News Release

National Park Service adds new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

Fort Frederica National Monument is a new listing for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, which serves to honor, preserve, and promote the history of resistance to enslavement.

NPS/McDevitt

News Release Date: April 25, 2023

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WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has added nine new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The listings join over 700 sites, facilities, and programs already in the Network and provide insight into the diverse experiences of freedom seekers who bravely escaped slavery and those who assisted them.

"Each addition to the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom centers around a story of hope in the face of hostility and oppression," said Diane Miller, the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program manager. "Now in its 25^th year, the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom continues to document and expand knowledge related to the Underground Railroad and increase public awareness of the struggle for freedom and equality endured by so many in our country's history."

The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom serves to honor, preserve, and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. The Network consists of locations in 39 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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 new Network to Freedom listings are:

California:

San Mateo County- Samuel D. Burris Burial Site, Cypress Lawn Memorial Park

Georgia:

St. Simons Island- Fort Frederica National Monument

Illinois:

Downers Grove- Israel and Avis Blodgett House

Massachusetts:

Fall River- Dr. Isaac Fiske House

Boston- The Underground Railroad in Boston: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

New York:

Rochester- Douglass Family South Street Home Site

Ausable Chasm- Archive at the North Star Underground Railroad Museum

Montgomery County- Montgomery County Department of History & Archives

Pennsylvania:

Carlisle- House Divided Project at Dickinson College

Many National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites are privately owned. If the site is not open to the public, please respect the privacy of the owner. 

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 424 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.