Freedom Bound: Syracuse & The Underground Railroad

Dedicated to the history of anti-slavery and Underground Railroad activity in Onondaga County, Freedom Bound personalizes the story of the Underground Railroad while educating visitors about slavery, abolitionism, tolerance, and the meaning of freedom through a highly immersive experience.

OHA has recreated the story of how slaves had to make the decision to escape, leaving behind family and the only world they knew, for a chance at freedom. Meet Syracuse stationmaster Reverend Jermain Loguen; fellow abolitionist leaders, Samuel May & Chloe Merrick; freedom seeker, Frank Wanzer; and anti-abolitionist B. Davis Noxon as they describe the Underground Railroad environment in Onondaga County before the Civil War.

See the gallery come alive with the lights, images, voices, sounds, and music of the period, helping to tell this important piece of our local history. Also see earthen faces found in the basement of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, possibly carved by escaping slaves hiding in the church.