BREWER, Maine — Stories about how fugitive slaves in the 1800s made their way to freedom in Canada by way of Brewer are pieces of local lore that should never be forgotten, historian Richard “Dick” Campbell said Saturday.
“Nothing was documented,” he said, but “there are lots of tidbits of history” that link Brewer to the Underground Railroad.
Brewer’s Chamberlain Freedom Park is home to the only official Maine memorial to the Underground Railroad, a vast network of secret routes and people credited with helping thousands upon thousands of runaway slaves escape the tyranny of their southern owners.
The park sits at the location of the former Holyoke House, a brick house once occupied by wealthy abolitionist John Holyoke, where a “slave-style shirt” was found tucked in the eaves of the attic in 1995 and a stone-lined shaft was discovered the following year when the Department of Transportation tore down the house to improve the four-way intersection at State and North Main streets.
The handstitched white shirt is now on display at the Brewer Historical Society, which oversees the park that features a historic display, a bronze statue of Brewer native and Civil War hero, Col. Joshua Chamberlain, and the “North to Freedom” statue.
The statue depicts a runaway slave looking back toward the south and leaning to the north as he hoists himself out of an underground tunnel to freedom. It serves as a tribute to slaves who used the Underground Railroad, to the abolitionist movement and to the role the state played, Campbell said.
Houlton sculptors Glenn and Diane Hines created the historic figure that sits on a grate over the stone-lined shaft that Campbell, fellow historian Brian Higgins and others believe was used to hide slaves. The shaft is located where the root cellar of Holyoke’s summer kitchen once stood. The home also was known as the Christmas House.
“Oral traditions are that it was the site of the Underground Railroad,” Campbell said.
Even though every state in the north had legally abolished slavery in the first decades of the 1800s, thanks to abolitionists who believed slavery was against their Christian faith, the federal government continued to pass laws allowing the capture of runaway slaves, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s website states.
“The federal government had passed Fugitive Slave Acts as early as 1793 that allowed slave catchers to come north and force runaways back into slavery,” the site states. “By the 1830s and 1840s, these laws were expanded in reaction to increased Underground Railroad activity. With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, assisting or helping hide fugitive slaves became a federal offense, making all Underground Railroad activity subject to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.
“Escaping from slavery or helping someone to escape from slavery was a very difficult and dangerous task,” the Freedom Center’s website states.
Educating people about the city’s link to history is one way the Brewer Historical Society is helping future generations learn from the past, Campbell said, adding this year it is especially important because the city is celebrating its bicentennial.
The plan is to rededicate the Chamberlain Freedom Park next year at 150th anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, where more than 50,000 people died during three days of battle, and Chamberlain, who led the 20th Maine, helped to turn the tide of the war by defeating a band of Confederates at Little Round Top.
Chamberlain grew up next door to the Holyoke House and attended the same Brewer church.
Upcoming Brewer bicentennial events include:
• Sept. 8-9, Brewer Days annual celebration, which includes two days of events for young and old at Brewer Auditorium, with “Bean Suppah” hosted by the Brewer and Holden historical societies scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8.
• Sept. 15, River Celebration-Paddle Brewer, dedicated in honor of the late Richard “Dick” Ruhlin, a salmon fisherman who helped to clean up the Penobscot River. The Penobscot River Keepers are offering a full-day paddle Brewer event in 10-person canoes.
• Sept. 15, annual yard sale at the Brewer Historical Society’s Clewley Museum, 199 Wilson St.
• Sept. 27, Bicentennial Lunch Series, speaker to be announced.
I appreciate the reasons for locating the statue there, but it’s almost impossible to visit since it’s up against the street and no parking nearby.
There’s a parking lot right next to it, next to Irving.
Sorry, thought that was Irving’s lot. And, is there a sidewalk down to the statue?
Maybe Clint Eastwood could be asked by the Maine GOP to offer his insights into the Underground Railroad to complement his comments about President Obama in Tampa.
Do you think that Harriet Tubman would approve of enslaving ourselves with debt?
There is no documented evdence because there was no underground railroad in Maine. With so many other free states so much closer to Canada, why risk traveling hundreds of extra miles to go through Maine? This is all a figment of one man’s imagination and the BDN should stop encouraging him with wasted coverage. If someone was smuggling a slave don’t you think they would have given them a new shirt by the time they reached Brewer? Let it go, Dick. There is significant oral tradition about the Easter Bunny, too, but that doesn’t make him real.
