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On The Record

The escape to freedom along the B&O Railroad

By Sheilah Kast,
Maureen Harvie, Melissa Gerr
Published July 4, 2023 at 9:30 AM EDT
The exhibition is located in the museum’s historic Mt. Clare Station – a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site and the exact location through which eight Freedom Seekers, including Henry “Box” Brown and William and Ellen Craft, traveled. Photo credit: B&O Railroad Museum.
The exhibition is located in the museum’s historic Mt. Clare Station, a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site and the exact location through which eight Freedom Seekers, including Henry “Box” Brown and William and Ellen Craft, traveled. Photo credit: B&O Railroad Museum.

Growing up, children learn about the Underground Railroad. The secret route of hideouts and hidden pathways enslaved people used to claim their freedom. But, part of the Underground Railroad network was a real railroad of iron and steel.

The B&O Railroad Museum has a permanent exhibit showing how 27 enslaved people used the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to claim their freedom. Some stowed away, some disguised themselves, some walked the tracks.

We are marking Independence Day by revisiting our conversation in October about the people who sought freedom along the B&O tracks. This episode recently won an award for Outstanding Public Affairs programming from The Chesapeake AP Broadcasters Association.

We learn about the risks they took from the museum’s executive director Kris Hoellen and Chris Haley of the Legacy of Slavery project at the Maryland archives.

Plus, Julia-Ellen Craft Davis, recounts her great-great grandparents' brave mission to escape slavery in Georgia, traveling by train in a daring disguise.

The railroad museum is set to host Music for Mankind on July 14. Recording artist Wordsmith's music is inspired by those who took the perilous journey to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

(Original Airdate, 10/11/22)

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On The Record WYPR ProgramsOn the RecordUnderground RailroadB&O Railroad Museum
Sheilah Kast
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
See stories by Sheilah Kast
Maureen Harvie
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.
See stories by Maureen Harvie
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr