Underground railroad monument unveiled

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) - History is being made Wednesday, as western New York's first large-scale monument to the Underground Railroad, is unveiled in Lewiston.

"Freedom Crossing," a $230,000 thousand dollar project, three years in the making, pays tribute to the courage of fugitive slaves and those who helped them on their treacherous journey to Canada.

The monument, at Lewiston Landing, was sculpted by renowned artist Susan Geissler, a Lewiston native.

Geissler said, "They would take great risks to have their freedom. I wanted to show their fear, their courage."

The monument also celebrates the often reenacted crossing of the Niagara River to freedom in the mid-1800's, and the role of Josiah Tryon, a humble, religious man who escorted escaping slaves under the cover of darkness.

The included video includes, what is believed to be the first video ever broadcast of the inside of Tryon's Lewiston home on River Road, a safe haven where hundreds of "freedom seeking souls," made their way to Canada.

"When they came this far, they could open these doors and look at Canada, which they referred to an 'Canaan Land,' and they could smell freedom," said Tim Henderson/ Josiah Tryon reenactor.

Footage was recorded by the late News 4 Photographer Don Dawkins seen in the video, playing the role of a fugitive slave in "The Road to Freedom."

The new Freedom Crossing monument memorializes the ideals of both the freedom seekers and those who helped them escape.

"This was one important place in time in Lewiston, that people were helping people," said Geissler.

Funding for the monument came from the Greenway Fund and foundations. No taxpayer dollars were used.