Remembering the Underground Railroad's New Brunswick connection

Tomlinson Lake, just outside Perth-Andover, is oozing with plenty of natural beauty.

But for African Americans fleeing bondage in the 19th century it represented the end of one journey and the start of the other.

The lake can be considered the northernmost terminus of the Underground Railroad, a system of roads, homes and churches that worked together to help enslaved peopleescape to freedom.

Joe Gee, founder of the Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom, said he often thinks about the journey these families took when he looks out at the lake.

"[It] makes you think about the emotions and the feelings that a lot of these families were feeling when they finally saw a landmark that meant that you were free."

Maine-N.B. Border

While the start of the journey could have been from any number of places in the American south, the beginningof the last leg of it started in a little church in Fort Fairfield, Maine.

There, the Maple Grove Friends Church, referring to Quakers, housed those fleeing slaverybefore their final trekto New Brunswick, which was at the time a British colony.

"The Quakers were very instrumental in their role of being conductors of the Underground Railroad," said Gee.

Slavery was outlawed in the British Empire in 1834 with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act.

Difficult hike

Making it to New Brunswick meant freedom, but it wasn't easy, even during the last sectionbetween Maple Grove and Tomlinson Lake, about eightkilometres as the crow flies.

In addition to bounty hunters and other dangers, figuring out the route to freedom was a task in itself.

"Back in those days there was nothing to indicate where that border was," said Gee.

The border between New Brunswick and Maine wasn't finalized until 1842 and the WebsterAshburton Treaty.

But even after the treaty there weren't huge border crossing complexes like the ones that line the border today.

People trying to get across had to follow smaller roads, brooks and moose trails, and when they reached Tomlinson Lake they knew they were in New Brunswick.

Endings and beginnings

Arriving in Tomlinson Lake may have seemed like the end, but then a whole new journey began.

The lake was named after Sgt. William Tomlinson, a retired soldier who settled in the areawith his wife Bridget, whoassisted African Americans when they arrived.

"They worked with the Quaker families," said Gee.

Information Morning - Fredericton11:15Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom

An event this weekend highlights the journey of enslaved African Americans to freedom in New Brunswick, back in the mid-1800s. Jeanne Armstrong spoke to Joe Gee, founder of the Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom.

"They were there kind of greeting those Black families They would explain how to get to the St. John River, where many of those families continued on down ...to where there were already Black communities established."

And arriving in New Brunswick didn't mean the end of the trouble for the African Americans who came here.

"They are still faced with prejudice and and and racism once they arrived here to New Brunswick because not a lot of people liked that this was happening," said Gee.

Event set for Saturday

The Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom is celebrating the region's history with the Underground Railroad with an event on Saturday.

The event will give people a chance to walk in the footsteps of African Americans who were fleeing the U.S.and view a pop-up museum from the New Brunswick Black History Society.

Gee said he hopes the event will bring more visibility to the site, which the society is trying to get recognized as the northernmost stop on the Underground Railroad.

"We're working towards having that recognition," said Gee.

"That comes with a lot of work. It's a big process."

The event takes place beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday.