The Underground Railroad in Farmington

Registration required

This program is being offered in-person and remotely via Zoom. The Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation email and reminder email sent 48 hours before the event.

Did you know locations in Farmington, Michigan were part of The Underground Railroad? Farmington Township—Michigan first and oldest Quaker settlement—was a community that embraced antislavery sentiments and abolition activism. The town played a vital role in assisting freedom-seekers to get to Detroit and cross the Detroit River to Canada West. When Detroit was deemed unsafe, due to an increased presence of slave catchers waiting on the Detroit River to recapture fugitives, Farmington and communities in Oakland County became safe havens that provided alternative networks for African Americans escaping from American slave societies.

Rochelle Danquah is a lecturer in Oakland University's Department of History, PhD candidate at Wayne State University, and member of the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission. She has also been featured on the CBS News Detroit.

Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Farmington Community Library