Special events planned for Minneapolis' oldest cemetery after Underground Railroad designation
The Brief
Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery has been named a National Parks Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site.
The city's first African Americans and working-class immigrants are buried there.
Underground Railroad Operator William Goodridge is buried there
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery tells a pre and post Civil War story about the City of Minneapolis, which includes the final resting place for Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army, a woman who escaped slavery and joined a Minnesota regiment on the battlefield as a cook, and William Goodridge who ran an Underground Railroad through his home in York, Pennsylvania.
What we know
Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Minneapolis, established in 1853. Thousands of the city's working class immigrants are buried there along with 500 of the city's first African American citizens.
"These are the everyday people who built Minneapolis who lived in Minneapolis and traditionally haven't had their stories told widely," says John Crippen, the Executive Director of the Hennepin History Museum. "The cemetery does a great job of saying here's how these people shaped the community we live in today," he adds.
Sue Weir is the president of the Board of Friends of Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery and a longtime historian.
She has researched the stories of the people who captured the attention of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.
Why it matters
The Network to Freedom program honors, preserves, and promotes the history of the resistance to slavery.
She says the founders of the cemetery were very active in the anti-slavery movement.
"Martin and Elizabeth Lehman, the original owners, were very much involved in the anti-slavery movement," says Weir. "They were Baptist and their church was involved."
Hester Patterson, Freedom Seeker. Patterson escaped slavery, worked as a cook on the battlefields, befriended a surgeon from Minneapolis who helped her get a train ticket to Minnesota.
Woodford Anderson, Freedom Seeker, and U.S. Colored Troop soldier.
Charles Broden, Freedom Seeker who, while was not an official member of the U.S. Colored Troop, performed manual labor duties for the Iowa unit.
William Goodridge, abolitionist, and conductor on the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania.
The backstory
St. Paul native and genealogist Elyse Hill conducted research on Goodridge, Anderson and Broden and submitted her documentation to the National Park Service. Hill specializes in African American genealogy and has extensive experience researching the histories of formerly enslaved African Americans.
What you can do
The Hennepin History Museum is planning a series of events over the next few months that will focus on the cemetery and African American genealogy in Minnesota. They are also planning a public event in June for the cemetery's National Park Service designation. Their event on February 27 is sold out, but it will be recorded and later posted on their YouTube channel. You can check out their schedule the museum's website.
Dig deeper
Last year, FOX 9 put a spotlight on William Goodridge's life as a hero of the Underground Railroad:
William Goodridge: From slavery to hero of the Underground Railroad
A hero of the Underground Railroad buried in Minnesota
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Waverly Community House to unveil Underground Railroad historic marker
WAVERLY TWP. — Visitors at the Waverly Community House can learn about Waverly's role in the Underground Railroad with a historic marker outside the building. Community House staff will formally dedicate the marker on June 19 — Juneteenth — at 10 a.m. EJ Murphy, program manager for Destination Freedom, the interactive historical program that examines the township's history with a focus on its role in the Underground Railroad, will lead walking tours around the community house grounds following the dedication. The Destination Freedom gallery will also be open. The marker details the history of Waverly as it relates to the Underground Railroad and how the township connects with other municipalities in Northeast Pennsylvania that were significant to the cooperative system among antislavery people in the United States by which Blacks were secretly helped to reach the North. It also highlights the abolitionists and formerly enslaved people, some of whom fought for the union during the Civil War, who made the area their home. 'It's just an overview of what you can learn here if you come and take our tour,' Murphy said. Posture Interactive of Scranton designed the sign, and the base was made by Pannier Graphics of Gibsonia. Funding for the marker came from two $5,000 grants from Lackawanna Heritage Valley and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, as well as donations through the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Murphy was inspired to add a sign detailing Waverly's role in the Underground Railroad after seeing it referenced in books on the secret network of routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans. The Underground Railroad is also mentioned on a state historic marker across from Hickory Grove Cemetery. 'I wanted to try to find a way that even if you're just walking around or even just walking your dog, you can kind of get a sense of the history that we offer here,' he said. * EJ Murphy, program manager for Destination Freedom, stands beside the base that will hold a historic marker that will detail Waverly's role in the Underground Railroad Tuesday, June 10, 2025. The Waverly Community House will dedicate the historic marker on Juneteenth. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * Gia Tugend, interim executive director of the Waverly Community House, looks through books on the American Civil War at the community house's archives Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * EJ Murphy, program manager for Destination Freedom, talks about some of the Civil War items on display at the Waverly Community House Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * A display of artifacts related to the American Civil War and the Underground Railroad is on display at the Waverly Community House Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) Show Caption 1 of 4 EJ Murphy, program manager for Destination Freedom, stands beside the base that will hold a historic marker that will detail Waverly's role in the Underground Railroad Tuesday, June 10, 2025. The Waverly Community House will dedicate the historic marker on Juneteenth. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) Expand In addition to being the home of several formerly enslaved African Americans, Waverly was home to people involved with the Underground Railroad. Murphy said the marker makes more people aware of that role. 'It's just a way for people to get that connection to this history that they might not otherwise be aware of,' he said. Destination Freedom guided tours began in 2017, and in 2022 they were added to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, which connects sites throughout the U.S. Gia Tugend, the Waverly Community House's interim executive director, said the marker is in line with the community house's mission of education, recreation and culture. Murphy and Tugend said Juneteenth is a good way to recognize the abolition of slavery in the U.S. Destination Freedom, they added, shows the local connection to the fight to end slavery. 'I think local history makes something a little bit more tangible,' Tugend said. 'It allows people to actually see something in a different way. I feel like because they're able to be here and see the homes and see the churches and the locations on the tour … it adds a different perspective, and I feel like that's so important to us to be able to do that.' Destination Freedom tours will be offered Tuesdays at 2 p.m. during the summer months.


