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Mount Auburn Cemetery

Mount Auburn Cemetery is the final resting place of abolitionists and figures associated with the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers Harriet Jacobs and John Jacobs each published a narrative about their escape from enslavement in order to gain support for the abolitionist movement. The monument of Peter Byus tells the story of another freedom seeker. Charles Torrey aided the escape of runaways through Baltimore on their journey to freedom. Caterer Joshua Bowen Smith employed freedom seekers and kept them safely hidden from bounty hunters passing through Boston. Abolitionist George Luther Stearns often hid runaways at his Medford, MA farm. Stearns and abolitionist Samuel Gridely Howe were two members of the “Secret Six,” a group of men who secretly financed the activities of abolitionist John Brown prior to Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. Senator Charles Sumner began his political career as an outspoken defender of the abolitionist movement and sparked political controversy with his speeches against the Fugitive Slave Act. Amos Adams Lawrence helped to support the anti-slavery movement by providing funds to settle Kansas as a free territory. Notable authors James Russell Lowell, Maria Lowell, Julia Ward Howe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Pierpont supported the anti-slavery movement through their writings.

Visitor Information: Currently open to public.

Location: 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, 02138

National Park Unit: No

Ownership: William Clendaniel

Location Type: Site