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Underground Railroad Sites in New York State

By Julie Schwietert Collazo, author of Moon New York State

From the early 1800s to the Civil War’s end in 1865, the Buffalo-Niagara corridor, a collection of towns along the U.S.-Canada border, served as one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad for enslaved people traveling north toward freedom. Though few records were kept, it is estimated that as many as 30,000 people may have passed through the area on their way to Canada.

Today, there are several places where visitors can learn more about the region’s role in the Underground Railroad:

View of the docks of downtown Buffalo New York
An estimated 30,000 people passed through the Buffalo-Niagara corridor’s collection of Underground Railroad sites. Photo © Denis Tangney Jr./iStock.
  • Freedom Crossing Monument (Lewiston Landing Park, Water St., Lewiston): This moving sculpture, crafted by local artist Susan Geissler, depicts a dramatic moment in the pursuit of freedom: Lewiston’s Underground Railroad station master, Josiah Tryon, is handing a baby to its fugitive mother.
a docent shares the history of the New York Underground Railroad sites
Personal and group tours of the Freedom Crossing Exhibit at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center are available by request and advanced notice. Photo courtesy of the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center.
  • Michigan Street Baptist Church (511 Michigan Ave., Buffalo): This small modest church, built in 1845, hosted many of the abolition movement’s luminaries, including Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, and Booker T. Washington, and functioned as a station on the Underground Railroad. Though hours are irregular, visitors who happen to get lucky will be treated to a rich oral history narrated by clergy.
  • St. John’s AME Church (917 Garden Ave., Niagara Falls): St. John’s was one of the first African American churches founded in Niagara County. Escaped enslaved people could see the beckoning lights of Canada and freedom from the church’s hillside location.
  • Thomas Root Home (3106 Upper Mountain Rd., Pekin): Located midway between Niagara Falls and Lockport, the former Root home contains a trapdoor leading to a 5-by-10-foot (1.5-by-3-m) cellar. Here “volumes bound in black,” as the coded messages once read, spent the night before being driven to the border, hidden beneath piles of vegetables. The house is now privately owned, but the station is set amid a small row of pine trees accessible to the public.

Julie Schwietert Collazo

About the Author

Like most New Yorkers, Julie Schwietert Collazo took a long time to discover the state beyond “the city so nice they named it twice.” When she finally started exploring beyond the five boroughs while on assignment for the BBC, she discovered just how much of America’s history can be traced back to New York. She also realized how incredibly diverse the state is, both culturally and geographically. From the Amish country in western New York to the watery Thousand Islands, New York State has so much for travelers to discover.

Together, Julie and her husband, Cuban-born photographer Francisco Collazo, have published work in TIME, Discover, National Geographic Traveler, Scientific American, and numerous other publications. They live in Long Island City with their two children, who both got their passports at one month of age and are accustomed to being packed up and buckled into the seat of a car, plane, or train at a moment’s notice.

Learn more about this author

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Image of buildings along river with text Underground Railroad Sites in New York State
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