National Geographic
2 hours ago
- National Geographic
These U.S. national parks and monuments honor the milestones of LGBTQ+ heritage
In the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, the Gay Liberation Monument in Christopher Park near the Stonewall Inn pays homage to the historically pivotal Stonewall Rebellion, which included prominent gay rights activists including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Photograph by Ed Rooney, Alamy Stock Photo See the country's past through a distinctly queer lens at these National Park Service-managed destinations. Just as it turned 100 in 2016, America's National Park Service (NPS) began to officially recognize the contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to the rich and diverse history of the United States. Given the groundbreaking importance of New York City's Stonewall Inn to global queer history, the National Park Service (NPS) fittingly named New York City's Stonewall National Monument as its first site dedicated to preserving LGBTQ+ heritage. Since then, several other NPS sites nationwide have been acknowledged both officially and unofficially for their important ties to the queer past. Stretched across the country and spanning many eras, these places tell inspirational stories of bravery and individualism that deepen our understanding of American history. All free to the public, visits to the following six NPS-managed sites illuminate legacies not just of LGBTQ+ America, but of America itself. Stonewall National Monument, New York City On a warm summer night in 1969, long-brewing tensions between New York's LGBTQ+ community and its police force finally came to a boil. In the face of yet another NYPD raid on Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, frustrated bar-goers had finally had enough, and they put up a collective fight. The Stonewall rebellion raged on for days and swelled across the Village, marking the birth of the modern queer movement and making legends out of key participants like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 'Stonewall was about the fundamental right to live authentically,' says Ann Marie Gothard, co-founder of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center. 'That spirit of resistance and the demand for equality still exist today. Stonewall serves as a reminder that progress isn't given, it is continually fought for. It also serves as a powerful reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of previous generations.' Established in 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first of its kind dedicated specifically to American LGBTQ+ rights and history. In addition to the Stonewall Inn, the monument encompasses Christopher Park and several surrounding streets where the 1969 riots took place. The interpretive Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center opened last year and includes innovative exhibits like the Mothers of STAR AR Experience, which brings trans and queer icons like Johnson and Rivera back into the Stonewall space. 'Through the Visitor Center, we hope to connect contemporary queer individuals to history while fostering a sense of belonging and community, prompting a call to action for continued progress toward full equality and acceptance for all,' says Gothard. Good to know: The Stonewall Visitor Center at 51 Christopher Street offers extended June opening hours for Pride month, Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See 100 years of LGBTQ history mapped across New York City.) Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi Visitors explore the Illinois State Memorial, based on Rome's Pantheon, at Vicksburg National Military Park in Miss. Although in secret, LGBTQ+ people served in the American Civil War, including transgender soldier Albert Cashier, who fought in Vicksburg and the Battle of Nashville. Photograph by Aaron Huey, Nat Geo Image Collection Waged for over six weeks in mid-1863, the Siege of Vicksburg in western Mississippi was one of the Civil War's most grueling and decisive conflicts. More than 110,000 soldiers from across the Union and Confederacy took part in the fighting, including 19-year-old Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry. After the war, Cashier returned to Illinois and settled in the little town of Saunemin about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, where he lived quietly for decades—until his gender assigned at birth was revealed, threatening his military pension. 'Cashier served in Civil War fighting at Vicksburg, the Red River expedition, the Battle of Nashville, and more,' explains Rob Sanders, author of the children's book The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D.J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier. 'Every step this transgender soldier took during his three years of service was historic. In old age, when Albert's right to receive a military pension was questioned, the army finally declared in writing: 'Identity may be accepted.' Albert thus became the first transgender soldier in the United States to receive a military pension.' Today, the 2,500-acre Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the siege, including 1,325 historic monuments and markers, a 16-mile tour road, and a 12.5-mile walking trail. The park's Illinois State Memorial, located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8, honors Cashier and his fellow Illinoisan veterans of the siege. Good to know: The Vicksburg National Military Park Visitor Center at 3201 Clay Street is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vehicle access to the park's tour road is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:40 p.m. (7 places that honor LGBTQ+ history—during Pride Month and beyond.) President's Park, Washington, DC The District of Columbia's President's Park is arguably the most cherished of America's national parks, including as it does the White House, the official residence of the U.S. president. Less known to the general public is that President's Park also figures prominently in the LGBTQ+ history of DC and the nation. 