The reporter neglects to mention that dye was poured into the well (that’s what it was) and it never appeared in the river, casting severe doubt that the shaft (well) was a secret entrance from a tunnel that led from the waterfront.
And, of course, the underground railroad wasn’t literally underground (or a railroad)…
The tunnel could have been blocked.
Actually if you read any census from back in the 1800’s you’ll see Maine had a large African American population. Portland and Aroostock had the largest. Some slaves felt safer in numbers and others thought not. You’d find that often there would be only one family in one area. Many slaves in Aroostock County worked the potato fields. Maine Memory Network has photos.
There was a man who moved to Bangor who brought slaves in the 1800 and Bangor area people said no thanks pay them or let them leave. Some left and a few stayed with the man as they were older and knew no other life. Because Bangor area folks were so against slavery the man left Bangor.
Admittedly, I have not studied the underground railroad in Maine, but to say this is “all a figment of one man’s imagination…” is discourteous. I admire and appreciate Mr. Campbell’s efforts and plan to study them further. As Burke said, “Those who forget history are destined to repeat it.” Once around was shameful enough for our nation.
Let us not forget, too, the very active role the KKK played in our state. In addition, there was a settlement in Palmyra, ME of “Negroes,” as African Americans were then called and it was only a few years ago that townspeople there voted to rename a road to the settlement that for years was called the “N-word” Road.
There are many, who like yourself, have shuttered their minds to the Underground Railroad’s existence. In fact, many escaping slaves who traversed the escape route into Maine, rested, and stayed here. Others continued on to Canada.
Just how many slave families settled in the Brewer area is unknown, and probably for the best, for obvious reasons, then and now. Slave families were aware of “safe houses” along the route to Canada. The Christmas House was one such house. Some slaves were also comfortably embedded with local families.
Who aided them back then, is as much a mystery as to what happened to their offspring? Did they grow and mature and expand their families in the Brewer area? And, are their descendants there today?
A closed mind is a locked door.
Wow. Any valid reasons for your ill-founded skepticism?
Let’s face it. Nobody would document the movement of slaves at the time for fear of their own skin, so folklore and tidbits is all there is to go by. I tend to believe in the folklore, and am happy the city of Brewer (my source of diplomacy – where I went to HS) has shed light on the era.
May I add that I lived in Brewer in the ’70’s when the “Christmas” house still stood and the folklore of the underground railroad was already evident.
The much more likely explanation for the tunnel, if there even was one, is for moving bootleg whiskey during prohibition. Who builds a tunnel to move people?
Other people do. Surely you’ve heard of a subway?
Think about it. Think of the circumstances. Think.
Many, many elaborate projects were constructed all over the country to make money during prohibition. Construction for moving people via the underground railroad…not so much.
Speaking of Freedom, when I was a kid one could see in schoolbooks a picture of the Statue Of Liberty. Underneath it was printed:
“Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
Did you read that some vandal has changed it with a spray paint can? Now you might find it says,
“Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
As long as they’re not
From some other countree.
The humble Farmer
That ‘park’ is the most jumbled, hastily planned collection of weirdness in the area. It’s too bad that in their rush to build a new bridge, the town of Brewer destroyed something that should have become a museum.
They absolutely did rush! I remember the Christmas house and family. When I worked across in Bangor on Ohio Street at a group home, in the cellar there was folklore about that connecting to the underground railway in the area. I bet if someone really researched those with family lore passed down we would have more history disclosed.
Besides being a “safe house,” there was a also a tremendous amount of history relating to other events. Unfortunately, skeptics scoffed and the house was flattened.
Were you surprised to see printed on this page, “There is significant oral tradition about the Easter Bunny, too, but that doesn’t make him real.”
There are a still a few Maine adults who do not believe in the Easter Bunny. No matter how much oral and written tradition there is about the Easter Bunny, some people think it doesn’t make him real.
Have you ever thought about this? When children are four and five years old they hear about The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, God and the Tooth Fairy — all mysterious entities that no one ever sees.
But anyone 15 years of age who still believes in The Easter Bunny or Santa Claus or The Tooth Fairy is considered to be mentally deficient.
The humble Farmer
I wonder why adults continue these traditions if what you say is true? Are you saying all adults are brain dead?
Relevance of the Easter Bunny to your ill-founded skepticism?
