Map & Tour Project
This is a excerpt from one of Paterson’s earliest existing maps from around 1861. Paterson was much smaller than it is today. This map helps to show where the people in this story were located in early Paterson. It is helpful for understanding and imagining how the people in Paterson interacted, met and organized themselves, and how they might have secretly sheltered and moved enslaved people through Paterson. The map reminds us of the diverse and complex network of people and local relationships that were involved in Paterson’s early abolitionist movement and Paterson’s “network to freedom.”
Thanks to a grant from the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council and the NJ Historical Commission, this year (2024) we are working on expanding this map and website to include a self-guided walking tour of the sites and the installation of signage at these places in Paterson. Although most of the original buildings are gone and even streets have changed over the past century, we can approximate their locations and place street markers at these places in Paterson.
Be sure to check back here for updates on this project!
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