News Release

National Park Service adds 16 new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland at St. Mary’s College, dedicated to 19 individuals who self-liberated during the War of 1812 through military service or settlement in British territories in exchange for freedom.

Photo courtesy of Bill Wood

News Release Date: March 29, 2022

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WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has added 16 new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The 16 new listings across 11 states join 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.

“It’s fitting to welcome new additions to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom as we celebrate Harriet Tubman’s 200th birthday. Like Harriet Tubman, the freedom seekers and allies highlighted in each Network to Freedom listing remind us of what can be accomplished when people take action against injustice,” said Diane Miller, national program manager of the Network to Freedom. “Each listing holds a unique part of the Underground Railroad story, and we look forward to working with members to amplify the power of these places.”

The Network to Freedom’s newest listings are: 

• Marianna Expedition on Santa Rosa Island (Site, Florida, Gulf Islands National Seashore)

• Winterset Cemetery (Site, Iowa)

• Dinsmore Homestead (Site, Kentucky)

• LeCompte Plantation (Today known as Magnolia Plantation; Site, Louisiana, Cane River Creole National Historical Park)

• Emmanuel Prudhomme Plantation (Today known as Oakland Plantation; Site, Louisiana, Cane River Creole National Historical Park)

• Mass Escape at Mackall Plantation (Today known as St. Mary’s College; Site, Maryland)

• Port Tobacco Jail Sites (Site, Maryland)

• St. Stephens A.M.E. Church Cemetery, Unionville (Site, Maryland)

• Robert Gould Shaw 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial (Site, Massachusetts)

• Elijah Fish and George Taylor Burial Sites at Greenwood Cemetery (Site, Michigan)

• Huntoon-Van Rensalier Underground Railroad Site (Site, New Jersey)

• Presbyterian Plane Street Colored Church (Today known as Frederick Douglass Field; Site, New Jersey)

• Rev. Robert Everett and Family Gravesite, Capel Ucha Welsh Congregational Church Cemetery (Site, New York)

• Spring Grove Cemetery (Site, Ohio)

• Cozad-Bates House Interpretive Center (Program, Ohio)

• Destination Freedom Underground Railroad Walking Tour (Program, Pennsylvania)

Many National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites are privately owned. If the site is not open to the public, the National Park Service asks that the privacy of the site owner be respected.  

www.nps.gov/ntf 

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 currently represents over 700 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.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 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.