The City of St. Catharines was the final terminus on the Underground Railroad for hundreds of people fleeing slavery in the 1820s. The Underground Railroad and Niagara's Freedom Trail was a network of people who hid and guided enslaved black people who were leaving the United States and heading to British North America to seek freedom.
Harriet Tubman and abolition
The railroad began at the “The Crossing,” which is located along the Niagara River by historic Fort Erie and ends at the British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel. Harriet Tubman, an important Underground Railroad conductor and abolitionist attended this chapel which became an important space for early abolitionist activity in British North America. Tubman remained in St. Catharines for 10 years where she worked as an abolitionist and helped former enslaved people adjust to their new life.
William Hamilton Merritt, prominent businessmen and abolitionist, helped the new citizens purchase land to build the British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel and later the Zion Baptist Church.
Reverend Anthony Burns
A provincial plaque located at the entrance to Victoria Lawn Cemetery honours the memory and gravesite of Reverend Anthony Burns, the last person tried under the Fugitive Slave Act in Massachusetts. As a result of the verdict, Burns was re-enslaved which led to riots in the streets. Abolitionists in Boston bought his freedom and paid for his education before he eventually settled in St. Catharines.
Emancipation Day celebrations
Each year in August, Black Americans and Canadian gather at Lakeside Park to celebrate Emancipation Day.