A1. The Underground Railroad in Worcester and the Blackstone Valley

This course looks at routes and sites along the Underground Railroad in Worcester and the Blackstone River Valley. We will examine the experience of escaping enslavement; the impacts of northern trade in funding slave ships, cotton production, and trade goods; and the role of religious institutions, including the Quakers, in ending enslavement. We will meet important figures who inspired local and national anti-slavery activities including Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Charles Lenox Remond, Abby Kelley Foster, the William Buffum family, Effingham Capron, and Rev. Samuel J. May.

Susan Franz holds a master's degree from Clark University and has taught at several local colleges. Working with other local historians, she played a key role in gaining national park designations for Underground Railroad locations in the Blackstone River Valley. Recognized by the African American Trail, Susan designed a permanent exhibit on the Underground Railroad at the Blackstone Heritage Corridor's River Bend.