Talk:List of Underground Railroad sites

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Waymarking[edit]

Is this list based just on Waymarking? I just started Abolitionist Place, including 227 Duffield Street in Brooklyn. It's a likely Underground Railroad stop, but not confirmed. For the purposes of readers finding articles, it seems like it should be included, but I'm content to defer to editors of this page. — Rhododendrites talk \\ 05:32, 12 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Just following up on this. Pinging CaroleHenson for an opinion just because I've seen your recent activity on this page. :) — Rhododendrites talk \\ 18:37, 2 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Waymarking by itself is not a good source for several reasons. But the article Abolitionist Place looks good - great sources, interesting story. It seems clear from the content that it was an Underground Railroad site. So, yes, that looks good. I can add it when I get back today, or feel free to add it yourself with a good citation or two.–CaroleHenson (talk) 19:14, 2 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]
 Done–CaroleHenson (talk) 22:33, 2 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! BTW, I'm not sure when exceptions are the case, but based on WP:BIDI, I don't think navboxes are usually added to articles unless that article is linked from the navbox. Not a big deal, though. — Rhododendrites talk \\ 23:00, 2 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Recent edits[edit]

As an FYI: I thought I would summarize the edits that I made - with the objective of ensuring that the items on this list are truly considered to be Underground Railroad sources, with citations from reliable sources and to have consistency throughout the list.

  • Since there are locations in the US and Canada, I broke the list into two sections. I am guessing that there are more than just Ontario locations. I am guessing Ottawa, too. I will check.
  • Within each section, the places are sorted by location, then name.
  • Format for the listing
  • Name of the location in brackets
  • Ndash (–) with a space on either side
  • Location (town, township, county) - without links to the locations, without the state (since the places are in a state section)
  • I have been checking for articles if the name of the location is a red link.
  • I am removing locations where: 1) they are not on the NPS UGR sites list and 2) there is no mention that they are an underground station in the article.

I took the approach based upon what I was seeing most of the time, or in the case of dashes, what seemed to look thee best.–CaroleHenson (talk) 02:58, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

What should be on this list?[edit]

The list included Underground Railroad stations - which is what I would expect to find.

There are also some places, like the two North Carolina sites, that are places where people would meet up on their UGRR journey. I can see that would be interesting and helpful, but it would make this list really, really long if we were to pick up on that - especially for states like Michigan, Ohio, New York, etc. Perhaps in that case, the full list with meet-up sites for a given state could be it's own page.

