Ogdensburg's Forgotten Path to Freedom | Triple T Tales

Ogdensburg's Forgotten Path to Freedom is the story of one of the most important yet overlooked chapters in North Country history. Long before the International Bridge connected two friendly nations, the St. Lawrence River represented the final crossing for freedom seekers escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad. Today, most people drive past this shoreline without realizing the remarkable history hidden here.

In this episode, we explore how Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence County became one of the Underground Railroad's final gateways into Canada. From secret networks of churches and abolitionists to hidden transportation routes, this is the forgotten history that transformed an ordinary river into one of the most important landmarks in American history.

Inside This Episode

• Why the St. Lawrence River became the final crossing into freedom for thousands of escaped enslaved people

• The forgotten abolitionists, ministers, and ordinary North Country residents who risked everything to help strangers

• How canals, railroads, ferries, and hidden transportation routes quietly became part of the Underground Railroad

• The remarkable stories of John W. Lewis, Stephen Keese Smith, Preston King, and the Free Will Baptist movement throughout St. Lawrence County

• Why Ogdensburg became one of the most important yet least discussed destinations in Underground Railroad history and North Country history

This episode explores forgotten history that often gets overshadowed by larger Underground Railroad stories farther south. While many Americans know about famous stops in Pennsylvania or Ohio, fewer realize that the final destination for many freedom seekers wasn't simply New York State. It was Canada. And before they crossed into Canada, many stood on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, looking across the water toward a future they had risked everything to reach.

We'll travel through Ogdensburg, Canton, DeKalb, Potsdam, Lisbon, Parishville, Morley, North Lawrence, Bucks Bridge, Peru, and other communities that quietly became part of one of America's most extraordinary humanitarian networks. We'll also examine how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 changed everything, making the North Country's role even more important as freedom seekers searched for true safety beyond the reach of American law.

Welcome to Triple T Tales, a series exploring forgotten places, strange stories, hidden history, and bizarre truths from the North Country and beyond. Hosted by Beard Laws, these episodes dive into abandoned towns, industrial ruins, eerie backroads, and the kind of stories most people drive past without ever noticing.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Opening scene: the St. Lawrence River today vs. 200 years ago
01:59 — Why this history matters
03:24 — Slavery and the risks of escape
04:23 — How the Underground Railroad really worked
05:21 — Why northern states were not always safe
06:19 — The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
07:45 — Why Canada became the destination
08:43 — Transportation routes into the North Country
10:12 — Abolitionist sentiment in St. Lawrence County
10:41 — Free Will Baptists and moral resistance
12:08 — Quiet courage and hidden help
13:06 — A documented escape through St. Lawrence County
14:05 — The final crossing at Ogdensburg
16:29 — The Champlain Line and Ogdensburg
18:22 — The network of local help
19:19 — Stephen Key Smith and the Lake Champlain Corridor
21:17 — Black leadership in the movement
22:15 — John W. Lewis and Frederick Douglass’s newspaper
24:08 — DeKalb’s abolitionist defiance
25:02 — Political change in the North Country
26:28 — Preston King and anti-slavery politics in Ogdensburg
27:57 — Ogdensburg as a terminal point
28:49 — The Underground Railroad as a network
29:48 — The river as the line between slavery and freedom

Explore more at Beard Laws Studio.

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