Crossroads on the Border with Freedom - Maryland’s Underground Railroad on the Upper Potomac

Located on the border with a free state and connected by the Potomac River, the Upper Potomac Region of Maryland was located at a crossroads to freedom. Freedom seekers bravely traveled from Virginia and Southern Maryland through the capital region and to the northern and western reaches of Maryland to cross the border with freedom. The National Road, the C & O Canal and railroads threaded through the region, shuttling people, freight and freedom seekers.

Most freedom seekers fled on foot to the North. Many followed the towpath on the C & O Canal to the west or sought paid work on the canal. Others hid in wagons or rail cars delivering freight to the Ohio River Valley. Some fled to Shawnee Indian towns on the Upper Potomac that provided a safe haven, and others escaped to Washington, D.C. where they could blend in with free Black communities or flee via ship or railroad.

In the mountainous areas of Maryland, the enslaved worked in dangerous industries, such as iron furnaces and mills. They also worked in towns or on small farms.  Closer to the nation’s capital, enslaved people toiled on larger farms and tobacco plantations. Many endured cruel punishment and all yearned to be free.

Flights to freedom were difficult and dangerous, and not all were successful. The steep, unknown terrain and wilderness delivered obstacles and threats to survival. Slave catchers patrolled cities and the border with Pennsylvania, yet countless men, women and children took risks and found their liberty.

Explore the collection of Maryland’s Upper Potomac Underground Railroad sites to follow in their footsteps, uncover their stories and honor their legacies.

• International Underground Railroad Events
• Maryland’s Upper Potomac Underground Railroad Site Collection