The Underground Railroad to St. Catharines: Harriet Tubman’s Canadian Legacy
With the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–2024) soon coming to a close, the HTI is proud to announce the creation of a virtual museum to honour the legacy of Harriet Tubman. It is dedicated to her in remembrance of her struggle to free her people from enslavement.
About the project
This project tells the story of Harriet Tubman’s time in St. Catharines and how her efforts helped fugitives establish their lives in Canada. St. Catharines was the last stop on the Underground Railroad and for several years it was Tubman’s northern base of operations. By the 1850s, when the Fugitive Slave Act was introduced in the United States, St. Catharines was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. With local and regional support for Black fugitives, St. Catharines attracted visitors like Frederick Douglass and John Brown.
Through historical photographs, textual records, and the voices of their descendants, this project pays homage to the early Black settlers in southern Ontario, Harriet Tubman, and to the descendants of those whom she guided to Canada. These include resources that have been cared for and housed in community museums and historical sites in Amherstburg, Buxton, St. Catherines, and the Dresden.
This project is funded by and in partnership with Digital Museums Canada (DMC).
Welcome to the information page of this initiative. Stay tuned for updates as the Museum is brought to life.
Inquiries about the Museum can be directed to: tubman@yorku.ca.
Meet the Team
Curation and Project Lead: Blessing Ogunyemi, PhD Student
Research Team: Gabriela Sealy, MA Student, Alex Allasra
Academic and Archival Consultant: Emilie Andree Roumer Jabouin, PhD
Academic Advisor: Ruth Rodney, RN, PhD, Associate Director of Harriet Tubman Institute
Translation Service: Cheikh Nguirane & Ruthneldha Attilus
Alternative Text: Blessing Ogunyemi
Revisions: Georgia Ashworth, Gabriela Sealy, & Ruthneldha Attilus
Special thanks to:
- David Sharron, Head, Archives & Special Collections, and Edie Williams, Archives Processing Specialist at Archives & Special Collections, Brock University Library, St. Catharines.
- Michelle Robbins and the Team at the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, North Buxton.
- Dr. Rosemary Sadlier
- Dr. Afua Ava Pamela Cooper
- Prof. Lorne Foster
- Dr. James C. Simeon, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University
- Ms. Jacqueline Bernard and the Team at the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History
- Amherstburg Freedom Museum