'The history of President's Park illustrates the enormous progress gay men and lesbians have made in America, as well as the ways in which LGBT history is intertwined with the broader American story,' says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. 'Beginning in the late 19th century, directly across from the building where the most powerful man on earth resides, some of the capital's most despised citizens—gay men—congregated under cover of night in Lafayette Square,' Kirchick explains. 'For decades, the seven-acre grounds were the most popular nocturnal 'cruising' site in the city, a place for men leading secret lives to meet one another anonymously.' Later, President's Park would serve as the site of one of America's first protests for gay rights. 'On April 17, 1965, under the auspices of the Mattachine Society of Washington, a group of openly gay men and women met outside the White House to hold the first organized picket for gay rights on Pennsylvania Avenue,' Kirchick says. Good to know: The White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Celebrate Pride with 10 travel books by LGBTQ authors.) Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, Richmond, California The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people during the war in the on-site exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front.' Photograph by Jason O. Watson, Alamy Stock Photo The national historical park commemorates cultural icon Rosie the Riveter, who inspired women to work in factories and shipyards to support the U.S. during the war. Photograph by Zachary Frank, Alamy Stock Photo She would go on to inspire generations of feminists, but Rosie the Riveter's status as a cultural icon began during World War II, when her bandana-clad, muscle-flexing character was created to inspire women to work in factories and shipyards in support of the American war effort. In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established as a national park on the site of the former Richmond Shipyards near San Francisco. More ships were built at Richmond than at any other shipyard during World War II, and women made up much of its work force. Today, the park showcases the rich tapestry of Americans who came together to support the Allied cause. The exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front,' created by independent public historian Donna Graves and now-retired park ranger Elizabeth Tucker, highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the San Francisco Bay area during the war. 'We believe it is the first LGBTQ+ exhibit at a national park, and it was opened to enthusiasm in 2016,' says Graves. 'I continue to be amazed at how it speaks to issues we address today, from housing and health care to climate change. Good to know: The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, located within the historic Ford Assembly Plant complex at 1414 Harbour Way South, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (These monuments honor LGBTQ history around the world.) Fire Island National Seashore, Ocean Beach, New York Fire Island has been a popular LGBTQ+ travel destination since the 1930s. It's also home to the historic Fire Island Lighthouse built in 1858 and it features a keeper's house, scenic views, and walking/biking paths such as Fire Island Lighthouse Trail, a six-point-five mile out-and-back trail near Bay Shore. Photograph by John Geldermann, Alamy Stock Photo New Yorkers have been drawn for decades to Fire Island, the beachy 30-mile-long barrier island tucked just beneath Long Island. Twenty-six miles of it are now protected as Fire Island National Seashore, easily accessible by a half-hour ferry ride from the mainland. 'There are very few places like Fire Island, which has been a summer destination for queer people since as early as the 1930s,' explains Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island: A Century in the Life of an American Paradise. 'The communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines—both of which were initially developed with heterosexual families in mind—were transformed by the queer people from the city who discovered them and decided to make a home there.' These enclaves have been bastions of art, drag, disco, and sexual liberation, Parlett says. 'They have also weathered numerous challenges in the last century, from homophobic policing to the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,' he adds. 'Fire Island is also important to modern queer America, in part, because of its cultural heritage. It is a place where many beloved queer artists and writers have found solace, including James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith and Frank O'Hara. Also, the parties are great.' Good to know: From mid-May to mid-October, visitors most commonly access Fire Island by ferry from the Long Island towns of Bay Shore, Sayville, or Patchogue, all reachable by car or the Long Island Railroad. (How historians are documenting the lives of transgender people.) Frances Perkins National Monument, Newcastle, Maine Her name might not be widely known, but all working Americans owe Frances Perkins a debt of gratitude. As Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and the first woman to ever serve in a presidential cabinet, Perkins was instrumental in developing Social Security and forging federal relationships with labor unions. Perkins was one of only two Roosevelt cabinet members to serve for his entire 1933-1945 presidency, making her the longest-serving U.S. Labor Secretary in history. Established as a national monument in 2024—one of the newest in the National Park Service system—the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine had been in the Perkins family since the mid-18th century. It now encompasses the Frances Perkins Center, dedicated to highlighting Perkins' achievements. 