Underground Railroad Walking Tour with guest speakers event set for New Brighton

Scott Tady, Beaver County Times
Updated ·3 min read

NEW BRIGHTON ― Get a glimpse of history as New Brighton hosts its third Free Underground Railroad Walking Tour on Sept. 30.

The biennial event has expanded to two days, beginning Sept. 29 with a Kick-off Speaker Event featuring two historians at the Merrick Art Gallery at 1100 Fifth Ave. At 7 p.m., Laurence Glasco, associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh will give a talk titled: “After They Got Here: The Remarkable Accomplishments of Pittsburgh’s Runaway Slaves.” The second speaker will be Steven Cole, an actor who will portray famous abolitionist figure, Frederick Douglass at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at: nbhistory.org. Refreshments will be served.

It’s estimated as many as 100,000 slaves may have fled the South between and 1810 and 1850. At least nine sites in New Brighton were part of the effort.
It’s estimated as many as 100,000 slaves may have fled the South between and 1810 and 1850. At least nine sites in New Brighton were part of the effort.

The next day, Sept. 30, the New Brighton Historical Society (NBHS) welcomes history lovers to the Free Underground Railroad Walking Tour. The event begins at 9 a.m. at 1612 Third Ave., current site of J&J Spratt Funeral Home. Walkers must sign up for a time slot upon arrival. Tours are first-come, first-served with the last tour leaving at 2 p.m.

Known as "Buttonwood," the Arthur B. Bradford house in Darlington Township was a station along the Underground Railroad. Darlington was where it was determined whether slaves traveled west to Salem, Ohio, or north to Lawrence County and onto Erie. The goal was to reach Canada.
Known as "Buttonwood," the Arthur B. Bradford house in Darlington Township was a station along the Underground Railroad. Darlington was where it was determined whether slaves traveled west to Salem, Ohio, or north to Lawrence County and onto Erie. The goal was to reach Canada.

NBHS members and costumed volunteers will provide information on the tours, which leave every 15 minutes, visiting local stops on the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and secret routes that assisted runaway enslaved people on their journeys to freedom in the North.

The NBHS advises tour participants the tour includes one hill and some uneven sidewalks on the route.

Historical information, displays, food, beverages, and merchandise will be available for sale onsite. WBVP Radio will broadcast live at the event.

The western opening to a secret tunnel recently unearthed at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton.
The western opening to a secret tunnel recently unearthed at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton.

The tour includes the Merrick Art Gallery where an undercover tunnel was discovered this past spring, believed to have been part of the Underground Railroad. Amid a plumbing project excavating the Merrick's back lawn, an entrance to a tunnel was found, with exploration revealing it spans completely under the museum.

A tunnel discovered underground at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton is believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad.
A tunnel discovered underground at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton is believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad.

The exposed tunnel's entrance can be visited during museum hours.

A tunnel discovered underground at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton is believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad.
A tunnel discovered underground at the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton is believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad.

"We just purchased a gazebo to cover the opening and we just started the process of installing it," Michelle Long, Merrick director said.  "The gazebo will be used to cover the entrance to the opening. Next comes the brick repair. People can view it from above right now. We are the last stop on the Underground tours and people can take a peek at the opening of the tunnel but once again it is not ready for the public to enter it as yet."

The brick tunnel discovered recently in New Brighton on the Merrick Art Gallery property.
The brick tunnel discovered recently in New Brighton on the Merrick Art Gallery property.

The 2.5-mile walking tour will show participants eight buildings/homes that were either part of the Underground Railroad or linked to famed abolitionists.

Historical marker for the James Edgar House, a stop on the Underground Railroad, across the street from Merrick Art Gallery.
Historical marker for the James Edgar House, a stop on the Underground Railroad, across the street from Merrick Art Gallery.

NBHS president Mike Spratt said, "school history is taught at a macro-level. We learn about important figures, places and events, the good and the bad, but rarely is local history taught or the involvement of local people in larger historical events. We started this tour because a student asked about how New Brighton was part of the Underground Railroad and no one could answer the question."

The New Brighton tour is about how local people played a part in a larger event going on around them.

"People who attend this tour should walk away with a better understanding about New Brighton’s small role in helping people escape the horrors of slavery," Spratt said.

The opening night event is devoted more to the area beyond New Brighton. Attendees will hear about the triumphs of those who found freedom in Pittsburgh and built a life there. They’ll also hear about the life of former slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass and his frequent trips to this area, Spratt said.

To learn more, go to nbhistory.org/underground-railroad-walking-tour.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times, and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Plans set for free Underground Railroad Walking Tour in New Brighton