The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven is planning a presentation on the waves of freedom seekers who fled slavery in the south via the Great Lakes.
“Freedom via Water! Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad on and near Lake Michigan” will discuss the decades before the Civil War when hundreds of freedom seekers escaping their enslavement in the south made their way to Chicago and then onward to Detroit and Canada. The Maritime Museum says they traveled on and near Lake Michigan and once in Detroit, crossed Lake Huron to freedom. With images, maps and stories, the program will explore these journeys.
The presentation will be led by Dr. Larry McClellan, the author of “The Underground Railroad South of Chicago,” and co-author of “To the River, the Remarkable Journey of Caroline Quarlls.”
The presentation comes as part of the Michigan Maritime Museum’s current lecture series, and will be on Wednesday, February 12 at 6:30 at the museum. Tickets for non-museum members will be $10.
