From the Cataract House to Canada: African American Activism and the Underground Railroad in the Niagara River Borderland

FAIN: RZ-286910-22

SUNY Research Foundation, University at Buffalo (Amherst, NY 14228-2577)
Douglas Perrelli (Project Director: November 2021 to present)

Research and preparation of a print manuscript and accompanying website about the Cataract House hotel in Niagara Falls, New York, an important stop on the Underground Railroad. (36 months).

In the Manuscript Preparation category, From the Cataract House to Canada highlights the activism of African American hotel workers who operated Niagara’s busiest Underground Railroad station. This project is a synthesis of archaeological and archival research, enhanced by an ambitious public information program. Results of excavations begun in 2017 will be integrated with new research identifying and exploring the experiences of an ever-changing staff of seasonal employees. Applying advances in borderland theory with an emphasis on Black agency, the team will examine how the hotel’s employees collaborated with African-descended people on both sides of the US-Canadian boundary to ensure safe passage for uncounted numbers of freedom seekers. Products will include an accessibly written, richly illustrated volume, complemented by a web-based StoryMap, QR-coded interpretive materials linked to the Cataract’s location, and a social media campaign inviting descendant participation.