On our short trip to Frankfort Kentucky, Mom, Dad, Tom and I stopped by William Howard Taft National Historic Site, spent time at The Woolery, and checked out Frankfort and Frankfort Cemetery. The next day we decided to make one more stop before ending our wonderful little adventure. After discussing several options, we decided to visit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.
Tom and I visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in 2014. It is a fantastic museum – one of the best we have ever visited. There is so much to read and learn and understand that we would enjoy more time there. We also thought Mom and Dad would find it fascinating.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in 2004. Located along the riverfront of downtown Cincinnati, it tells the story of slavery and the fight for freedom all over the world. Although most of it is centered on the story of slavery in the United States, there is a section that talks about slavery through history all over the world. Another section describes current forms of slavery and what is being done about them.
We had two hours in the museum and spent most of it in one gallery: From Slavery to Freedom. This gallery talks about slavery in the United States. It describes the courageous fight to freedom of African-Americans. I participated in an interactive display where I was a runaway slave who was trying to make it freedom in Canada. Trying to read and understand everything in the gallery was impossible. The museum had too many stories to absorb all of them at once. Along with the story of enslaved Americans, it also told about the people who worked to abolish slavery.
We left the gallery because we were running out of time, not because we were tired of it or finished with it. We walked by a reconstructed slave pen and studied a giant work of art. The day we visited, several school groups were also visiting the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Volunteers gave talks at stations about the economics of slavery, the harsh conditions, and various specific exhibits. Seeing so many schoolchildren learning the stories pleased us.
If you have not been, you must visit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. They charge admission of $15 per adult and $10.50 per child, but the museum is worth the admission fee. Plan on spending more than two hours or you will feel you didn’t have enough time there.
