Legacies of Michigan’s Underground Railroad: Ann Arbor
On the treacherous journey to the Canadian border, Ann Arbor stood as a haven of hope for freedom seekers escaping from the South.
The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and in 1850 mandated that enslaved people could be identified and returned to enslavers, and helping a fugitive remained a federal crime until the acts were repealed in 1864. With Detroit as the last stop on the Underground Railroad before reaching Canadian soil, freedom seekers often passed through the city of Ann Arbor seeking shelter, food and guidance from abolitionists.
In Ann Arbor’s First Presbyterian Church on East Huron Street, a group of abolitionists held their first meeting of the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society in 1836. Bringing together Wesleyan Methodists and Quakers, delegates from six counties adopted resolutions denouncing slavery. This society led to the founding of Michigan’s first antislavery newspaper, “American Freeman,” and later its successor, the “Signal of Liberty” that was published in Ann Arbor.
In the Wall St. parking garage on Maiden Lane, a plaque depicts the history of the “Signal of Liberty,” which was published weekly by Theodore Foster and Rev. Guy Beckley. The printing office was located on the second floor of a mercantile shop on Broadway Avenue and published vital stories, poems and news reports to garner support for the antislavery movement.
Today, Ann Arbor’s Journey to Freedom tour visits historical stops such as these, highlighting the people and locations that harbored fugitives over the course of the mid-1830s to mid-1850s. Guy Beckley’s home is one stop along the tour, as is the Perry House on Pontiac Trail, which reportedly had a hidden compartment to shield fugitives. A nearby brick home that once served as an integrated schoolhouse was also believed to have played a role in hiding freedom seekers on their journey north.
- Learn more about Detroit’s critical position on the Underground Railroad as the last stop before crossing the border.
- Read the stories of the Battle Creek abolitionists who have gained national recognition on the Network to Freedom program.
- Browse through digitized issues of the Signal of Liberty.