Thornton & Lucie Blackburn: Fugitives to Canada
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Kentucky Fugitives to Canada. Thornton and Lucie (also called Ruthy) Blackburn were slaves in Louisville, 1830-31. Thornton was hired out to Wurts and Reinhard's store at 4th and Main. When Lucie was sold to Virgil McKnight, the two escaped by steamboat. They were claimed two years later in Detroit by owners. The couple was rescued in "The Blackburn Riots of 1833," Detroit's first racial riot. (Reverse) Lucie and Thornton escaped to Canada. Two attempts to extradite them were refused. They moved to Toronto and began the first taxi service in Upper Canada while continuing to assist other fugitive slaves. Thornton died in 1890 and Lucie in 1895. Designated "Persons of National Historic Significance" by the Canadian Government. Presented by African American Heritage Foundation and the Ky. African American Heritage Commission.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Thornton and Lucie Blackburn were enslaved in Louisville in the early 1830s, and when Lucie was sold away the couple escaped north by steamboat. Reclaimed by their owners in Detroit two years later, they were freed in the dramatic "Blackburn Riots of 1833" and fled across the border to Canada, where two extradition attempts failed. In Toronto they founded Upper Canada's first taxi service while continuing to aid other freedom seekers.
Why it matters
The Blackburns' escape and rescue mark a landmark chapter in the Underground Railroad and in the cross-border fight over slavery and freedom in North America.
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Related people
- · Thornton Blackburn
- · Lucie Blackburn
Related events
- · Blackburn Riots of 1833
- · Underground Railroad
Themes & tags
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