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- NEW BRIGHTON — New Brighton’s strategic location on the Beaver River and compassion of prominent abolitionists made the borough a natural harbor for fugitive slaves seeking asylum prior to the Civil War.
www.timesonline.com/story/news/2021/06/18/new-brighton-hub-underground-railroad/7524503002/
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Jun 8, 2019 · NEW BRIGHTON — New Brighton’s strategic location on the Beaver River and compassion of prominent abolitionists made the borough a natural harbor for fugitive slaves seeking asylum...
In the 1850s this provided an excellent hiding place for fugitive slaves (1938 History of New Brighton 66), and is supposed to have been one of the most important underground railroad stations between the Ohio River and Canada.
In the 19th Century, New Brighton had a large population of Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends, and were some of the original abolitionists in the County. And so, by some mysterious method of communication, slaves from Kentucky.
Bridgewater was an important center in the transportation of slaves. As mentioned above, fugitives often came here from the Southside. They were sometimes smuggled from the river bank through tunnels to the safety of the homes. After being cared for, Quakers from New Brighton came and transported them to New Brighton.
Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 brought opposition to slavery to a white heat in Beaver County. This law provided that those who sheltered runaway slaves could be fined up to $1000 and be imprisoned for six months.
Before the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 increased the risk of re-enslavement, many freedom seekers settled in states such as Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, where slavery had been abolished during the late 1700s or early 1800s.
The Underground Railroad. Share: WGBH. African Americans fled slavery in the South for a variety of reasons. Brutal physical punishment, psychological abuse and endless hours of...
