The Burkle Estate is a historic home at 826 North Second Street in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. It is also known as the Slavehaven. Although disputed by some historians, the Burkle Estate is claimed to have been part of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

- a secret network of way stations to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states. The house was constructed in 1849 by a German immigrant by the name of Jacob Burkle. Since 1997 the estate is home to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.

Underground Railroad

It is understood by some that The Burkle Estate may have served as a way station on the

for runaway slaves. Publicly, Mr. Burkle was a livestock trader and a baker. Privately, some state that he was a ''conductor'' on the Underground Railroad. Many believe his home was the last stop in a series of Memphis homes connected by tunnels. The house included a small cellar which might have been used to hide escaping slaves. Slaves could then get on boats to take them upriver to other way stations in the free states north of the Ohio River.

Controversy

The role of the home as a part of the Underground Railroad is subject to debate. There is a significant lack of physical, primary evidence suggesting that the Burkle Estate was a part of the Underground Railroad. In response to the claim that there is not enough evidence to suggest that the Burkle Estate was in fact a part of the Underground Railroad, Historians from Memphis' public library system proposed a counterargument. The historians suggest that the lack of primary, physical evidence of the Burkle Estate further validates the presumption that the Burkle Estate was a part of the Underground Railroad. This is because keeping physical evidence of the Underground Railroad would have been dangerous for the Burkle family as it would have revealed their role in the Underground Railroad. A trapdoor, and a hidden staircase inside the Burkle Estate house, which are rather abnormal characteristics of a home, also are used to suggest that the Burkle Estate played a role in the Underground Railroad.

Slavehaven Museum

The house opened as a museum in 1997 and tours of the one-story, white clapboard house are available. The house is decorated with 19th-century furnishings and artifacts and served as part of the overall

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

heritage of Memphis. The museum documents the history of the Underground Railroad and the possible role of the house in that secret escape network. Slavery, slave trade, slave auctions and the everyday life of slaves in the wider Memphis area are also documented in the museum.

References

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica - Underground RailroadInformation about the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum (Burkle Estate)Information from Memphis Travel
{{National Register of Historic Places Museums in Memphis, Tennessee Houses on the Underground Railroad Historic house museums in Tennessee Museums established in 1997 African-American history in Memphis, Tennessee African-American museums in Tennessee Houses in Memphis, Tennessee 1849 establishments in Tennessee African-American historic house museums

Underground Railroad

Controversy

Slavehaven Museum

See also

References

External links