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From the early 1800s to 1865, the Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped former slaves in the South escape to freedom in Canada. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ensured that former slaves found in any of the free American North states could be captured and sent back to their former owners. Because of this legislation, formerly enslaved people needed to cross the border to Canada, where slavery was prohibited. 

 

Michigan was a major state through which the Underground Railroad "passengers" passed, thanks to its proximity to Canada. More than three-fourths of Underground Railroad passengers passed through Michigan, where their final stop in the United States was Detroit, known by its code name "Midnight". From Detroit, passengers took the ferry or steamboat across the Detroit River to arrive in Canada. Underground Railroad stops operated by "conductors" could be found throughout the state of Michigan. This archive attempts to aggregate the existing records of some of these stops and conductors as well as those of known survivors of the Underground Railroad in Michigan.