So, I just thought I'd throw out that question.–CaroleHenson (talk) 04:04, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I found the NPS Network to Freedom list, which is more inclusive. For the moment, I am just going to use it as a source for places not on the NPS Underground Railroad site (stations). But, if this was used, it would add a LOT more places.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:42, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
And, I also found the NPS Special Resource Study document with more sites.
Doncram A lot of these sites are National Register of Historic Places, so I thought I'd check in with you about what should be included in the List of Underground Railroad sites. The National Park Service has criteria for what they consider to be a notable / clear Underground Railroad source, so I have been relying on three NPS sources (mentioned above). One, though the NPS Network to Freedom list would add a LOT more sites and the criteria would be broader than stations or other key sites, which would probably mean that this list should be broken down by state. But, if it's the right thing to do. I am happy to work on it.
I am assuming that the Waymarking site is not good enough on its own. But, there could be sites with Historic markers, etc. that could be added as well. I question whether it should even be in the External links, though.
Your opinion would be much appreciated!–CaroleHenson (talk) 18:01, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Need to familiarize myself with sources, etc., here. Am wary in general about UGRR claims, as easily made without proof, akin to claims about places being haunted, and then "by tradition" takes root in what even local people believe, so I am glad u r being careful with sources. I have visited Oswego by the way. I noticed the Ames article says it is in fact in Mexico, which is a town/village in Oswego County far away from Oswego the city/town. I see NPS source states Ames House is in Oswego in its list, but the detail page on the house correctly states it is in Mexico (and that that is in Oswego County). Maybe stating counties and grouping them by county would help arrangement in NYS section, putting nearby ones together. Will try to get back here to comment more. --Doncram (talk) 20:09, 25 May 2021 (UTC) Modified. --Doncram (talk) 20:46, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I understand. There were some instances where a location was on the list and I found that people thought it was on the UGRR... and one case where a man helped a woman out, and so his house was put on the list. Thanks for checking in.–CaroleHenson (talk) 20:25, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This list is not meant to be a comprehensive list of "stations", is it; is it meant to be comprehensive in listing historic sites though? I.e. places that have historic integrity and evoke the past, as good artifacts. Is it supposed to cover demolished places?
Offhand, I kinda like the longer "Network to Freedom" NPS list on basis that it would get us to present and explain more connections. And relying on a NPS list seems fairly solid, unreproachable. In general like wp:NRHP working for so many years towards covering all 90,000 NRHP sites, which has to be educational in letting people know about their local historical sites, who would not otherwise know about them. The longer source has, by the way, for Oswego:
This is a lot of association which I think would be more than is known about in general, in this small town. Which, if explained in notes section of a list and/or in supporting articles, would "add value", would be really worthwhile. I think not all of these places were necessarily "stations" where escaped slaves ever were hosted. The Oswego City Library, which I am not aware of being Oswego School District-associated (as is suggested by name in this list), was funded by Gerrit Smith, and thereby was interesting to me, because he was such an interesting/important person for it to have association with (he also co-funded John Brown's raid, after funding John Brown's home, and more). But I am not aware of any claim, ever, that the Library was directly associated in any more significant way with the UGRR. It is indeed historic and does evoke connection to Gerrit Smith and all, so in my mind it is okay/good to list as UGRR-related, but the connection is tenuous, AFAIK. I am interested enough to make a call to the library to ask for more about its connection, though, say. I forget whether the Richardson-Bates museum makes claims that its house hosted escaped slaves; i rather recall it (or a different house) might have been where Gerrit Smith set up a daughter to live, which might be enough association. And as a major museum for Oswego, it could have artifacts related to UGRR from other locations, too. Or maybe it does have stronger association, I dunno. Its current article mentions none of these. Anyhow I personally, and I think many future readers, would be interested in learning in one place about all of the historic associations of these Oswego places with UGRR, and also about what is the current condition of each as a historic site. --Doncram (talk) 20:43, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I am a bit fibromyalgia-foggy today, so let me check back on this: NPS is a good source for UGRR info and it would be good to include sites on the Network to Freedom list. Is that right? Anything I missed?–CaroleHenson (talk) 21:30, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Yes i was meaning the Network to Freedom list, and have modified my comments above to link to that. I am not familiar yet with other sources. --Doncram (talk) 01:53, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, cool. The other NPS sources have already been tapped out now, so that's okay. The Network to Freedom list is the only one that has additional sites. It seems like the ones you identified are a good place to start.–CaroleHenson (talk) 14:57, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
 Done with the Oswego sites. I'll pick away at the Network for Freedom list... as well as some sites I commented out because they weren't on any of the NPS lists to see if they have been otherwise identified as UGRR stations.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:06, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
In the meantime, I am going through the NPS Special Resource Study document, starting at page 46 to see what might be helpful there, too. There are descriptions about the locations that I find are helpful.–CaroleHenson (talk) 21:32, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
 Done with this.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:06, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Update / Question[edit]

I stopped working on this yesterday because it seems that there are some places on this list that are temporary art installations, etc. that don't seem to have a permanent location - or seem a bit off-the-beaten-track.

My suggestion is to remove the items from the Network to Freedom list that aren't really Underground Railroad stations (e.g., temporary art installations, burial sites, etc.)

Perhaps removing most, if not all, of these additions that I made yesterday:

Alabama

Wallace Turnage Historic Marker — Mobile[5]

Arizona

Passage on the Underground Railroad: A Photographic Journey — Tempe[5]

Arkansas

Poison Spring Battle Site — Bluff City[5]
Civil War Helena Tour — Helena-West Helena[5]
Freedom Park — Helena-West Helena[5]
Battle of Pine Bluff Audio Tour — Pine Bluff[5]

California

Mary Ellen Pleasant Burial Site – Napa[5]
Footsteps to Freedom Study Tour – Riverside[5]
California State Library – Sacramento[5]
Harriet Tubman: Bound for the Promised Land Jazz – San Francisco[5]
Meet Mary Pleasant / Oh Freedom – Oratorio[5]
Mary A. Brown Burial Site – Saratoga[5]
Old Tuolumne County Courthouse – Sonora[5]

I think it is still worth going through the list for Underground Railroad site, like a number of new listings for the state of New York, but I think it will benefit the listing to be selective.–CaroleHenson (talk) 14:02, 28 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

