The secretive nature of the Underground Railroad, which was necessary to protect freedom seekers and their abettors (particularly after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850), means that written records are scarce. That can make it difficult to know whether oral traditions surrounding purported sites are accurate, or simply legend.
The National Park Service established the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program in 1998, in part to assist with the verification and preservation of sites. To be included in the network, sites must document their connection, and more than 400 historical sites, research facilities, and educational programs, including 23 in New England, are members.
As with many covert organizations from the pages of history, the Underground Railroad continues to capture the public imagination. But, despite its subterranean moniker and romantic lore, don’t expect to see secret tunnels and hidden passageways behind bookcases inside former stations.
“Some places certainly have underground passages, but they were not always used for the Underground Railroad,’’ says Sheri Jackson, the Network to Freedom’s northeast regional coordinator. “Particularly in large houses, those rooms could have been used for cold storage or a wine cellar. We try not to focus on the tunnels but on the people. These were people who had to make a decision to leave their families and go to the unknown.’’
