These Incredible Places Around Boston Were Once Part Of The Underground Railroad

The necessary secrecy surrounding the Underground Railroad means that many of its way stations may never be known. In 1997, Congress authorized the U.S. National Park Service to locate and preserve sites linked to the Underground Railroad. Many escaped slaves made their homes in Boston, while others passed through on their way to Canada. The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act meant that even slaves who had made it this far could be captured and forced back into slavery, but that didn’t stop Bostonians from working hard to help those who needed it escape to freedom. Here are some of the places in and around Boston that served as way stations for the Underground Railroad:

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Lewis Hayden, along with his wife Harriet and their son, escaped slavery in Kentucky in 1844. In 1846, the family decided to forge a new life in Boston. Four years later, they moved into Hayden House, which they turned into a boarding house. They dedicated themselves to helping fugitive slaves who had just reached the city, many of whom stayed at Hayden House.

Lewis Hayden paid for a carriage for fugitives to leave the city and participated in audacious rescues like those of Shadrach Minkins. Minkin's former slave owner sent a slave catcher to the North with an affidavit to secure his return. Minkins was arrested and, while in a courtroom, Hayden and other abolitionists rescued him, allowing Minkins to escape to Canada.

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Other renowned Hayden House boarders included William and Ellen Craft, who escaped slavery in Georgia in 1848. Ellen Craft was the daughter of an African American slave and a slave master, so her skin was light enough for her to pass as white. She dressed as a man and traveled to the North with her husband, who pretended to be her slave. The couple settled in Boston, but the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 put their freedom in jeopardy.

When slave catchers arrived to try to kidnap the Crafts, Bostonians helped them move from home to home to stay a step ahead of those who pursued them. One of these homes was Hayden House, and Lewis Hayden made it known that he kept gunpowder near the entrance and would gladly blow up the building rather than let the slave catchers in.

Located at 66 Phillips Street in Boston, this home is privately owned and not open to the public, but you can still see the exterior and appreciate those who risked their lives to protect fleeing individuals and honor those who bravely escaped into freedom.

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Attorney William Ingersoll Bowditch and his wife Sarah "Sally" Bowditch lived at 9 Toxteth Street in Brookline between 1845 to 1867. Here, they ran a safe house on the Underground Railroad, hiding fugitive slaves in their home.

Bowditch belonged to the Boston Vigilance Committee, an abolitionist group that helped transport escaped slaves via the Underground Railroad. Bowditch is known to have assisted slaves moving to another way station at the Jackson Homestead in Newton. He once used his carriage to transport an escaped slave to Concord and also helped William and Ellen Craft to the home of Ellis Gray Loring on the next step on their journey.

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You can actually go inside this historic homestead turned museum. Built in 1809, several generations of the Jackson family lived here. During William Jackson's ownership of the property, it was used as a waypoint on the Underground Railroad for those en route to Canada. Jackson served as treasurer of the Boston Vigilance Committee and was known to work with William Bowditch on at least one occasion to help an escaped slave to safety.

Inside, you'll find exhibits about the Underground Railroad and slavery in the North, along with other displays about Newton's history. The homestead is located at 527 Washington Street in Newton.

If you’d like to learn more about this part of Massachusetts’ history, venture a little further to New Bedford to see the Nathan and Mary Johnson properties, which include the first home of Frederick Douglass. Although privately owned, you can arrange for a private tour, providing you give at least 48 hours notice (call 508-979-8828 for more information). The Black Heritage Trail is another great way to learn more about Boston’s free African American community and the Abolitionist movement.