History Map

New Map, New Aspirations

Finding and marking places on a map makes them viscerally tangible as memorials to a living past. The spatial aspects of history add depth to our understanding of the dynamic movements that occurred in the Hudson Valley. Our map includes sites related to the Underground Railroad, the Quaker and River Trails to freedom, and locations significant to the anti-slavery and abolition movements and the people who were a part of these movements. This story map uses a variety of sources to identify significant locations related to slavery and anti-slavery. Each location includes an identifying photo, an address (sometimes labeled as approximate as some locations no longer physically exist), and a brief description of the site’s historical context in regard to slavery and anti-slavery.

The Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project is collaborating on this project with Vassar College and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. We approached the mapping project from the perspective of highlighting the multi-racial abolition movement and the agency, resistance, and leadership of the people of African descent – both enslaved and free – who played such significant roles in the development of NYS – economically, culturally, and in the built environment. These African Americans were also leaders in the women’s movement, the voting rights movement, and other aspects of the civil rights movement.  As we mapped sites, we also began to contemplate how this activity, agency, and leadership produced a movement for Black self-determination that started slowly with the first stolen Africans and gathered momentum for more than 200 years leading up to the Civil War and beyond.

This map was created with the support of Vassar College interns from the Vassar History and Geography departments. Our work is supported in part by the Vassar College Good Neighbors Partnership and the Dutchess and Putnam Community Grants Funds of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.