Onondaga County has become one of the latest communities to support a scenic byway highlighting sites along the underground railroad. It’s named after Harriet Tubman who rescued dozens of enslaved people between Maryland and Canada.
The Jerry Rescue Monument in Clinton Square would be a stop on the proposed byway.
“This byway, which would cover over 500 miles of the state, would link us up with several other Harriet Tubman-related byways, including in Maryland and to St. Catharines, Ontario," said Derrick Pratt, director of education at the Erie Canal Museum.
He said there are many sites here in New York.
“The National Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro, Madison County, the Garrett Smith Estate, Garrett Smith, another one of these huge abolitionists, it'll pass through there," Pratt said. "Albany, home of the William and Harriet Meyers House, which is now the Underground Railroad Education Center. So all across New York State, there's this rich abolitionist history.”
Sage Hamilton Hazarica is from Brooklyn. He represents the Tubman Byway and the Underground Railroad Consortium. He said heritage tourism is a major economic driver.
“You'll see people coming from further and further away and spending more time here because there's so much history," he told Onondaga County Legislators before their vote. "As an out-of-towner who gets to come here and enjoy what the city and the county have to offer. I'm happy to keep telling people from other places to do just that.”
Derrick Pratt recalled when cyclists took one of the Erie Canal Museum’s walking tours as they headed north from the Tubman Byway in Maryland.
“They were biking all the way up to St. Catharines, Ontario, and they stopped through and took the tour," he said. "We've already got that sort of thing happening. This [byway] will only add to it.”
He said now they need all 160 municipalities along the byway to pass resolutions in support, including towns and villages in Onondaga County. Pratt said most are on board, but express concerns about the extra signage.
