Pittsburgh’s role in the fight against slavery

PITTSBURGH — The road to freedom in Pittsburgh was really a river -- three rivers in fact: the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio coming together.

It's along these waterways where thousands of slaves navigated under a blanket of darkness to find freedom.

“If you were a fugitive from slavery and you found your way to Pittsburgh, you were 99.9% likely to never be returned to slavery again,” said Dr. Kimberly Ellis, executive director of the Historic Hill Institute.

Pennsylvania was a free state that bordered the slave state of Maryland. William Penn, who founded the commonwealth, was a Quaker. The Quakers were among the first white people to denounce slavery.

In Pittsburgh there was a profound opposition to slavery and the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act that placed bounties on the heads of runaway slaves.

The Bigham House in Mount Washington is now in the community of Chatham Village. The house was was built in 1849 by Thomas James Bigham, a state representative and wealthy newspaper owner.

The attic is in its original condition, including the floors and the windows. What looks like a closed-off portion of the roof is where slaves found refuge.

Bigham was a public figure, and unbeknownst to the public, he was hiding slaves.

“He was a very big risk taker but for a good cause,” Chatham Village manager Joe Massarelli said.

Throughout downtown Pittsburgh, there are markers showing spots on the once-secret underground railroad.

In Market Square, there is an embedded North Star, a reminder of the constellation that slaves used to guide them to freedom.

On the corner of Water and Smithfield Streets, where a government building stands, once was the Monongahela House, one of the city’s finest hotels that also doubled as a stop on the underground railroad.

Across the street, there is a marker for the Bethel AME Church.

“We had barbershops, we had bathing houses, we had publishers. So these people worked in concert to help people who were running away,” historian Sarah Martin said.

White and black activists worked side by side in Pittsburgh to fight slavery, including Martin Delany. Delany’s parents were free blacks. He became a doctor and publisher and worked tirelessly to end slavery. At Market Square, there is a plaque in his honor.

“Pittsburghers of the era put themselves on the right side of history and put Pittsburgh on the map forever to live in glory. That’s the story we should tell about Pittsburgh all the time,” Ellis said.

The abolitionist movement led to the Civil War and the Union victory in April 1865, but slavery still lingered in places such as Texas.

It was only until Union Gen. Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, issued this order that slavery was finally over.

“Juneteenth -- they really call it our freedom day, our independence day,” said Bill Marshall, organizer of the Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth Celebration.

Fourty-seven states now recognize Juneteenth as a state or ceremonial holiday, but it’s still not a federal holiday.

“We must push forward and remind ourselves and others of our history,” Martin said.

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