Guiding Lights

Several well-used Underground Railroad paths ran through York County, Pennsylvania, before the American Civil War. Freedom seekers crossed the Mason-Dixon Line after traveling through the rural Maryland countryside and set foot on free soil, often for the first time. But, York County often was a dangerous place for a runaway, with professional slave catchers roaming the region. Much of the population, particularly in the southern townships, had strong familial and economic ties to Maryland, particularly to Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Freedom usually meant crossing the Susquehanna River and leaving York County behind. In this book, long-time author and researcher Scott Mingus gives an overview, with photographs and accompanying text, of some of the leading waystations and local sites associated with the Underground Railroad. This is meant to be a companion piece to his popular book, The Ground Swallowed Them Up: Slavery and the Underground Railroad in York County, Pa. (York County History Center, 2016).