Last updated: April 24, 2023
Place
New York: Douglass Family South Street Home Site
Photo Courtesy of James Ponzo, II
Quick Facts
Location:
Rochester, New York
Significance:
The Douglass Family South Street Home Site in Rochester, New York, commemorates where Frederick Douglass and his family moved to in 1852
Designation:
Network to Freedom Member (2023)
Frederick Douglass, probably the foremost antislavery advocate and conductor along the Underground Railroad, relocated with his family to Rochester, New York in 1848 after living in Massachusetts for nine years. His wife Anna Murray-Douglass, herself a free person, was instrumental not only in his escape from bondage, but in also assisting her husband with activities related to aiding freedom seekers over the course of her life. In fact, in 1852 their family moved into a home located on what was then the outskirts of the city at 999 South Avenue. The house was at the top of the hill on South Avenue and with no other neighbors, which was integral to the work they did assisting freedom seekers.
Historians estimate that he assisted some 400 fugitives while in Rochester. This also took place at a time when there was surge in the number of Black people fleeing to Canada after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In fact, about 150 fugitives were funneled through Rochester en route to Canada each year during the 1850s. During their twenty-year period at this residence, Douglass worked on the North Star (renting an office in the Talman Building at 25 Buffalo Street), maintained a demanding lecture schedule, published the abolitionist journal the Douglass Monthly, and recruited for the Union Army. Unfortunately, in 1872 the home was destroyed in a fire. Today, this site is the location for the Anna Murray Douglass Academy School No.12.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom serves to honor, preserve, and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. The Network currently represents over 700 locations in 39 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through its mission, the Network to Freedom helps to advance the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression.
Historians estimate that he assisted some 400 fugitives while in Rochester. This also took place at a time when there was surge in the number of Black people fleeing to Canada after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In fact, about 150 fugitives were funneled through Rochester en route to Canada each year during the 1850s. During their twenty-year period at this residence, Douglass worked on the North Star (renting an office in the Talman Building at 25 Buffalo Street), maintained a demanding lecture schedule, published the abolitionist journal the Douglass Monthly, and recruited for the Union Army. Unfortunately, in 1872 the home was destroyed in a fire. Today, this site is the location for the Anna Murray Douglass Academy School No.12.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom serves to honor, preserve, and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. The Network currently represents over 700 locations in 39 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through its mission, the Network to Freedom helps to advance the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression.