Conference to highlight Underground Railroad era

Historical timeline

1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act — repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed settlers in to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries; Kansas Territory opened for white settlement.

1855: Free State party formed; Topeka Constitution bans slavery.

1856: The Freedom Road known as the Lane Trail opened from Topeka to Civil Bend, Iowa.

1857: U.S. court rules against Dred Scott — Blacks not citizens.

1859: John Brown raids armory at Harpers Ferry, Va.

1861: Civil War begins — Kansas enters Union as a Free State.

Source: The Kansas Network to Freedom

Links: lanetrail.com/ugr

To register: lanetrail.com/ugr/forms/2010_UGR_conf_flyer.pdf

Even though it has been more than 150 years since cabins, houses and churches scattered across northeast Kansas were once hideouts for escaping slaves, the history is still visible.

In the seven present-day counties in the region, more than 80 places still tell of the Underground Railroad.

This year, the history of the region will be brought together in one collective conference. The fourth annual National Underground Railroad Conference will be Wednesday through Saturday at The Capitol Plaza Hotel, Topeka.

The conference, “Battleground for Freedom: The Underground Railroad on the Western Frontier,” will be a four-day event with historians, workshops, tours, exhibits and vendors.

Diane Miller, national manager for the Network of Freedom Program, said the conference will shed light on how the Underground Railroad in the West influenced the national struggle to abolish slavery.

“Participants will discover new connections to a larger national story with global significance,” Miller said.

In the West, Topeka was the southern terminus of the Jim Lane Trail. North of the Kansas River, the Lane Trail to Freedom collected travelers from dividing routes across the south and central regions.

In 10 present-day northeastern Kansas counties, more than 15 places are associated with this trail. It is also the trail by which John Brown left Kansas for his raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal.

Martha Parker, director of the Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum, said that while many people may focus on northeastern states such as the Carolinas, Virginia or Maryland as famous Underground Railroad sites, Kansas played a significant role as well. Because the Wakarusa Valley played such a pivotal role in the abolitionist movement and freedom frontier campaigns, Parker said it is great to finally have the conference in Kansas.

“It’s wonderful to have the conference here and to have a whole week of speakers and events centered around Kansas,” Parker said. “I’m hoping people will begin to take more interest in our history.”

To register to attend the event, visit ugrconference.com. For hotel reservations, contact Capitol Plaza Hotel at 1-800-579-7937.