The northeast mountains of Pennsylvania reveal remarkable aspects of our nation’s UGRR history. Although many people who had escaped slavery traveled northward into New York and Canada, a surprising number stayed in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Anti-slavery sentiments were strong in pockets across the region. Local Abolitionists, both black and white, actively encouraged people’s efforts to escape slavery, offering what was needed to establish themselves as free individuals: jobs, land, and community. Many settled in local communities that accepted them and supported their freedom. Formerly enslaved individuals prospered in business, bought property, married, divorced, raised families, and built churches and schools. For many, Northeastern Pennsylvania was not just a stop on the way to “freedom in Canada,” but a place to call home.

Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Underground Railroad story places African-Americans, both those who sought freedom and those already free, firmly within the context of family and community, faith and education, agriculture and industry, social movements and civil disobedience. This is an uncommon aspect within traditionally-told UGRR stories, as it dispels the myth that escaping slaves were simply poor unfortunates ferried north to freedom by white Abolitionists.

This region is committed to returning African-Americans to their rightful place in Pennsylvanian and American history. This story shows that those escaping slavery were their most powerful agents of change. Intelligent, resourceful individuals, many went on to build free lives as leaders in their craft, service, industry and community.

Regional Coordinating Body – Covering the 10 county regions of the Northeast:

• The Center for Anti-Slavery Studies, Inc. (CASS)
  75 Church Street
  Montrose PA 18801
  info@antislaverystudies.org
  Toll Free: 877-772-6084
  
  Since 1996, the Center for Anti-Slavery Studies (CASS) has researched, documented, and preserved the history of the Abolition and Underground Railroad activities in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Those stories – which CASS tells through public programs and through the identification and preservation of historic places – are a testimony to how both black and white people lived and worked together in this region; it is about their individual and common struggles, their triumphs, and their attempts to live ordinary lives in an extraordinary time.

Regional CVBs

• Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau
  Phone: 800-769-8999, 570-836-5431

• Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Phone: 800-22WELCOME, 570-963-6363

• Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Phone: 888-905-2872, 570-819-1877

• PA Route 6 Tourist Association
  Phone: 814-435-7706

• Pocono Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Phone: 800-POCONOS, 570-421-5791

Scranton Region Related Destinations

• Narrated Underground Railroad Bus Trips
  “The Place I Call Home: Explorations of the UGRR”
  The Center for Anti-Slavery Studies and Canterbury Tours & Services
  75 Church Street
  Montrose PA 18801
  877-772-6084
  
  This tour is a recognized partner of the National Park Services’ National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
  
  Hours: School and adult groups may call to request a trip date. Available April through November. Day and multi-day trips available.
  
  Take a fascinating and scenic journey to the 1800s as your narrators reveal a long-forgotten chapter of Underground Railroad history. This story leads you through towns, beside rivers, and along gorgeous country roads. An intimate and unforgettable portrait of people, families, and communities living ordinary lives in an extraordinary time.
  

• Walking Tours of Historic Montrose
  The Center for Anti-Slavery Studies and The Susquehanna County Historical Society
  75 Church Street
  Montrose PA 18801
  877-772-6084
  
  Hours: Individuals or groups may call to request a tour. Available year-round.
  
  Take a guided stroll through a most interesting town. Centuries will slip away as you are introduced to the people and places that elevated Montrose to the national stage during a vital time in history. However, you’ll also hear about how the people of the town remained connected to their beginnings and to each other.

• The Center for Anti-Slavery Studies, Inc. (CASS)
  75 Church Street
  Montrose PA 18801
  877-772-6084
  
  Hours: By appointment.
  
  Since 1996, the Center for Anti-Slavery Studies (CASS) has researched, documented, and preserved the history of the Abolition and Underground Railroad activities in Northeastern Pennsylvania. One of CASS’ several initiatives is the process of renovating their headquarters into a regional research center, to make accessible the region’s UGRR and Abolition history to all interested persons. Please call or e-mail with questions.

• The Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum
  22 Bald Mountain Road
  Scranton, PA 18504
  570-963-4804
  
  
  Hours:
  Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  
  CLOSED on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day.
  
  Visitors will experience the lives of proud people who endured harsh working conditions in the mines, mills, and factories, yet carved out communities filled with tradition. Visitors enjoy authentic slices of life in a family’s kitchen, a visit to the pub, or a seat in a local Church. The Museum’s diverse regional collections represent all facets of work, life, and values of the region’s ethnic communities. Of special interest is the displayed work of C. Edgar Patience, world-famous sculptor who used anthracite coal as his medium. The African-American artist’s family heritage is relevant to this region’s UGRR story.

• The Pike County Historical Society and Columns Museum
  608 Broad St.
  P.O. Box 915
  Milford, PA 18337
  570-296-8126
  
  
  Hours:
  April – June: Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  July – August: Wednesday – Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  Sept – Nov: Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  Other hours available: by appointment.
  
  The Society acquires, preserves, and protects the historical sites, artifacts, and records, which pertain to the heritage and culture of Pike County. On permanent exhibit in the Museum are special exhibits on the Civil War and the Lincoln Assassination, including the “Lincoln Flag.” Another permanent exhibit highlights the legacy of the Bailey Family, long-time African-American residents of Milford, PA.

• Little Bethel Historical Association
  Third Street
  P.O. Box 781
  Stroudsburg, PA 18360
  
  Hours: By appointment.
  
  The Stroudsburg Little Bethel Historical Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church building on 3rd Street in Stroudsburg, PA. The organization's mission is to establish and maintain the structure as a viable physical and historical facility, serving the community as a historical site and museum. True to its background, the old church will chronicle the areas early history of people of color and others who have made significant contributions.

• Hickory Grove Cemetery
  Miller Road
  Waverly, PA 18471
  
  Hours: Open to the public.
  
  A State Historic Marker lists The Hickory Grove Cemetery as one of the oldest cemeteries in Lackawanna County. Established in Waverly, then called Abington Center, in 1807, the cemetery includes burials of former slaves who came to the area via the Underground Railroad in the 1840s. Later, Waverly was an important stopping point for many fugitives from slavery. Many of these former slaves settled in Waverly and their burials are silent witness to the struggle to end slavery in the United States.