Liberation Hidden in the Landscape - Maryland’s Underground Railroad on the Lower Eastern Shore

Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Chesapeake Bay to the west and interlaced with tidal rivers, the landscapes and waterways of Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore provided refuge and hidden passages to freedom on Maryland’s Underground Railroad for those able and willing to take incredible risks. Traveling through dense cypress swamps, marshes, rivers and forests was often the key to liberation.

Freedom seekers escaped their enslavers and hid in thickets, until an opportunity to journey northward appeared. Some used maze-like and mysterious dark river passageways through cypress swamps to travel across the border where Underground Railroad helpers were waiting to assist. Some dared to cross wide open bays by rowing or sailing small boats. Others risked capture by boarding steamships traveling the Wicomico, Nanticoke and Pocomoke rivers, and snuck away to faraway ports, sometimes joining military forces.

The Lower Eastern Shore’s landscapes and environments are waiting for you to explore and discover the stories of freedom seekers who navigated their course to freedom through nearly impenetrable wilderness.

• International Underground Railroad Month Events
• Maryland ‘s Lower Eastern Shore Underground Railroad Site Collection