Operated by the BME Church in Niagara Falls, the Norval Johnson Heritage Library is a full-lending library containing over 1,000 volumes that provide valuable information concerning the history of the Black community in Canada, United States, Caribbean, Africa and England.
A virtual tour of the heritage museum can be found HERE.
This is the dramatic story of the Underground Railroad as seen through the eyes of two young girls — Eliza, a runaway slave from a plantation in Virginia, and Johanna, whose family gives her refuge in St. Catharines, Canada West (now Ontario). In a unique mix of fact and fiction, each chapter is followed by background information and hands-on activities.
A part of the Canadian Flyer childrens chapter book series. In Hurry, Freedom Emily and Matt embark on their most important journey yet — to the Canada-U.S. border in 1858 to travel along the Underground Railroad. They befriend famous abolitionist Dr. Alexander Ross and a group of runaway slaves he’s helping escape to Canada. With slave catchers in close pursuit, will Emily and Matt be able to help their new friends cross the Niagara River to safety?
The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto!, a richly illustrated book, examines the urban connection of the clandestine system of secret routes, safe houses and "conductors." Not only does it trace the story of the Underground Railroad itself and how people courageously made the trip north to Canada and freedom, but it also explores what happened to them after they arrived.
Morning Star is the story of how the Underground Railroad linked two girls living more than a century apart:
Flower, her parents, and her baby brother have escaped from the plantation where they were kept as slaves and are making their way north to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Their journey is dangerous and often desperate, as they are helped and sheltered by some, and hunted by others. Flower’s courage helps her family through illness, re-capture, and to escape again to safety.
Tours featuring this location.
To many living in the southern United States during the 1700's, Canada was the "cold and distant North". But for African slaves looking to escape horrifying oppression, Canada became the "North Star," a place where they could live as free persons. From 1840 to 1860, the Underground Railroad - a network of safe houses and secret routes - was utilized by fugitive slaves and abolitionists to find such freedom.
