News Release

Evening on the Summit: The Main Line Canal and Underground Railroad

Canal boat with mule driver on towpath.

NPS/Harpers Ferry Center

News Release Date: September 8, 2025

Contact: Elizabeth Shope, 814-449-4125

Our final Evening on the Summit program for the season is on Tuesday, September 16, at 7:00 p.m. Barbara Zaborowski, Dean of Library Services and Special Projects at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, will speak on the use of the Main Line Canal in supporting Underground Railroad activities. The event will be held in the Visitor Center auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

September has been designated International Underground Railroad Month in Pennsylvania. House Resolution 275, passed on June 27, 2025. This designation recognizes all the Underground Railroad Activity which occurred across the state.

In Cambria County, there are two Underground Railroad designations; a PA Historical Marker in Geistown commemorating the escape of freedom seekers, Patrick and Abraham and a National Network to Freedom marker in Sandyvale Cemetery where many of Johnstown’s most famous abolitionists are interred.