Photo Credit: LMGS
By Luana M. Graves Sellars
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 was passed to enable the U.S. National Park Service to create a national Underground Railroad program called the Network of Freedom, which coordinates the preservation of local historical places, artifacts, museums and programs associated with the Underground Railroad into a cohesive collection of accessible national stories and locations. Hilton Head Island has been recognized as the only place in South Carolina for its historical importance in the Underground Railroad with three areas of membership: The Heritage Library, Mitchelville and Fort Howell, which is located within Mitchelville. The following are excerpts from the Network of Freedom explaining the rationale of the project and the importance of Mitchelville’s inclusion in the network.
By Sonja Griffin Evans
For more information about Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, the first self-governed town for freedmen, the Lowcountry Heritage Trail and Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort, SC or Beaufort County |Ground Zero for Our Nation’s Heritage Tourism
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