Freedom Road Cemetery
Loyalsock Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Daniel Hughes, a lumber raftsman on the Susquehanna, lived here, 1854-80. In the years ending with the Civil War, he brought fugitive slaves here from Maryland, protecting them before they continued north via the Underground Railroad. Hughes gave part of his land for a cemetery, and among those buried here are nine known African-American veterans of the Civil War. The cemetery has borne its present name since 1936.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Daniel Hughes, a Black raftsman who steered timber down the Susquehanna River, used his travels to a darker purpose for slavery's defenders: in the years before the Civil War he guided fugitives from Maryland to his home here, sheltering them before they moved north to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Hughes gave part of his land for a cemetery, where nine known African American veterans of the Civil War are buried. Known as Freedom Road Cemetery since 1936, the ground honors both the escape network and the men who later fought for the Union.
Why it matters
It preserves the memory of the Underground Railroad's grassroots conductors and of the African Americans who risked everything for freedom and then took up arms to secure it.
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Related people
- · Daniel Hughes
Related events
- · Underground Railroad
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
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