The Underground Railroad on Long Island: Friends in Freedom

From the arrival ofthe Quakers in the seventeenth century to the enforcement of the EmancipationProclamation, Long Island played an important role in the UndergroundRailroad’s work to guide slaves to freedom. In Old Westbury, the Post familyestablished a major stop on the freedom trail with the help of an escapedVirginia slave. In Jericho, families helped escaping slaves to freedom from thepresent-day Maine Maid Inn. Elias Hicks helped free 191 slaves himself andworked to create Underground Railroad safe houses in many northeastern cities.Some former slaves even established permanent communities across the island.Visit the safe houses-many of which are still standing today-and explore thejourney of runaway slaves on Long Island.