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The Underground Railroad a network of safe houses, safe spaces and secret routes that assisted runaway slaves on their journeys to freedom to the North has a mysterious history in Central Jersey.
The region has only a few documented Underground Railroad sites or points of interest but far more that have garnered debate among historians and property owners. The trouble with the Underground Railroad is there were no records kept because it was all highly secretive, said Richard Moody, a former board member and longtime volunteer with the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, as well as a volunteer with the Historical Society of Princeton.
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The Amazon Prime show “The Underground Railroad” debuted on May 14. Now streaming, the show has inspired heightened interest in this chapter of our nation s history, particularly with the cultural awakening and racial reckoning that’s been taking place in the last year.
New Jersey and South Jersey in particular played a critical role in the success of the Underground Railroad, which was, of course, not a real railroad, but a network of safe houses, safe spaces and secret routes. Abolitionists often provided shelter, food and supplies to assist runaway slaves in their pursuit of freedom.
Many have heard of Harriet Tubman, a fugitive slave who was a conductor of the Underground Railroad and made dozens of trips from South to North, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom.