North to Freedom (Brewer, Maine)

North to Freedom (Brewer, Maine)

Subject (Topic)
Antislavery movements--United States
Freedom
Fugitive slaves--United States
Maine--Brewer
Public art
Public sculpture
Underground Railroad

Located in Chamberlain Freedom Park in Brewer, Maine, the bronze statue depicts a male freedom seeker from the waist up. He presses his hands against a manhole and appears to be emerging from an underground tunnel. His well-defined torso leans northward, while his head is turned in the opposite direction, his firm gaze fixed toward the south—the direction from which he escaped.

Hines, Glenn M., 1950-
Hines, Diane, 1951-

Photographs by Renée Ater

2002

Brewer Historical Society; Dick Campbell (landscape design); Brian Higgins (historic interpretation)

Brewer Historical Society, P.O. Box 602, Brewer, Maine, 04412, United States

JPEG

English

Visual Arts- Sculpture

Chamberlain Freedom Park, 12 State Street, Brewer, Maine, 04412, United States

Information plaque:
The Brewer Historical Society created this park to honor Civil War hero General Joshua L. Chamberlain, a Brewer native. The park also commemorates Maine's role as a stop on the "Underground Railroad" used by runaway slaves to reach freedom in Canada.

A statue of an unknown slave lifts himself, leaning North while looking South, from an underground railroad tunnel uncovered during construction in 1995. The "North to Freedom" statue, by Maine sculptors Glenn and Diane Hines, represents all who made the dangerous journeys along the "Underground Railroad."

Landscape design: Dick Campbell
Historic Interpretation: Brian Higgins

Bronze; Field stone

Ricker, Nok-Noi. "‘North to Freedom’ Statue in Brewer Only Official Maine Memorial to Underground Railroad." Bangor Daily News, September 1, 2012. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://bangordailynews.com/2012/09/01/news/bangor/north-to-freedom-statue-in-brewer-only-official-maine-memorial-to-underground-railroad/.

Renée Ater

Sculpture

Unknown