PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Olde Towne Portsmouth is full of history, and a new sign coming to the area will mark how the town played a local role in the Underground Railroad.
The African American Historical Society of Portsmouth, the City’s Department of Museums and Tourism, and Civil War Trails, Inc. joined forces within the last year to research and put together an interpretive sign, which will be outside the Emanuel A.M.E. Church.
"Portsmouth is where I’m from," said Mae Breckenridge-Haywood, the vice president of the historical society. "Portsmouth is where this activity was done. And I just want Portsmouth up there with a little dot and a little square, however they do into that signage.”
It started as an effort to put Portsmouth on the map.
Breckenridge-Haywood had hoped to see the path of the Underground Railroad in Portsmouth on the maps of the Civil War Trails program.
“I said, 'I’ve looked at your map and I’ve gone up and down the map and I’ve seen United States Colored Troops and I see United States Colored Troop involvement but I don’t see Portsmouth and I don’t see Underground Railroad,'” she said.
More than a year later, her vision came to life.
Friday morning, Portsmouth leaders unveiled the new Civil War Trails Underground Railroad sign outside Emanuel A-M-E Church in Olde Towne.
This sign will serve as a stop on the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom Trail, which honors the stories of the men, women and children who risked their lives to escape slavery, or help those doing so.
“As America’s first non-violent resistance movement, the Underground Railroad helped countless enslaved people flee to cities and counties in the north and Canada," said Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander from Norfolk State University. "And while the true numbers of those who successfully escaped may never be known, what is certain is that in Virginia, thousands fled.”
The trail helps visitors stand in the footsteps of the past and serves as a powerful reminder of injustice in over 1,400 places across the country.
“This new designation at Emanuel A.M.E. Church will offer travelers and Virginians alike an opportunity to stand in the footsteps of the brave and heroic community which served at the heart of Portsmouth’s Underground Railroad,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
“Virginia played an important role in the Underground Railroad network, and markers like the one at Emanuel A.M.E. Church allow us to bring those important stories to life. Today, this site serves as a memorial to the enslaved people who died seeking the fundamental human right of freedom, while also commemorating those who fearlessly sought to help them in their quest for emancipation.”
Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover said it’s surreal to understand the deep history in Olde Towne and hopes this opportunity will bring people to the city.
“This is a moment for everybody to celebrate because as I said, Black history, African American history is American history,” he said.
Other spots across Olde Towne that were important in the emancipation efforts can also be explored.