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Parking beside the museum
ADMISSION
- $5.00 Adults
- $4.00 College
- $3.00 All other ages
Over 30 years ago, the National Underground Railroad Museum was founded to preserve the history of slavery, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad—the voices, events, and places that had been marginalized or nearly forgotten. From the beginning, its purpose has been to inspire new generations of historians and researchers and to affirm the importance of an inclusive community history. Today, that work continues as we uncover, interpret, and share the stories that shape our shared past.
February 5, 1995—at the beginning of the digital age—the Mason County Underground Railroad Museum and African American Research Center opened its doors to the public.
Housed in a single room with only a handful of artifacts, the museum presented forgotten relics, difficult histories, and overlooked details related to slavery, the abolitionist movement, the Underground Railroad, and the Civil War.
Over time, the museum’s name changed, but its original purpose did not. From the beginning, this organization was built on research.
Today, the amount of information available online is both overwhelming and extraordinary. Terabytes of material exist, but volume alone does not create understanding. Computers can store information, but they cannot interpret it. That work still belongs to people. Careful reading, patient research, and thoughtful interpretation are how new stories come into focus.
Discoveries rarely begin with dramatic revelations. They begin with attention—pages examined, names traced, patterns noticed. Only the disciplined are willing to sit long enough with difficult material to follow a single lead.
Thirty years ago, this work began. Today, we continue to examine evidence and uncover deeper truths.