Detroit Historical Museum, Second Baptist Church share powerful Underground Railroad stories

Detroit's role in the Underground Railroad is being brought to life for a new generation while highlighting the city's place as a critical gateway to freedom for thousands fleeing slavery.

At the Detroit Historical Museum, an exhibit traces the dangerous and often emotional journey people took north, many traveling hundreds of miles on foot with Canada as their final destination.

"We didn't want this story to be left out. We didn't want this story to be relegated to February each year," said Billy Wall-Winkle, a field curator with the Detroit Historical Society.

The exhibit emphasizes both distance and danger. Visitors encounter markers showing how far people traveled, along with stories of those who moved at night and hid during the day to avoid capture.

"These are people walking hundreds of miles," Wall-Winkle said. "It's a lot of walking at night, under the stars, and hoping you're going in the right direction and sleeping in bushes during the day to avoid slave catchers or people who would sell you out because they can."

The experience can be deeply personal for visitors.

Some reflect on the strength of their ancestors. Others question the choices made by those who lived during that time.

Just minutes from the museum, another piece of that history still stands.

Second Baptist Church of Detroit served as one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad. Today, it remains an active church and historic site where visitors can tour the basement that once sheltered those escaping slavery.

"Second Baptist decided to use this facility in order to support abolitionist movements," said Pastor Lawrence Rodgers. "Hiding formerly enslaved persons in our basements, waiting until slave catchers were asleep or away and putting them in a wagon with a false bottom, then onto a steamboat to get across the river."

From there, freedom was just across the Detroit River.

"Imagine the relief when you step foot into Canada," Rodgers said. "We still have people who come to visit our church from Canada and say this church helped to free my descendants."

Back at the museum, that final step is part of the exhibit itself, symbolizing the moment many reached safety.

"What you have at the end of this exhibition is Canada," Wall-Winkle said. "We show you walking over the water and the stories of the people who made it over there."

Together, the sites offer a powerful reminder that Detroit was not just a stop along the Underground Railroad, but a final gateway to freedom.