The Portland Freedom Trail is a self-guided walking tour of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. Established in 2007, its course passes through the city's oldest and most historic areas, including those related to its

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

population, and features thirteen points of interest. Most of the stops are in the Old Port and Arts District. The

Abyssinian Meeting House The Abyssinian Meeting House is a historic church building at 73–75 Newbury Street, in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood of Portland, Maine, Portland, Maine. Built 1828-1831 by Free negro, free African-Americans, it is Maine's oldest African-Ameri ...

, the third-oldest African American meetinghouse in the country, is a stop on the tour, while several others are tied to the city's former

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. T ...

Markers

The granite markers with bronze plates denoting points on the tour were designed and created by Daniel Minter, a contemporary artist in the city who was instrumental in creating the trail. Some of the stops on the tour mark extant locations, while others mark former locations.

Sights

The thirteen stops on the tour:''Portland Freedom Trail''
–

Maine Historical Society The Maine Historical Society is the official state historical society of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow Ga ...

# Franklin Street wharf, on Commercial Street, where enslaved people once arrived as stowaways on their journey to freedom # Barber Shop of Jacob C. Dickson, 243 Fore Street #

Hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

Stand of Charles H. L. Pierre, 29 Middle Street #

, 73 Newbury Street. The Abyssinian Meeting House was the first black congregation in Maine and a significant part of Maine's Underground Railroad network. # Home of Charles Frederick, Harriet Stephenson Eastman and Alexander Stephenson, corner of Mountfort and Newbury Streets #

Eastern Cemetery Eastern Cemetery is a historic cemetery at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Congress Street in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Established in 1668, it is the city's oldest historic site, and has more than 4,000 marked ...

# Home of Elias and Elizabeth Widgery Thomas, corner of India and Congress Streets # Home of General Samuel C. Fessenden, 31 India Street # Friends (Quaker) Meeting House,

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, corner of Federal and Pearl Streets # Hack stand of Reuben Ruby, corner of Federal and Temple Streets. Ruby was Portland's foremost African American Anti-Slavery activist and underground railroad conductor # First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street. The church was where an audience of 2,000 heard abolitionist

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...

speak in 1832. In 1842, a pro-slavery riot occurred at the church after abolitionist

Stephen Symonds Foster Stephen Symonds Foster (November 17, 1809 – September 13, 1881) was a radical American abolitionist known for his dramatic and aggressive style of public speaking, and for his stance against those in the church who failed to fight slavery. His ma ...

spoke about New England's role in the institution of slavery. # Secondhand Clothing Store of Lloyd Scott, 44 Exchange Street #

Mariners' Church Mariners' Church of Detroit is a church with worship services adhering to Anglican liturgical traditions located at 170 East Jefferson Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in 1842 as a special mission to the maritime travelers of ...

, corner of Fore and Moulton Streets, where there was an anti-slavery bookstore and a printshop run by Daniel Colesworthy. The print shop published ''Light and Truth From Ancient and Sacred History,'' by

Robert Benjamin Lewis Robert Benjamin Lewis (1802 - February 1858) was an African and Native American author, best known for writing ''Light and Truth.'' He also was an entrepreneur, successfully marketing hair oil and other commodities, and also held three United S ...

. The book was the first Afro-centric history printed in the U.S.

References

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External links

Portland Freedom Trail self guided walking tour
Maine Historical Society
"Portland Freedom Trail"
– VisitMaine Historic trails and roads in Maine Museology Urban heritage trails Tourist attractions in Portland, Maine 2007 establishments in Maine African-American history of Maine History of Portland, Maine

Markers

Sights

See also

References

External links