African American Revolutionary History
Take the Bridge-to-Bridge Tour across the Hudson Valley to explore African-American stories from the American Revolution. Uncovering the little known story of slavery in the North reveals the groundbreaking actions, courage and perseverance of the individuals during this time.
Upper Hudson Valley
Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene
1. Clermont State Historic Site
Built in the 1730s, Clermont Mansion was home to enslaved people and seven generations of the Livingston family. It was burned by the British in October of 1777. Notable members of the family include Judge Robert R. Livingston, a member of the Stamp Act Congress who built the first gunpowder mill in New York; Henry Beekman Livingston, colonel of the Fourth New York Regiment during the Revolutionary War; and Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, a member of the Continental Congress who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and gave the Presidential Oath of Office to George Washington in 1789. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, Clermont is open for guided tours year-round.
Location: 1 Clermont Avenue, Germantown
2. The Captivity of the Abeels
A privately owned stone home that was the site of a famous raid in 1781 resulting in the captivity of the Abeels, a prominent and well-connected Patriot family who were marched over the Catskills and northward towards Canada to be ransomed. While the Abeels were taken prisoner for their commitment to the Patriot cause, the story of their capture is also a tale of freedom for a man enslaved by the family. The enslaved man traveled alongside the raiding party northward to Canada and found freedom in British territory. Today, visitors today heading towards Kaaterskill Clove pass the Abeels’ home as they cross Kaaterskill Creek on Route 23A driving West.
Location: Abeel Farm, Kaaterskill Creek & Route 28A westbound, Catskill
Mid-Hudson Valley
Dutchess, Orange, Ulster
3. Oblong Friends Meeting House
On the National Register of Historic Places, the Oblong Friends Meeting House was known as a stop for fugitive slaves seeking freedom. In 1776, the Oblong Friends passed a resolution to not accept money or services from anyone owning slaves, and they began denying membership to slave owners. The Pawling Historical Society invites visitors to tour the meeting house and see it exactly as it appeared in 1764, complete with its rows of wooden benches, wall partitions on pulley systems and mezzanine viewing level. Tours of the meeting house are by appointment only.
Location: 3 Meeting House Road, Pawling
4. Ulster County Courthouse
Famed abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in Ulster County under the name Isabella. Her 5-year-old son, Peter, was illegally sold to a plantation in Alabama. With the help of local attorneys, she filed a Habeas Corpus Petition in the Ulster County Courthouse in March of 1828, to secure Peter’s return. She prevailed on that Petition for her son’s freedom, marking the first time in American history that a black woman sued a white man and won.
Built in 1818, the Courthouse stands on the same site of the 18th-century courthouse in which the New York State constitution was written in 1777, and which was burned by the British that same year.
Location: 285 Wall Street, Kingston
Lower Hudson Valley
Putnam, Rockland, Westchester
5. Philipsburg Manor
America’s slave economy wasn’t confined to the South — this once-thriving farming, milling and trading center tells the often overlooked story of slavery in the Colonial-era North. Learn about those who lived and toiled here, and how cultural heritage and family networks were maintained. With its pastoral setting, water-powered gristmill, hands-on activities and demonstrations of Colonial life, the Manor opens a window on a forgotten past.
Location: 381 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow
6. Prince Cornwall (Historical Marker and Burial Site)
Prince Cornwall (born around 1750) a long-time resident of Kent, NY who lived to the age of 104, was once enslaved and gained his freedom following his military service under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War.
Location: 1118 North Horsepound Road, Kent
Take A Revolutionary Tour
Explore the history, places & personalities that built a nation.