"There was now but 'one wide river to cross'..."
A Bridge to Freedom "There was now but 'one wide river to cross'..." In the 1800s, Western New York was one of the main ending points of the Underground Railroad. This "railroad" was a secret system of people and places that helped guide escaped slaves from the US South to Canada and to freedom. One of the most famous "conductors" was Harriet Tubman, who often led slaves to freedom by crossing the Niagara River into Canada. She likely crossed over the Suspension Bridge that once stood where the Whirlpool Bridge is today. This circa 1859 photograph shows the Suspension Bridge from the Americam side of the Niagara Gorge. The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling and built in 1855, supporting a railroad above and a walkway underneath. In 1897, a steel-arch bridge was built around the existing bridge. The Suspension Bridge was then dismantled, leaving the current Whirlpool Bridge you see today. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1820 on a plantation in Maryland. She escaped slavery in 1849, and settled in Philadelphia, PA. A year later, she began guiding other escaped slaves to safety. After slavery was abolished in the United States, Tubman made her home in Auburn, NY. She died there in 1913.HM Number | HM1R23 |
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Tags | |
Year Placed | 2016 |
Placed By | New York Power Authority |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Monday, March 14th, 2016 at 5:01pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17T E 658166 N 4774706 |
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Decimal Degrees | 43.10858333, -79.05610000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 43° 6.515', W 79° 3.366' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 43° 6' 30.9" N, 79° 3' 21.96" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 716 |
Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling South |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 7400 Robert Moses Pkwy, Niagara Falls NY 14305, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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