"A Rough Road to Freedom"

Following the Underground Railroad north to freedom in antebellum America was a harrowing undertaking that required courage and determination from both escaping slaves and those who offered sanctuary. New Milford played an integral role in the Underground Railroad of the 18th and 19th century, helping runaway slaves find freedom in the northern states and Canada. By tradition, the Colonel Elisha Bostwick House in New Milford, built in 1782, was a station on the Underground Railroad, and a hiding place in its attic floor, large enough for two people, was likely constructed between 1845 and 1861 by Jared Bostwick, Elisha's son. Although much of the history of the secret route is clouded with legends, substantial documentation supports a route that passed from the coast to New Milford, Washington, Torrington, Winchester, and Winsted before crossing into Massachusetts. During the Civil War, both slaves and free black men fought in the Union Army, and the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment included fourteen men from New Milford. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address and signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and slavery was abolished in December 1865 with the ratification of the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment.

New Milford, Connecticut · United States