About UGRR of WISCONSIN

On June 23, 2001, The National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin co-sponsored a meeting to gauge interest in the history of Underground Railroad activities in Wisconsin. Among the organizations represented at the initial meeting were the Black Holocaust Museum, Fairwater Historical Society, Fond du Lac County Speleological Society, Milton Historical Society, Racine Heritage Museum, Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, USDA Forest Service Regional Heritage Program, and Wisconsin African-American Heritage Preservationists.

The concensus of those attending was that knowledge about fugitive slaves in Wisconsin in the years leading up to the American Civil War has not progressed significantly beyond the late nineteenth century work of John Nelson Davidson in papers written for the Parkman Club and remains generally limited to the two celebrated cases of Caroline Quarrells (1842) and Joshua Glover (1854). Stories about the Underground Railroad in the state suggest, however, more extensive activities numbering perhaps in the hundreds.

The Underground Railroad of Wisconsin Network to Freedom, a consortium of interested organizations and inviduals, consequently was created to serve the following mission:

Coordinate preservation and education efforts statewide and integrate historic sites, facilities, and interpretive programs associated with the Underground Railroad into a linkage of local statewide networks and routes.

The Underground Railroad of Wisconsin Network to Freedom is developing a database of properties associated with the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin. While every precaution is taken to ensure the accuracy of the data contained within the database, this data may have been recorded years ago. The Underground Railroad of Wisconsin Network to Freedom needs your help to make our information more accurate and current. Please correct any erroneous information, or submit information about new properties, and mail to the address below. If you are providing information of historical fact, be sure to tell us the source of your information. We will only update the existing record or add new records if we can verify that the information that you submit us is based in fact and accurate. Any information that you submit becomes the property of the Goodrich House Library and Archives. Please mail information to: Goodrich House, 742 East Madison, Milton, WI 53563.

Vision Statement: The Underground Railroad Of Wisconsin Network to Freedom (UGRR of WI) imagines a 1,000+ membership based organization with a board of directors, a full-time director and staff, with divisions such as public policy, marketing research, development, and education. The UGRR of WI will actively collect and disseminate information, document Underground Railroad sites, events, and programs, and offer this information to the general public. The UGRR of WI will maintain high visibility by providing brochures, newsletters, lectures, and an active public relations program. The UGRR of WI will partner with the National Park Service Network to Freedom and other state and national Underground Railroad organizations.

UGRR of WI will host a meeting in Racine on June 7. For additional information, contact the Milton House, miltonhouse@miltonhouse.org

Minutes of the Underground Railroad of Wisconsin Network to Freedom

September 6, 2001
November 15, 2001
January 16, 2002
April 8, 2002
July 25, 2002
September 24, 2002
December 5, 2002
February 7, 2003

Next Meeting: March 14, 11:00,
3rd Fl, Wis Hist Soc, 816 State St, Madison

This site is provided by the Wisconsin Local History Network and supported by the Fairwater Historical Society. Contact Sue Schleuter at the Milton House for information at miltonhouse@miltonhouse.org.