Auburn City Council is poised to vote Thursday on whether or not to support the designation of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Scenic Byway.
Being spearheaded by the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State, representing a coalition of sites related to the Underground Railroad, the proposed byway would run approximately 500 miles from New York City to Niagara Falls and showcase sites related to Tubman and the Underground Railroad.
In Auburn and Cayuga County, highlighted sites would include the Emily Howland Stone Store Museum, Fort Hill Cemetery, the Harriet Tubman Home, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center, and the Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District.
In Cayuga County, the Villages of Aurora and Cayuga, the Town of Scipio, and the county legislature have already supported the designation.
As part of the resolution supporting the designation, the city also “confirms that they will not approve any requests for new off-premise outdoor advertising signs along the designated Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Scenic Byway route.”
The group hopes to obtain NYS Scenic Byway Designation in 2026 with the ultimate goal of creating an international byway connecting Dorchester County, Maryland, where Tubman was born, to St Catharines, Ontario, Canada, where many escaped slaves made their way to freedom.
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