The Underground Railroad

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The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad, although William Goodridge used his rail cars to move freedom seekers toward a safe haven. The term Underground Railroad is thought to have started because when slave catchers who were tracking runaway slaves lost their trail - it was as if the runaway had gone underground and was traveling via railroad to slip away so quickly.

Stations were homes or businesses used to hide runaway slaves, stationmasters were the people who lived in the home or owned the business, and conductors were people who helped to move or direct people from one station to the next. Because these terms were common and ordinary, people who overheard others talking probably would not have suspected what was being discussed.

The first anti-slavery organization in America, the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, was formed in Philadelphia in 1775. During the years leading up to and throughout the Civil War, there were many people sympathetic to the plight of the African-American slaves who longed for freedom. These people formed a secret network of activists who helped slaves reach freedom and a new life using the resources available to them. Since helping a runaway slave was illegal, records of the people involved in helping runaway slaves reach freedom are not readily available. Putting first person accounts from escaped slaves together with information kept by a few Underground Railroad stationmasters and conductors gives us some insight into how the loosely connected system worked.

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 increased the dangers associated with helping escaped slaves in their pursuit of freedom. This act mandated that, “Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing shelter, food, or any other form of assistance is liable to six months’ imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.” To give some perspective: the value of $1,000 in 1850 would equal more than $26,000 in today’s dollars according to www.measuringworth.com/uscompare.

The Goodridge house, located at 123 East Philadelphia Street in York, was an important station on the Underground Railroad network. Fugitive slaves escaping from southern states would cross the into York County where they could find temporary refuge at the Goodridge House, or other known Underground Railroad stations in York and surrounding areas. As a member of this network of people and places, Goodridge showed great conviction and courage. Goodridge risked his life, freedom, and fortune by allowing his personal and commercial properties to be used as stations on the Underground Railroad. A secret hiding place located below the kitchen in the Goodridge home was used to conceal fugitives until it was safe to deliver them to other Underground Railroad conductors. Secret rooms and passages were also found in commercial properties owned by Goodridge. His Reliance Line railroad cars were used to smuggle fugitives so they could make their escape further north.

The exact number of fugitives harbored and smuggled to freedom by Goodridge is unknown, since no records have been found, but evidence suggests he helped many reach freedom. It is assumed that Goodridge chose not to keep any records of the fugitives he helped, because those records would have given easy ammunition to anyone trying to prove that he was involved in this illegal activity.

Although Goodridge is known to have assisted numerous fugitives, two men he helped stand out because their activities caused stirs throughout the entire nation. William Parker was an ex-slave who lived in the Christiana, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area. In 1851, Parker participated in the Christiana Resistance that left Maryland slave owner Edward Gorsuch dead and his son seriously wounded. Goodridge is said to have harbored and smuggled William Parker further east before he eventually made his escape to Canada. In his role as an anti-slavery activist prior to the Resistance, Parker is also rumored to have regularly used Goodridge's railroad cars to help fugitives escape.

Osborne Perry Anderson, the sole survivor of John Brown's Harpers Ferry raid in 1859, is also said to have been harbored and smuggled by Goodridge. Anderson was hidden on the third floor of Centre Hall before being smuggled to Philadelphia on a Goodridge railcar. Anderson is known to have eventually made it to Canada, where extradition laws did not exist to bring fugitives back into the United States.

Goodridge worked with other well-known Underground Railroad activists, including William Lloyd Garrison, Stephen Smith, William Whipper, and William Still. These men all helped a substantial number of fugitives find their freedom. William C.Goodridge was, by any standard, a wealthy and successful resident of York. He called Frederick Douglas a close friend, and has been associated with other leading abolitionists and businessmen of the time. He was considered an elite member of theYork black community and was held in high regard.