Your Guide to Niagara Falls!

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Freedom Crossing Monument is located on the east bank of the Niagara River in Lewiston, New York, at the end of Center Street.  It honors the courage of fugitive slaves who sought freedom in Canada, and the local volunteers who protected and helped them on their journey across the Niagara River.

Every year, thousands of students read the popular book, Freedom Crossing, by Margaret Goff Clark, which was set in Lewiston.  The story involves the Underground Railroad which was a secret network of trails and homes that helped slaves from the Southern United States escape to freedom in Canada in the early to mid-1800s.  Lewiston, New York, was the final stop for escaping slaves from the South.  Once they reached Lewiston, they only had to take a boat ride across the Niagara River to Canada, where they would be free.  It was very treacherous for the slaves and the volunteer citizens who helped them, as slaveowners hired bounty hunters to catch and bring the slaves back to them.