The Film: Interview Transcripts: David Frew

David Frew, Ph.D., maritime author and executive director,
Erie County Historical Society and Museums, on
finding safe harbor

I believe the runaway slaves had two concerns.  The immediate concern was to get away from the South and get far enough away so that they had a running start, to get past the Mason-Dixon line.  Then, the next concern was to find someplace where they could hunker down and be taken care of and get some food and some shelter and get organized, decide what to do next.  I believe that once they got to the North, here, they understood that they were probably not going to be able to stay here without danger to themselves and their families. So their next most important mission was, if they could, to get over to the Canadian side.  At either end of the lake, it would have been easier; you could have gone across the Detroit River in a variety of ways or across the Niagara River in a variety of ways, but in the center of the lake, wouldn’t have been easy to walk either to Detroit or to Buffalo to try to cross there.  The obvious lure here was that there was a community of blacks that treated them well and took care of them when they got here.  Himrod, the (white) abolitionist, tried to take care of them, as well, and (gave them) the opportunity to get a boat ride across the lake and hook up with their friends in Dresden (Canada).  Dresden was a huge magnet for runaway slaves. 

navigating the Great Lakes

canals and towpaths

conflict on the bayfront