'Perkins was the most effective social progressive in American history, responsible for crafting workplace safety laws that are universal today,' says Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal, the definitive Perkins biography, 'and as the primary architect of the Social Security program, which has provided an economic bedrock for generations of Americans.' Downey says Perkins' complex personal life included a marriage to a man and a series of intense relationships with women who shared her progressive ideals. 'She was probably the first [cabinet member] to live openly with a person of the same sex, Mary Harriman Rumsey,' Downey adds. 'She was supportive and encouraging of same-sex relationships, which she viewed as marriages.' Good to know: Accessible only by car, the Frances Perkins National Monument is located at 478 River Road. The Brick House residence remains closed for restorations during 2025, but from June 19 to September 28, the Welcome Center and Homestead Barn will be open Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Dan Allen is a Los Angeles-based writer focusing on travel, culture and queer history. Follow him on Instagram @danquests.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Families of those killed in collapse of Georgia ferry dock sue companies that built it
ATLANTA (AP) — Relatives of seven people who drowned in waters off a Georgia island after a ferry dock walkway collapsed announced Wednesday they filed a lawsuit against the companies that designed and built it. Dozens of people were standing on the metal walkway over the water between a ferry boat and a dock on Sapelo Island when it snapped in the middle. Many plunged into the water and got swept away by tidal currents, while others clung desperately to the hanging, fractured structure. The tragedy Oct. 19 struck as about 700 people visited Sapelo Island for a celebration of the tiny Hogg Hummock community founded by enslaved people who were emancipated after the Civil War. Reachable only by boat, it's one of the few Gullah-Geechee communities remaining in the South, where slaves worked on isolated island plantations retained much of their African heritage. 'It was supposed to be a celebration of Black pride, but it became a day of great, great, great Black loss of humanity and life,' civil rights attorney Ben Crump, one of several lawyers behind the lawsuit, told an Atlanta news conference. 'We're filing this lawsuit to speak to that tragedy.' Attorneys for the families of those killed and more than three dozen survivors say the 80-foot (24-meter) walkway was weak because of a lack of structural reinforcement, poor welding and failure by the Georgia firm that built it to follow design plans. The walkway was 'so poorly designed and constructed that any competent construction professional should have recognized the flimsy and unstable nature of the gangway,' the lawsuit says. Regina Brinson, one of the suing survivors, said she was on the crowded walkway when she heard a loud crack and saw family friend Carlotta McIntosh plunge into the water holding her walker. Brinson and her uncle, Isaiah Thomas, also fell. Brinson recalled prying her uncle's fingers from her shirt to avoid being dragged underwater. Both Thomas and McIntosh died. 'The pain doesn't get any easier whatsoever,' Brinson told the Atlanta news conference. Kimberly Wood said she tumbled from the collapsed walkway clutching her 2-year-old daughter. Her older girl, 8, clung to the dangling walkway's railing. Wood said she managed to tread water until she reached a life preserver tossed from the ferry boat. Her older daughter was rescued and treated for wounds to her hand, said Wood, who had an injured shoulder. 'I'm shaking now just taking about it,' said Wood, another plaintiff. The lawsuit targets four private contractors hired to design and rebuild the ferry dock and walkway for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The project was finished in 2021. The walkway was fabricated by McIntosh County business Crescent Equipment Co. Its attorney, Clinton Fletcher, declined to comment. The project's general contractor, Virginia-based Centennial Contractors Enterprises, said by email that it doesn't comment on pending litigation. So did SSOE Group, which purchased an Atlanta design firm named as a defendant several years ago. An engineering firm also named as a defendant did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday. The lawsuit doesn't target the Department of Natural Resources or any other Georgia state agency. It says the department relied on its private contractors to ensure the walkway was safely built, which was "beyond the scope of the DNR's internal expertise and qualifications.' The agency told The Associated Press last year that the walkway should have been able to support the weight of 320 people. About 40 people were standing on it when it snapped. 'There was supposed to be a certified professional engineer that signed off on that part of the project and that was neglected," said Chadrick Mance, a Savannah attorney representing nine of the injured. Filed in Gwinnett County State Court in metro Atlanta, the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for negligence, wrongful deaths and personal injuries. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation by the state officials, said Haley Chafin, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources. State Attorney General Chris Carr also tapped a private engineering firm to perform an independent investigation. ___ Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.