Your theory of “you can’t see it, therefore it can’t be real” is faulty thinking. Here’s an example of what I mean by that… How do you know if someone is wearing undergarments if you can’t see them and can’t see any evidence of them? Does that really mean they aren’t there? I don’t think so! Your comparison of the Underground Railroad to fictional characters is no different from my comparison of underwear to East Bunnies – both are clearly ridiculous!
The Underground Railroad was indeed real – that is not disputed and neither is the fact that it certainly came northward. Frankly there is no reason to believe it didn’t or couldn’t come to Maine. In fact, if escaped slaves followed the ocean it would lead them here. It is true that they didn’t document the whereabouts of all the safe houses so naturally you won’t find the kind of documentation identifying the route the Underground Railroad took. There are those who believe they have found evidence similar to the type of evidence found south of Maine indicating that the Underground Railroad did indeed include parts of Maine. You may scoff at their evidence but that does not mean it does not exist. So humble farmer… the fact that no one has shown you documentation of the path the Underground Railroad took means absolutely nothing. Like I said, just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there…
Hannibal Hamlin, veteran Bangorian and Vice President to Abe Lincoln did anti slavery sermons at the church on the corner of Main and Union, which is way more valuable than “oral tradion about the Easter Bunny”… I’m with you, not too much a stretch of the imagination to believe that Mainers’ helped slaves escape to freedom
Couldn’t agree with you more.
For disbelievers of history, many will also quickly scoff on being told that Gen. George S. Patton once commanded an Army of inflatable rubber trucks, tanks, and airplanes.
I once owned a home in New Jersey that was part of the Underground Railway… My home had been a tavern/inn from as early as 1645 where it appeared on the John Daly Map. It sat across from the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church where it was legend that a tunnel ran between the church and the tavern/inn. The tavern served dual purpose as tavern & inn/town hall. The name of the town had been Maidenhead back in the day and was known for it’s “ladies”. The road it was on is now Route 206 that ran from the top of the state through to Princeton, NJ and on to Lawrenceville (where my home was) and on to Trenton, NJ and beyond. At that time it was called the “King’s Highway”. During the 13 years that we owned and renovated that home, and even before, many historical items were found, including a portion of Lord Cornwallis’s diary, rope beds, old hand blown and pottled bottles. Among my favorite finds was a completely in-tact wedding invitation and a tiny folded heart. Another favorite was the cover of a magazine called “The Youth’s Companion” and a newspaper from 1895. The attic was divided oddly into numerous cubby hole sleeping quarters. I was very young when we began this labor of love – just out of high school back in 1972 – when we began 13 years of restoration. I had never enjoyed History as a subject in school but in this home I learned so much more than I ever could have in a classroom. It was here that I developed a keen interest in the Underground Railway. I very much enjoyed this article and would love to see more historic articles when there is space in the paper.
Fascinating. I used to live near Lawrenceville and Irecall a number of articles on the Underground Railroad in the area.
This is the dumbest myth that has been thrust upon the people of Maine. When you get two nut jobs like Dick Campbell and James Varner together you know something is wrong with the story.
Can you offer evidence to corroborate your assertions? Not your defamatory remarks about Mr. Varner and Mr. Campbell? Just facts to dispel the “myth” that you claim is being perpetrated by these two gentlemen, and others.
Check out National Geographic’s map of the Underground Railroad. It doesn’t touch Maine.
What is wrong with believing that the people of Maine were kind enough to help people that were beaten, raped, over worked, murdered and had their children taken away from them and sold (SLAVES) get free? I don’t know if there was an underground railroad here or not but I would like to believe that there was!!
To the doubters, your demands for certainty in this sensitive area are misguided. For example, quilters know that many period quilts were actually “maps” and instructions on how to escape the South and navigate to the North and freedom.
This is well-documented fact, Gopher, and it might do well for one of the many local quilters’ guilds to do some of the blocks and arrangements that helped guide the runaways to safety for a display at the Brewer Historical Society. Books exist that tell this story and they are fascinating!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYAc7gB-0A
i never knew about an underground railroad…can i go on?
Was there a video with this article?
This is total BS. The underground railroad did not go through Maine. There was no easy link to Canada, it was much easier to move them up the Hudson Valley. A home-spun shirt isn’t proof of anything. Dick Campbell is not a historian. Read any reputable history and it won’t mention Maine.