“I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.” F. Douglass 
 
September is International Underground Railroad Month and nowhere is that history better preserved and presented more accurately than throughout the state of Maryland. This month Maryland is honoring the legacy of the freedom seekers and those who assisted them with a series of exhibitions, events, tours and walking and road trips, all designed to be both comprehensive and follow socially safe guidelines. 
 
The UGRR system can be defined as resistance to the institution of slavery through self-emancipation and escape. Escapes were frequent from the first years of slavery and indenture and the routes, because slavery existed throughout the colonies, were as widespread as Canada, Mexico and western Indian Territory. Because escape was an issue, in 1793 the first Fugitive Slave Law was instituted. It levied a $500 fine on any person resisting or interfering in recapture. In 1850 the second Fugitive Slave Law made it compulsory for citizens to assist in recapture or be fined or arrested. 

Frederick Douglass’ story is quintessentially one of the conditions of the enslaved, the fugitives and the freedman in the state.  It is also the story of the UGRR and the determination of the freedom seekers, the use of disguises and guile, forms of transportation and the concentrated efforts of both black and white rescuers. The “Following in His Footsteps: Maryland’s Frederick Douglass Self-Driving Tour” relates his journey by tracing his path from birth through the cities that sculpted him into the man he would become. Because this article takes you chronologically through his life the sites in part one are along the Eastern Shore. www.visitmaryland.org/driving-tours/following-his-footsteps-marylands-frederick-douglass-driving-tour

 

Frederick Augustus Bailey was born near Easton at Holme Hill Farm in 1818. He lived with his grandmother and last saw his mother in 1825, the probable year of her death. The tour begins at The Frederick Douglass Park on the Tuckahoe River near his birth site. A short path takes you to an outdoor gallery filled with markers that interpret his life and includes trails and river views. In 1878 Douglass returned to collect soil from this area as a memento. 


St. Michael’s was chartered in 1804 and is home to the 18-acre waterfront Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. It features historic buildings, exhibits and events and the featured Mitchell House. The left side of the relocated home is original and belonged to Eliza Bailey Mitchell, Douglass’ sister, her free husband Peter and two children. The exhibits within the house provide an overview of area slavery and Douglass personal experiences. cbmm.org 

Douglass was sent to St. Michael’s in 1833 to live with Thomas Auld in his store on the corner of Cherry and Talbot Streets. He established a secret Sabbath Day school for enslaved children and upon discovery was rented out as a field hand to the infamous slave breaker Edward Covey. Covey’s cruelty caused Douglass to fight back in August 1834, ultimately win, and never be beaten by him again. The site of the Covey Farm is on the road to Tilghman Island across from New St. john’s Church. 
 
The Dr. Dodson House Bed & Breakfast was the home of Auld’s daughter. Douglass visited the home as a guest in 1878. 200 Cherry St. 
 
St. Michael’s Museum offers a monthly Frederick Douglass Walking Tour and features an exhibit, Frederick Douglass: His World 1818-1895. Call for information. 

Renee Gordon has written a weekly travel column for the Philadelphia Sun Newspaper for the past fifteen years and has published articles on local, national and international travel in numerous publications. Her columns focus on cultural, historic and heritage tourism and her areas of specialization are sites and attractions related to African American and African Diaspora history. Renee has been a guest radio commentator on various aspects of tourism and appeared in a documentary, "The Red Summer of 1919". As an educator for thirty years she was an English teacher, event and meeting planner, served as an educational consultant and intern-teacher mentor. She contributed to textbooks on women's history and classroom management and has facilitated workshops on both subjects. Renee considers herself a "missionary journalist" and as such she continues to promote heritage and sustainable tourism.

2013 Recipient of African Diaspora World Tourism Flame Keeper in Media Award for Travel Writing

Affiliations
IABTW- International Association of Black Travel Writers
PBJ - Progressive Black Journalists

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