Slavery, Abolition and the Underground Railroad

Slavery came to upstate New York with the earliest pioneers. It’s presence expanded with the migration of northern Virginia and Maryland families trying to recreate a Tidewater economy in the area. Anti-slavery and abolition sentiment began to grow almost immediately. Fed by the rise of evangelical religion and the preaching of Charles Grandison Finney, the urge for freedom made the “burned over district” fertile ground for the rise of the abolition movement and the operation of the underground railroad. This exhibit uses a series of panels to document and illustrate the presence of slavery and the rise of anti-slavery and abolitionism. Through photographs, sketches, primary source documents, maps and other materials visitors are introduced to local, regional, and national participants in the movement to freedom that resulted in civil war.