The Underground Railroad in Boston Audio Tour

Map with sepia toned cameo images of individuals and buildings
From Smith Court to the Middle Passage Marker on Long Wharf, explore sites of the Underground Railroad in Boston

NPS Photo

Through this self-guided audio tour, learn about Boston's role in the Underground Railroad.

This self-guided audio tour is also available on the free NPS app! You can download this tour ahead of your visit and listen along as you walk through Boston.

 

Total run time of all 12 audio clips: 42 minutes, 43 seconds.

 
 

Download this tour and discover many more using the free NPS App!

How to find the Underground Railroad in Boston audio tour on the NPS App

  1. Download the free NPS App from your preferred app store
  2. Tap "Find a Park" and search "Boston African American National Historic Site"
  3. Select "Boston African American National Historic Site, Massachusetts," which will take you to the park homepage on the App
  4. Tap "Self-Guided Audio Tours"
  5. Select "Underground Railroad in Boston"
 

Learn More....

Want to dive into Boston's Underground Railroad history some more? Check out our digital engagement Boston: An Underground Railroad Hub.

Adam's New Directory, 1846-1847. 

Adam's Boston Directory 1847-1848

Bearse, Austin. Reminisces of Fugitive Slave Law Days. Boston: Warren Richardson, 1880.

Collison, Gary. Shadrach Minkins: From Fugitive Slave to Citizen. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997. 

Dall, Caroline Healey. Journal. October 20, 1850, microfilm, reel 34, Dall Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society. 

"Declaration of Sentiments of the Colored Citizens on Boston, On The Fugitive Slave Bill!!!." Broadside 1850. Boston Athenaeum.  

Emery Stevens, Charles. Anthony Burns: A History. Boston: J.P Jewett and Co, 1856 

Emilio, Luis. A Brave Black Regiment: History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-  1865. New York: Bantam, 1992 (originally published 1894).

Ford, Lewis. Letter to Wilbur Siebert, undated. Lewis Ford letter to Wilbur Siebert - Wilbur H. Siebert Underground Railroad Collection - (ohiomemory.org) 

"Fugitive Slave Excitement." Massachusetts Spy. October 30, 1850. 

"Great Meeting for Human Rights in Faneuil Hall." The Liberator. November 4, 1842.  

Grover, Kathryn and Da Silva, Janine V. "Historic Resource Study: Boston African American National Historic Site." Boston African American National Historic Site, 2002. 

Horton, James Oliver and Horton, Lois E. Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1999. 

Jackson, Francis. Account Book of Francis Jackson, Treasurer The Vigilance Committee of Boston, Dr. Irving H. Bartlett collection, 1830-1880, W. B. Nickerson Cape Cod History Archives. 

Kantrowitz, Stephen. More Than Freedom: Fighting for Black Citizenship in a White Republic, 1829-1889. New York: Penguin, 2012.  

Levy, Leonard W. "Sims' Case: The Fugitive Slave Law in Boston in 1851." The Journal of Negro History. Vol. 35, No. 1. January 1950.  

"Lewis Hayden Dead." Boston Globe. April 8, 1889. 

The Liberator. December 12, 1845.  

"Mr. Webster in Boston." The Liberator. May 3, 1850.  

Nell, William Cooper. "Meeting of the New England Freedom Association" in William Cooper Nell: Selected Writings 1832-1874, edited by Wesley, Dorothy Porter and Uzelac, Constance Porter. Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 2002.  

"Old Passages of Boston's 'Underground Railroad' Uncovered." Boston Evening Transcript. March 31, 1926. 

Petrulionis, Sandra Harbert. "Fugitive Slave-Running on the Moby Dick: Captain Austin Bearse and the Abolitionist Crusade." Resources for American Literary Study 28. 2003. 

"Reminiscences." The Woman's Era 1, no. 5. August 1894. 

Russell, Martha. "An Old Letter {by Martha Russell}." Boston Evening Transcript. ca. January 10, 1900. 

Still, William. Still's Underground Rail Road Records: With a Life of the Author. Narrating the Hardships, Hairbreadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom. United States: William Still, 1886. 

"The Late Rev. L. A. Grimes." Boston Globe. March 24, 1873.  

"The Wheeler Slave Case – Testimony of Jane Johnson." The Liberator. September 7, 1855.  

“To the Friends of the Fugitive." The Liberator. October 18, 1850. 

Williams, George. History of the Twelfth Baptist Church, Boston, Mass., from 1840 to 1874: With a Statement and Appeal in behalf of the Church. Boston: James H. Earle, 1874. 

Last updated: October 26, 2023

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

15 State Street
Boston African American National Historical Site

Boston, MA 02109

Phone:

617 429-6760

Contact Us