09/19/09: Freedom Trail Festival Honors Harriet Tubman & Possible Plans for Niagara Falls High Speed Rail Hub

“Southern foods traveled the globe. Just as Harriet Tubman came from the south, through Niagara Falls into Canada to bring people to freedom. So we bring lovely southern food up,” said Winn Gilmore.
The Hot Stuff Southern Café owner served up fried green tomatoes at the 10th annual Freedom Trail Festival. It’s a celebration of abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s 19 trips to lead runaway slaves to freedom.
“It’s really one where people can enjoy, but at the same time they have a greater understanding of what did the Underground Railroad stand for,” said festival organizer David Blackburn.
For hundreds of enslaved Africans, the Underground Railroad meant a chance at freedom from southern slavery in the late 1800’s. Nearly 200 years later, area leaders pushed legislation through Albany to establish the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Commission.
“We’re really unearthing a part of history that’s been with us all along. But has never had the resources or the collection of people that we’ve put together to make it happen,” said Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte. The commission of community leaders will oversee development along Main Street that highlights Harriet Tubman’s Freedom Trail.
“You will see casino money on Main Street in Niagara Falls Downtown. That’s what this is all about,” announced State Senator Antoine Thompson.
Area leaders say the Main Street renaissance will also restore a customs house along the Niagara River, just yards from the suspension bridge Tubman used to lead the runaways to Canada. By the time Harriet Tubman led runaway slaves this far they had escaped slavery and bounty hunters. But they still had to get across the Niagara River. It’s a river that at many points the waves are 10 to 12 feet tall and very rapid. It’s enough to crush a human body and any dreams of freedom.
The place where slaves once crossed to freedom may become Western New York’s newest international crossroads. The city plans to construct a transportation center for buses and commuter trains at the river’s Whirlpool Crossing. Niagara Falls leaders also want to add an “Underground Rail Road Interpretive Center” to the proposed center to boost tourism and historical awareness.
“They will step off the train at a historic site. At a site that’s right on the edge of the Niagara Gorge. They will already be starting their emersion in the history of the region,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster.
The project is expected to take two years to complete and will serve as a hub for high speed rail; a fitting continuation for the legacy of the Underground Railroad.