Uncovering Freedom’s Trail: Minnesota’s Connection to the Underground Railroad

St. Paul native and genealogy researcher Elyse Hill will talk about the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, and her research efforts on the first two sites in Minnesota added to the Network:  Pilgrim Baptist Church in St Paul, founded by escaped slaves, and Pioneers & Soldier’s Cemetery in Minneapolis, the final resting place of African American abolitionist William Goodridge and several U.S. Colored Troop soldiers who escaped slavery during the Civil War. This forty-five minute presentation will be followed by questions/answers. Museum doors will open at 6:00 pm to allow attendees to view a related exhibit at the museum:  In Memoriam: Residents of Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery.

This workshop is the first in a series of programs to commemorate the designation of Minneapolis’s Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery as part of the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. It is sponsored by Hennepin History Museum, Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery, and Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery.