"Dedicated to the countless thousands of men and women who fled the bonds of slavery but were recaptured or died at the hands of their pursuers before they reached the safe embrace of the Underground Railroad. They are not forgotten." |
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| Maine Freedom Trails, Inc P.O. Box 342 Portland, maine 04112 (207) 591-9980
MARKER LOCATIONS
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MAINE FREEDOM TRAILS, INC. The City of Portland officially proclaimed the establishment of the Portland Freedom Trail on November 9, 2006 with the installation of a granite and bronze marker at the Eastern Cemetery. The cemetery was chosen as the first site to be unveiled on the trail in honor of the final resting place of many of Portland’s abolitionist leaders. The marker is one of sixteen that will constitute a permanent walking trail highlighting the people, places, events and daily life associated with the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement in Portland. The trail represents the first project of the Maine Freedom Trails, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to: Establishing a network of marked sites across the state that acknowledge individual, organizational and community participation in the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement; Linking the state’s network of sites to national Underground Railroad routes and the related activities of the National Park Service; Producing materials related to this period of Maine’s history; Engaging the community in the ongoing research, identification and documentation of the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement in Maine to best interpret, commemorate and preserve this legacy; Advancing the public discourse on the many struggles for social justice, economic justice and human rights – past and present – thereby connecting the history of the Underground Railroad to global movements for freedom; and Collaborating with other efforts to preserve Maine’s African American history and culture; Plans are to officially dedicate the Portland Freedom Trail on July 14, 2007 at a ceremony in Lincoln Park, Portland. For more information, please call 591-9980 www.portlandfreedomtrail.org Portland Freedom Trail P.O. Box 342 Portland, ME 04112 (207) 591-9980 info@portlandfreedomtrail.org PROJECT DIRECTORS: Daniel Minter Rachel Talbot Ross Wells Staley-Mays Dawud Ummah
 Current
research indicates there are possibly seventy-five Underground
Railroad sites throughout Maine. In Portland, several well-documented
Underground Railroad and anti-slavery sites not only tell the history
of the abolitionist movement but also articulate the African American
educational, religious, cultural, and social experience.
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Former
home of Deacon Brown Thurston, which served as an Underground Railroad
station and safe house for freedom seekers, Deacon Thurston was an
anti-slavery activist. 
One of the barbershops owned by Charles Frederick Eastman, an African American entrepreneur and anti-slavery activist. 
Former
home of the Rev. Amos Noe Freeman, first called Reverend of the
Abyssinian Church, and Christiana Williams Freeman, anti-slavery
activists and station masters on the Underground Railroad.