Portland Freedom Trail
Portland Freedom Trail marker.
Established in 2007, the 2-mile Portland Freedom Trail highlights the city's role in the Underground Railroad, and those who fought against enslavement. Marked by thirteen granite markers with bronze plaques created by Daniel Minter (co-founder of Indigo Arts Alliance), each stop provides information about the history of the site. An accompanying pamphlet includes additional information about each location, as well as a map of the entire trail.
Portland's history includes a complex network of people who helped freedom seekers pass through the city and continue their journey toward Canada. The trail highlights the work of members of Portland's Black community, including Reuben Ruby, Lloyd Scott, Jacob C. Dickson, and Charles H. L. Pierre. These local businessmen were leaders in the antislavery movement, working as secondhand clothing store owners, barbers, and hack drivers.
The Abyssinian Meeting House, one of the trail's prominent stops, served as a center of this activity. The building is the third oldest Black church in the United States and is the only nationally recognized Underground Railroad stop in Maine.
In addition to highlighting the Underground Railroad, the trail marks the locations of homes belonging to abolitionists who were active in Maine and national politics. These individuals hosted prominent speakers and activists in the antislavery movement who came to Portland to share their ideas. The trail also includes churches that helped provide housing and support for freedom seekers or assisted in printing abolitionist materials.
The trail is, "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."