User:CaroleHenson, FYI all the original articles on NYS NRHP-listed places, created mostly by User:Pubdog (unfortunately not active recently), used a NYS-hosted set of NRHP nomination documents, whose links no longer work. The documents for NYS and most other states are now available from the U.S. National Archives. This is more important for Ohio and NYS where there never was broad NPS service; the NPS service continues for other states' sites listed by 2013 or so, but is not expanded for newer sites. There are instructions written out a while back about how to access NARA docs, at wp:NRHPHELPNARA. I am somewhat motivated towards revisiting all the NRHP-listed UGRR-related places to renew/ensure NRHP doc linkages.
Anyhow, I just updated the Oswego City Library article in order to see more about its UGRR connections or not. In fact it provides substantial documentation of association with abolitionists (Gerrit Smith, etc.) and locals who assisted in specific slave escapes (Edward Clarke), and in general about Oswego as being a major last-point-in-the-U.S. station of the UGRR for many (most?) UGRR trips to Canada. And it documents this library, earlier and better than more well-known libraries, was publicly required to serve blacks as well as any others. And, interestingly, it documents usage of the library by numerous specific freed black persons, out of about black population of about 155 in Oswego at a certain point.
Now to somewhat respond to your question: in my mind there is good documentation of the relevance of the site to UGRR, but it itself is not a UGRR "station". I think the definition of "UGRR sites" can/should be written/re-written to include this one. Though I agree being selective is important, at least to shed non-enduring places, and to shed places having seriously less connection than this site has. And to shed places where there is not clearly valid documentation of whatever UGRR association is claimed. --Doncram (talk) 01:28, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Doncram, Oh... my... goodness. This sounds bad. Are you saying that none of the NPS sites that I was using for references are good?
I am so glad that you looked into this.
What do I need to do?–CaroleHenson (talk) 01:47, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
No I just mean that just the NRHP registration documents linked from New York State NRHP articles have been bad links for several years, from when the NYS history department changed its website system. You weren't using those articles directly, and the articles are all still valid (just sourced in part from those no-longer-online-at-those-URLs documents) anyhow. I would hope that for all the bluelinks in this list, that a reader could click through to the article and read specifically about its UGRR association. And hopefully further that they could click through to source documents used.
In this list-article, could we start to include short text explanations of the sites' connections to the UGRR? Hopefully as brief summaries based on more substantial coverage of UGRR assocition in each of the linked articles about sites?
For another example, in the Ohio section is Captain Jonathan Stone House, an NRHP-listed place, whose article provides no mention at all of UGRR or slavery or abolitionism or anything. Because the Ohio NRHP documents have never been very accessible (before recent expansion of National Archives), the 2011-created article is not at all sourced from the site's NRHP nomination document. Just now, accessing its NRHP document, I see it does state that Colonel John Stone, Capt. John Stone's son, was an abolitionist with a bounty on his head, who "spirited many escaped slaves northward toward Canada." This connection to UGRR needs to be developed in the article, and then summarized in a sentence or two in this list-article's entry about the place, IMHO. --Doncram (talk) 02:13, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, gotcha.
I have been having some of the same thoughts, that there's not enough information about the UGRR connections, so your suggestions make sense: which seem to be to add some information for each site on the list... and then also work on sprucing up the linked articles.
Based on that, I think it's probably best to work on the list as it is before adding more locations from the NPS Network to Freedom list. I think that it's likely that there are many other viable items for the list. Trying to do too much at once feels overwhelming.–CaroleHenson (talk) 02:39, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
It certainly is a big job to substantially improve a fairly big list-article like this, but I do think it very worthwhile to develop the supporting bluelinked articles and to include summaries of UGRR association in this list. I like what you did for Connecticut's 3 sites listed here; I just "did" the first Delaware one. This kind of development is something that Wikipedia editors can do well, and this list is already better than, say, the NPS's Freedom list, which does not explain association at all. Most readers of that list would probably incorrectly assume all of the sites are UGRR "stations". It is big, but is still finite, and there is no rush, so I would think you and I could slowly march through it all. It would be nice if any past contributors such as User:Chris Light, User:Farragutful, User:Magnolia677, User:BoringHistoryGuy would help! However many of the biggest contributors are redlinked names, so I am guessing not active. --Doncram (talk) 22:39, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I agree. I'll pick away at it. I am going to work next on Canada.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:30, 30 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Mahoning County, Poland, Ohio, should be on this Underground Railroad Stop page.[edit]

Entered tunnels from Yellow Creek, went into basements from there. Well known to local residents and Poland Seminary educators. 2600:1702:3990:90C0:9870:662C:7099:EA6B (talk) 16:58, 19 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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