About: The Underground Railroad

The anti-slavery movement has a deeply rooted history in many of the towns in New England. Many New Englanders supported the abolitionist cause, yet there is not much documentation on the Underground Railroad even though it was considered a crucial aspect in the slaves crusade for freedom. This network of people who risked their lives by opening up their homes helped assist 30,000-100,000 slaves to freedom.

Historical obscurity makes tracing the network of the Underground Railroad rather difficult. The entire operation was conducted in secrecy and even those participating in the effort knew little beyond their own activities. Much of the information local historians have acquired has been passed down through generations by word of mouth. Any written materials would have been found in personal diaries, letters, or old newspapers mentioning prominent figures in the abolitionist movement. There were no written directions on how to harbor fugitive slaves. Many houses adopted landmarks or special signals to alert slaves of a hiding spot. For instance, in Vermont, some houses painted the fourth or fifth row of bricks from the top of the chimney white. Many homes in New England had hideaways that were presumably used to hide slaves en route to Canada where they would find freedom. In Concord, Massachusetts it was thought that many secret hideaways had originally been used as storage places for munitions during the Revolutionary war.   

The John Ball Residence in Concord has become home to the Concord Art Association and also has a secret closet that is believed to have been a site on the Underground Railroad. During a 1922 renovation, a main chimney was removed in order to make the upstairs gallery. The workers found a secret room around a beam and paneled chimney. Access to the room was from a tunnel leading from a cave in the steep hillside at the rear of the house. Although the tunnel no longer exists, the cave entrance is still visible. In this secret room, a cannonball, a powder horn, a three-pronged fork, a candle snuffer and a 34 star flag were all found by the workers. These items are currently on display at the Concord Art Association.

On a side note, in 1990, Charles Blockson, an authority on the Underground Railroad, persuaded Congress to allocate funding to the national park service to create a National "Freedom Trail" of Underground Railroad sites. These sites would gain National Landmark status, house markers, and written documentation only after meeting strict requirements. Owners of houses over 130 years old who think they may have some connection to the Underground Railroad can apply for the distinction of a National Landmark. As of 1990, the National Park service had identified about 400 valid historical sites on the Underground Railroad and it is certain that there are many more undocumented sites out there.