Railroad and both John and Hannah may have
structures in the City associated with the
Ferry Landing and Suspension Bridge, used their home as a safe house for others. After
abolitionism or the Underground Railroad
Freedom Crossing Monument Lewiston Hannah Johnson’s death, her story lived on—
(see Appendix C: pages 126-127).
and continues to live on—in local oral traditions
Many freedom seekers used the ferry at Lewiston as the tale of “Black Hannah” (see Appendix C:
or the Lewiston Suspension Bridge (from its pages 192-197).
construction in 1851 to its destruction in 1864)
to cross into freedom in Ontario. Steamboats
62 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Management PlanIII. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NIAGARA FALLS
Lockport. Home and School (corner Vine
and Garden Streets), Aaron Mossell
The Mossell family represents free people of Olcott
color who migrated from Maryland along with Lake Ontario
people escaping from slavery. They went first to Wilson
)
"
Canada and then returned after the Civil War Murphy Orchards
to the U.S. They settled in Lockport, New York, (Interpretive Site)
Approximate
where Aaron Mossell became a well-known Ferry Youngstown
brick maker, hotel owner, and community Landing Site Ransomville
leader. The Mossell children and grandchildren Freedom Aaron Mossell
became ministers, doctors, lawyers, hotel Crossing Home and Middleport
Monument
owners, and college professors. One of the Site of
School Gasport
Mossell family’s most important contributions Steamboat Site of
Landing
to Lockport was their advocacy for access Suspension Bridge
Lockport
for African American students to the public
schools. African Americans in Lockport met as
early as 1835 to create a school for their children See
(see Appendix C: pages 197-204). Heritage Area £
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62
Map
Approximate Site
of Hannah and
John Johnson Home
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990
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290
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£
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20
Buffalo
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" Underground Railroad Site Lake Erie
Study Area Boundary 0 1.5 3 6
Miles N
Map 19: Underground Railroad Sites within the Study £
¤
Area
219
UGRR Sites - Study Area
www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org 63You can also read
