Allegheny Portage Railroad Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site - Gallitzin, PA
N 40° 27.439 W 078° 32.949
17T E 707811 N 4481401
Many African Americans used the Mainline canal, travelling through this site, to escape slavery.
Waymark Code: WM16EZC
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/17/2022
Views: 1
The visitor center is free and wheelchair accessible. Parking and restrooms are available.
It is open from 9:00am - 5:00pm daily
check here for current information: (
visit link)
From signs (in the photo gallery):
Places on the Portage
Hiding In Plain Sight
Underground Railroad travelers in Pennsylvania could blend in with free blacks.
"Hiding in plain sight" was common on the Main Line. African Americans seeking freedom secured tickets and road as passengers instead of stowaways. This was possible because there were so many free blacks traveling.
But there were always risks. The controversial Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed slave holders to travel to free states and arrest individuals who had escaped.
City of Brotherly Love
Philadelphia was at the center of the movement to abolish slavery.
Pennsylvania had a reputation for being against slavery. It was one of the first states to pass an emancipation law. A large free African American population lived there on the eve of the Civil War - more than 56,000 residents.
The Underground Railroad was a secret network of people who helped black men, women, and children escape slavery and find freedom. Many traveled from south to north, but others jouneyed east and westward.
Some people aided freedom seekers spontaneously as the opportunity arose. Others helped in a more organized way. William Whipper and Stephen Smith were wealthy black businessmen and lumber merchants who owned a fleet of railroad cars and canal boats. Working with others they helped hundreds escape slavery using Pennsylvania's Main Line Canal and the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
From website below:
Researchers at Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS uncovered the stories of people like Jacob Green who in August 1855 escaped enslavement in Virginia only to return a few months later to help five other people escape. Green was traveling on the Allegheny Portage Railroad in Hollidaysburg, PA in October 1855 en route to Pittsburgh when he was nearly captured by James Parsons, a relative of his owner. Jacob Green escaped and his ultimate destination is unknown, but Parsons was arrested on charges of attempted kidnapping. Though the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required all citizens to assist in the return of fugitive slaves, George Potts, the magistrate of Hollidaysburg at the time, disregarded this federal law and took Parsons into custody, a tactic that ensured Green could escape. Green’s escape was also facilitated by the intervention of several African American citizens, including Snyder Carr, a minister and barber. Although charges against Parsons were eventually dropped, the blatant violation of federal law set off a firestorm between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Some members of the Virginia legislature suggested the only solution to the dispute was war, a sentiment that eerily predicted the start of the Civil War a few years later.