Though living far north of the Mason-Dixon line, some citizens in Michigan rose up to protest the moral offense of American slavery. They published an abolitionist newspaper, founded anti-slavery societies, and sometimes assisted those escaping bondage. By the 1840s, a prominent abolitionist from Illinois had crossed the state line to Michigan and established new stations on the Underground Railroad. In the 1850s a steady stream of formerly enslaved people crossed the Detroit River to freedom in Canada. And some lived at liberty in Michigan.
This driving and walking tour helps you discover some of the known and suspected sites of the Underground Railroad in Ann Arbor.
See also: Carol Mull, The Underground Railroad in Michigan (2015).
Sites
Begin with: Antislavery Society Marker
Sylvester Noble, George and Martha Washington
Bethel AME Church, Fourth Ave.
