Celebrating Juneteenth: Remembering a path to freedom

Underground Railroad Museum plans tour of historic sites in Champlain Valley

By David Escobar

Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating a significant step toward the end of slavery in the United States, marks a delayed freedom. It honors the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and told the last enslaved African Americans they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed.

In the North Country, the fight for freedom had already been underway for decades. Long before Juneteenth, the region was part of a clandestine network of routes and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad, which helped enslaved people escape bondage in the South. Routes in northern New York stretched through the Champlain Valley and across the Adirondacks, linking farms, barns and sympathetic households to a broader freedom movement for African Americans.

This weekend, the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association will lead guided tours of those historic sites in honor of Juneteenth. For its president, Jacqueline Madison, remembering the Underground Railroad’s legacy in New York is crucial to understanding the battles fought by African Americans in their pursuit of freedom.

An uneven journey north

Before making the journey north, many fugitive slaves arrived in metropolitan cities along the southern and central parts of New York State.

“People think that they just left the Albany-Troy area and came straight up,” said Madison, describing a portion of the Underground Railroad’s Champlain Line. “But that typically was not how they did it. The routes were not straight up.”

Instead, escape routes diverged and crisscrossed the region in unpredictable ways. Some freedom seekers passed through Watertown and Ogdensburg on the edge of the Thousand Islands-Seaway, while others began in the Hudson Valley and moved north through Ticonderoga and the Champlain Valley. Many traveled on foot or through waterways, frequently under the cover of darkness.

“They had to ensure that they did not run into any slave catchers,” said Madison.

Safe houses owned by white abolitionists dotted these informal trails, discreet spaces to rest and shelter from authorities. In many cases, abolitionists used their finances and risked their livelihoods in helping fugitive slaves reach safety. One such figure was Stephen Keese Smith, who lived in the town of Peru. According to local records, Smith used his family farm as a sanctuary for escapees and personally spent about $1,000 aiding their journey to freedom, equivalent to roughly $30,000 today.

“If you figure out that he spent $2.50 per person, he helped over 400 people get to Canada and get to freedom,” said Madison.

Freedom in the Adirondacks

Involvement in the Underground Railroad was dangerous for everyone. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 mandated that runaway slaves be returned to their former owners, carrying stiff penalties for individuals who aided escapees.

Once African Americans made their way north or across the border, the threat of recapture remained. Yet some freedom seekers settled in the region, becoming established farmers.

John Thomas escaped slavery in Maryland in the 1840s and eventually acquired farmland near Bloomingdale via a land distribution program started by white abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Over time, Madison said records indicated Thomas became a respected farmer in the community.

“Neighbors said that they would stand with him if [slave catchers] tried to take him away,” said Madison. “So he had the support of his neighbors to ensure his freedom.”

Yet even for those who evaded recapture or settled in the North, freedom was incomplete. Madison notes that Black Americans continued to face institutionalized racism in the decades after slavery — segregation, exploitative labor policies like sharecropping and Jim Crow laws all undermined the freedoms won after the states ratified the 13th Amendment in 1865.

“Once they got their freedom, there were individuals who were coming up with other ways to restrict their activities and still have access to that labor,” said Madison.

A celebration and a reminder

For Madison, Juneteenth is a time to reflect not just on emancipation, but on the ongoing struggle for true equality. The Underground Railroad was a beacon of hope for many Black Americans escaping slavery. However,  true liberation wasn’t achieved until Union troops freed the remaining enslaved people on the first Juneteenth.

“You have to go back to the history of people being formally enslaved, not having the ability to do and think and act for themselves without permission,” said Madison. “And once they got that freedom that Juneteenth, it becomes a celebration.”

Madison said the Juneteenth themes of liberty and resilience are ideals that every American can celebrate.

“Juneteenth represents freedom,” said Madison. “Although it’s really recognized with African Americans, everyone can relate to that, because everyone wants the ability to say, ‘I’m doing the best I can. I’m securing my family.’ And so freedom is just as important to me as it is to you.”

To mark Juneteenth, the North Star Underground Railroad Museum, SUNY Plattsburgh and John Brown Lives! are hosting an art exhibit and guided tours of historic Underground Railroad sites across the Champlain Valley throughout the weekend. For details, visit https://northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/forms/web/colors-of-freedom-tour-registration-2025.php.

David Escobar is a Report For America Corps Member. He reports on diversity issues in the Adirondacks through a partnership between North Country Public Radio and Adirondack Explorer.