Tower of Freedom (Windsor, Ontario)]]> Underground Railroad
Slavery-- Abolition
Slavery-- Emancipation
Resistance
Public art
Public sculpture,
Windsor, Ontario, Canada]]>
Commemorative sculpture]]> Gateway to Freedom, Tower of Freedom consists of a twenty-two-foot high granite tower, adorned with a bronze flame symbolizing the “Eternal Flame of Freedom.” Life-size bronze figures stand on opposite sides of the tower’s base. The cluster of four bronze figures facing the river include an African American woman holding an infant and a white woman, often identified as a Quaker “operative.” Behind the women, a man stands with his arms raised in a gesture of praise. On the opposite side of the tower, a singular figure of a woman looks back towards the river and the United States. Despite her age, she clutches a rag doll.]]> Bronze Plaque:

"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN CANDA
LE CHEMIN DE FER CLANDESTIN AU CANDA

From the early 19th century until the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara rivers were important terminals for the Underground Railroad. White and black abolitionists formed a heroic network dedicated to helping free and enslaved African Americans find freedom from oppression. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom-seekers resided in what is now Ontario, after secretly traveling north from slave states like Kentucky and Virginia. Some returned south after the outbreak of the Civil War, but many remained helping to forge the modern Canadian identity.

Du début du XIXe siècle à la guerre de Sécession, des villages le long des rivières Detroit et Niagara servirent de terminus au chemin de fer clandestin. Ce réseau d’ abolitionnistes blancs et noirs aida les Afro-Américains à fuir l’oppression pour atteindre la liberté. Ainsi, en 1861, près de 30 000 réfugies d’ascendance africaine, venant d'États esclavagistes comme le Kentucky et la Virginie, vivaient dans ce qui est aujourd’hui l’Ontario. Des Certains la guerre de Sécession certains repartirent vers le sub, mais beaucoup s’installèrent ici en permanence et contribuèrent à forger l'identité du Canada moderne// Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada"]]>
Inscription on the river-facing side of the monument:

“Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive”

Inscription on the reserve of the monument:

“International Underground Railroad Memorial”]]>
Inscription on base:

“UNDERGROUND RAILRAOD AREAS OF SETTLEMENT AMERSTBURG
DRESEDEN
BUXTON
CHATHAM
COLCHESTER
LITTLE RIVER
NEW CANAAN
PUCE
SANDWICH
WINDSOR"]]>
The second Bronze plaque just in front of the memorial:

"Tower of Freedom By Ed Dwight Dedicated October 20, 2001, With companion work Gateway to Freedom In Hart Plaza, Detroit. A project of Detroit 300 and the Underground Railroad Monument Committee of Windsor."]]>
Journal of American Ethnic History 32, no. 2 (2013): 38-67. doi:10.5406/jamerethnhist.32.2.0038.]]>
Harriet Tubman (Salem Chapel, St. Catharines, Ontario)]]> Subject (Topic)
Abolitionists--United States
Antislavery movements--Canada
Public art
Public sculpture
Underground Railroad

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Subject (Name)
Tubman, Harriet, 1822-1913

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Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

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Inscription on front of black marble plinth:
"After the passing of the USA 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, she said. 'I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam with my people no longer. I brought them all clear off to Canada.'"

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Inscription on back of black marble plinth:
Sculptor
Frank Rekrut
2010

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Ontario Heritage Foundation historic marker:
Harriet Ross Tubman c. 1820-1913
A legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman became known as the "Moses" of her people. Tubman was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation and suffered brutal treatment from numerous owners before escaping in 1849. Over the next decade she returned to the American South many times and led hundreds of freedom seekers north. When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed slave owners  to recapture runaways in the northern free states. Tubman extended her operations across the Canadian border. For eight years she lived in St. Catharines, and at some point rented a house in this neighborhood. With the outbreak of the Civil War, she return to the U. S. to serve the Union Army.

Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Communications

[Reverse in French]

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Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada marker about Salem Chapel:
Salem Chapel, built in 1855, was an important centre of 19th-century abolitionist and civil rights activity in Canada. Harriet Tubman, the famous Underground Railroad "conductor," lived here from 1851 to 1858  and is traditionally associated with Salem Chapel. Many of those aided to freedom became church members and put down roots in the local community. The auditory-hall design typifies the style associated with the Underground Railroad-related churches in Ontario.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
Government of Canada

[In French as well]

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Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada marker about Harriet Tubman:
Harriet Tubman
(c. 1822-1913)

Born on a Maryland plantation, Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become one of the great heroes of the 19th century. The famous "conductor" on the Undergroun Railroad, she courageously led many of the people she rescued from American slavery on dangerous, clandestine journeys to safety and freedom in Canada. Tubman helped these Black refugees settle after their arrival and played an active role in the fight to end slavery. She became the public face of the Underground Railroad in British North America, attracting attention and funding to the abolition movement.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and Parks Canada

[In French as well]

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BME Church National Historic Site information panel:
The Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church was the first Black church in St. Catharines. Originally known as the African Methodist Episcopalian Church, the name was changed to reflect their loyality to the British Empire. In 1793, the "Upper Canada Act Against Slavery" was passed, allowing Blacks aged 25 years and older freedom from slavery in Canada. This created a safe haven for African American runaway slaves and made Canada the destination for many who fled. As a result, hundreds of escaped slaves settled in St. Catharines and created a vibrant Black community.

The original church was a small log building that held about 70 members and was built on the land behind today's church. The freedom seekers who settled in St. Catharines constructed this church, dedicated in 1855, to replace the smaller one. Some of the original pews that they built are still in use in the balcony level. The BME Salem Chapel is also signficant for its ties to Harriet Tubman, nicked name "Black Moses." This brave freedom fighter was instrumental in freeing hundreds of slaves using the Underground Railroad system. Harriet Tubman called St. Catharines and the BME Church home for amost a decade. In 2000, this church became the first National Historic Site in St. Catharines.

St. Catherines Heritage Corridor

*****
1855
The BMA church is known for its ties to Harriet Tubman, a brave freedom-fighter who freed hundreds of slaves using the Underground Railroad.

Ontario
City of St. Catharines

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Sign on front of Salem Chapel:
St. Catharines Heritage
The British Methodist
Episcopal Church
Circa 1855
only surviving Black
Community church in
St. Catharines

Designated 1980

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Monument and Myth: Commemorating Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad]]> Spaan, Natalie. "Harriet Tubman Monument Unveiled." The Brock Press, September 21, 2020. Accessed May 26, 2020, http://www.brockpress.com/2010/09/harriet-tubman-monument-unveiled/.

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Zettle, Mike. "Tubman Statue to Grace BME Church." The Standard (St. Catharines), February 19, 2020. Accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/3305714-tubman-sculpture-to-grace-bme-church-garden/.

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https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/community-story/3311877-legacy-of-freedom-honoured/.]]>