Juneteenth Walking Tour
Uncovering the Freedom Trail Presentation
Dr. Judith Wellman
1 p.m. at Bradley Memorial Chapel; Free
Judy is the principal author of “Uncovering the Freedom Trail in Auburn and Cayuga County, New York – A Cultural Resources Survey” sponsored by the City of Auburn Historic Resources Review Board and the Cayuga County Historian’s Office. This Auburn and Cayuga County survey resulted in an Underground Railroad (UGRR) Driving Tour that won a national award of excellence from the American Association of State and Local History.
Judy is recognized across New York as the premier historian regarding identifying UGRR Sites throughout Central New York. Through this effort more than 100 sites were documented in Auburn and Cayuga County, making it one of the highest concentrations in Upstate New York. Currently the Cayuga County Historian’s Office is updating this study. Judy will also briefly discuss the Juneteenth Day history and several of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Tour sites such as Thomas Elliot of the “Dover Eight” fame.
Underground Railroad Driving Tour
Michael Long
2:30 p.m. at Bradley Memorial Chapel; Free
The Cayuga County Office of Tourism with Judy Wellman’s research published a driving tour of several of the City of Auburn and Cayuga County (UGRR) sites. For the 200th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s birth in 2022, together again with Judy’s assistance, former Auburn Historian Michael Long updated the Auburn map and Larry Bell of the Howland Stone Store Museum updated the Sherwood Sites. The tourism office published the updated brochures, and the new digital phone application will be introduced during this presentation.
Cemetery Walking Tour
Hobie Romig
3 p.m. at Fort Hill Cemetery; Free
As Fort Hill Cemetery’s historian and former Board Member, Hobie’s interest is in documenting and researching the various local cemeteries in the area. He will build on an earlier tour to further develop many of the stories connected to African American gravesites at Fort Hill Cemetery and discuss their historic information and stories. Important sites included in the tour will be Harriet Tubman and her second husband Nelson Davis, U. S. Ambassador Jerome “Brud” Holland, and several other African American individuals.
