New York City and the Path to Freedom

Books and Articles

Christopher L. Webber, American to the Backbone: The Life of James W. C. Pennington, the Fugitive Slave who Became one of the First Black Abolitionists (New York: Pegasus Books, 2011).

Clay Lancaster, Old Brooklyn Heights: New York’s First Suburb, 2nd ed.(New York: Dover Publications, 1979).

Eric Foner, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, First edition (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2015).

G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2006).

John Strausbaugh, “On the Trail of Brooklyn’s Underground Railroad,” New York Times, October 12, 2007.

Tom Calarco, The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region (North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2004).

Frank Decker, Brooklyn’s Plymouth church in the Civil War Era: A Ministry of Freedom, (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013).

Digital Collections, Online Resources and Archives

Bowne House, Historic House Trust, New York City Website,  https://historichousetrust.org/house/bowne-house/ 

Bowne House Website,  http://www.bownehouse.org/ 

Brooklyn Historical Society,  https://www.brooklynhistory.org/ 

In Pursuit of Freedom,  http://pursuitoffreedom.org/ 

Julia Larsen, “Theodore Sedgwick Wright (ca. 1797-1847),” BlackPast.org, May 22, 2008,  https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/wright-theodore-sedgwick-ca-1797-1847/ 

National Archives and Records Administration at New York City,  https://www.archives.gov/nyc 

Network to Freedom, National Park Service ,  https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm 

New-York Historical Society,  https://www.nyhistory.org/ 

MAAP, Mapping the African American Past,  http://maap.columbia.edu/ 

Museum of the City of New York digital collection,  https://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=Home 

Sandy Ground Historical Society’s Underground Railroad Program,  https://sandyground.wordpress.com/ 

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,  https://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg 

The New York Public Library Digital Collections,  https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/ 

Weeksville Heritage Center,  https://www.weeksvillesociety.org/ 

Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Reports

Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), 2 White Street House Designation Report (LP-0086) (New York: City of New York, 1966).

LPC, 565 and 569 Bloomingdale Road Cottages Designation Report (LP-2415) (New York: City of New York, 1966), prepared by Gale Harris with assistance by Virginia Kurshan.

LPC, Bowne House Designation Report (LP-0143) (New York: City of New York, 1966).

LPC, Brooklyn Heights Historic District Designation Report (LP-0099) (New York: City of New York, 1965).

LPC, Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliott House, 69 Delafield Place Designation Report (LP-0338) (New York: City of New York, 1966).

LPC, First Free Congregational Church Designation Report (LP-2004) (New York: City of New York, 1981), prepared by Virginia Kurshan.

LPC, Fort Greene Historic District Designation Report (LP-0973) (New York: City of New York, 1978).

LPC, Friends Meeting House Designation Report (LP-0141) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Friends Meeting House Designation Report (LP-2005) (New York: City of New York, 1981), prepared by James E. Dibble.

LPC, Fulton Ferry Historic District Designation Report (LP-0956) (New York: City of New York, 1977).

LPC, George William and Anna Curtis House Designation Report (LP-0339) (New York: City of New York, 1966), prepared by Corinne Engelbert, Gale Harris, and Matthew Postal.

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1698 Bergen Street House Designation Report (LP-0769) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1700 Bergen Street House Designation Report(LP-0729) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1702-04 Bergen Street House Designation Report (LP-0730) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1702-04 Bergen Street House Designation Report (LP-0731) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1706-08 Bergen Street House Designation Report (LP-0732) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Houses on Hunterfly Road, 1706-08 Bergen Street House Designation Report (LP-0733) (New York: City of New York, 1970).

LPC, Lamartine Place Historic District Designation Report (LP-2324) (New York: City of New York, 2009), prepared by Virginia Kurshan and Theresa Noonan.

LPC, Rossville AME Zion Church Designation Report (LP-2416) (New York: City of New York, 1966), prepared by Gale Harris.

LPC, Tribeca East Historic District Designation Report (LP-1711) (New York: City of New York, 1992), prepared by David M. Breiner and Margaret M.M. Pickart.

National Register of Historic Places Reports

National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliott House, Staten Island, New York (80002757) (listed March 28, 1980), nomination prepared by Virginia Kurshan.

NRHP, Old Quaker Meeting House, Flushing, New York (67000015) (listed December 24, 1967), nomination prepared by Patricia Heintzelman. 

This story map was created by the  New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission  using  ArcGIS Story Maps . 

Sarah Carroll, Chair; Lisa Kersavage, Executive Director; Timothy Frye, Director of Special Projects and Strategic Planning; Kate Lemos McHale, Director of Research; Margaret Herman, Deputy Director of Research; Research Staff: Erica Rothman, MaryNell Nolan-Wheatley, Bilge Kose, Theresa Noonan, Marianne Hurley, Lisa Buckley.