Adventure Cycling Association - Bicycle Tours, Maps, Routes, Bicycle Clothing

HOME
ABOUT US

ROUTES & MAPS
GUIDED TOURS
ADVENTURE CYCLIST
CYCLISTS’ YELLOW PAGES
OUTREACH & EDUCATION

JOIN NOW
DONATE
SHOP OUR STORE

REQUEST INFO
UPDATE MEMBER INFO

SITE MAP
CONTACT US



Friday, Jul 25, 2008



















The bicycle is perfectly
suited to exploring the
landscapes and
mindscapes of historical
figures and events.
The pace of the
bicycle permits
travelers to appreciate
their surroundings
and brings them closer
to the pace at which
Americans moved prior
to the advent of
motorized transportation.
- Ginny Sullivan
New Routes Coordinator
 
ROUTES & MAPS

UGRR BICYCLE ROUTE
ABOUT THE UGRR PROJECT
ROUTE HIGHLIGHTS
DAY TRIPS
ADVISORY BOARD
ENDORSEMENTS
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
BUY UGRR MAPS
RESOURCES
UGRR FORUM

ROUTE NETWORK
GPS INFORMATION
BUY MAPS
ADDENDA TO MAPS
MAP CORRECTION FORM
ROUTES & MAPS FAQs

OUTSIDE LINKS
CENTER FOR MINORITY HEALTH
WEB JUNCTION
NETWORK TO FREEDOM
UGRR FREEDOM CENTER

DOWNLOAD UGRR BROCHURE

Underground Railroad Bicycle Route

Route Highlights
ROUTE HIGHLIGHTS
Adventure Cycling chose to map a route along the UGRR corridor guided by the song, "Follow the Drinking Gourd." This song refers to an escape route from Alabama and Mississippi – using the water-ways and the North star as the guide. Upon reaching the Kentucky borderland, Adventure Cycling steered the route to rich historic destination points while maintaining our high standards of great cycling roads and paths.

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route begins on Mobile Bay in Alabama and journeys north. The route is broken down into 5 sections. You can access some of the historic highlights along the route by scrolling down the page or clicking specific links provided below:



Section 1:  Mobile Bay, AL to Fulton, MS

  • Former slave market in the old historic district of Mobile. This was known as the most active slave market in town.
  • * Big Zion AME Church at 112 S. Bayou St was organized in 1842, now one of the oldest Black institutions in Mobile. Originally named Little Zion, but after extensive remodeling in 1896, renamed Big Zion.
  • Union Baptist Church In front of the church, visitors view the bust of Cudjoe Lewis, a member who donated the land for the church. Cudjoe was the longest living imported slave originally from Africa. After the Civil War, he settled and lived in Africatown.
  • Africatown In 1860, the last shipment of slaves were brought into Mobile Bay illegally. After the civil war, this group of Africans created their own settlement where they practiced their native tribal customs, including language. Learn more about this historic area at the Library of Congress.
  • National African-American Archives and Museum is devoted to preserving African American history, this museum displays slave artifacts and items from the ship Clotilda, the last ship to illegally bring slaves into the U.S.   Many of these African's eventually lived in AfricaTown.
  • Historic Blakeley State Park is the site of the last major battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Blakeley wherein nine black regiments of the U.S. Colored Troops fought.
  • Montgomery Hill Baptist Church is the oldest surviving church in Baldwin County, it houses a slave gallery which provides a historical statement of the social arrangements of a slave-owning society.
  • Hal's Lake is off our route and inaccessible however this body of water is named for an escaped slave from Mississippi who lived here undetected and even recruited other slaves to his hideout. This  led local plantation owners to attribute the disappearances to the Underground Railroad.
  • Clarke County Museum in Grove Hill. This museum has slave artifacts and documentation on nearby escape routes.
  • Concord Christian Methodist Episcopal  Church was established in 1867, right after the end of the civil War
  • Missionary Union Baptist Church in Columbus, MS. The oldest African American Church in northeast Mississippi.  Reverend Tony Montgomery will welcome you to his flock if you stop in on Sunday.
  • Columbus Public Library holds an archive collection of slavery documents, newspaper clippings and other artifacts.

* this is an additional site not listed on our maps




 

 

Thanks to REI for their generous support of the
Underground Railroad Bicycle Route project.



© Copyright 1997-2007 Adventure Cycling Association. Photo by Tom Bol.