York Town Square

Slaves escaped from the South through any number of means – draymen’s carts, family carriages and funeral processions. This drawing shows a particularly ingenious way of escape. Henry “Box” Brown was nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond, Va., to Philadelphia. A woman similarly escaped from Baltimore to York County, Pa., in 1845. (See a replica of the box below.) Background posts: Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County, Part I, 10 years ago, York’s exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part II and York County straddled the Mason-Dixon line in Lincoln votes.

While specifics about the Underground Railroad in York County are foggy, almost by definition, certain generalizations about its functioning in York County are clear.
York County Heritage Trust researchers have put together a myth and reality chart as part of an exhibit that will be helpful in understanding the Underground Railroad and slavery.
These will help add understanding about these often-misunderstood topics:

A fifth-grader emerges from a box the size of one that carried slaves to freedom on the underground railroad. The York County Heritage Trust developed this traveling exhibit, seen in this 2004 photo.
Slavery: Myths and realities
Myth
Slavery was a Southern institution.
Reality
Slavery at one time had been legal in Pennsylvania and all other British colonies. Prior to 1780, slavery generally was accepted in York County.
Myth
York County residents were staunchly opposed to slavery.
Reality
Even though a number of York County residents were active abolitionists, most citizens were indifferent to the issues of slavery.
Myth
Most Northerners believed in racial equality.
Reality
Even though many Northerners were opposed to slavery, they still practiced racial segregation.
Myth
The Underground Railroad was a highly organized network of “conductors” and “stations.”
Reality
Few areas developed sophisticated networks. Help to the fugitive slave happened almost accidentally, and sometimes consisted of no more than a little food and directions to another friendly house.
Myth
Fugitive slaves were hidden in secret compartments in “safe” houses until it was time to move on.
Reality
Fugitive slaves were hidden, when necessary, in many places — in houses, as well as barns, outbuildings, fields and secluded wooded areas.
Myth
Fugitive slaves traveled only at night under the cover of darkness.
Reality
After crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, fugitive slaves could travel at any time over open fields and public roads, meeting with little resistance. However, caution was used, as slave catchers were always a threat.
Myth
A fugitive slave’s journey was over after crossing the Mason-Dixon Line into York County.
Reality
Some fugitive slaves did settle in York County to build a new life, but many continued northward and eastward to other hospitable locations, such as Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Canada.

*The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia, by Samuel Rowse published in 1850