Why Runaway Slaves Sought Refuge in Baltimore

Baltimore was a major destination for enslaved people escaping the South, not a place they migrated to voluntarily. As a border city between free and slave states, it offered:

• Proximity to the Mason-Dixon line and Pennsylvania (free state)
• A large free Black community providing support networks
• Access to Underground Railroad routes northward
• Maritime opportunities on Chesapeake Bay for escape by ship

Many freedom seekers passed through Baltimore en route to the North or Canada.