Upper Peninsula served as safe haven for slaves
MARQUETTE, Mich. — When you think of the Upper Peninsula, places like Mackinac Island probably come to mind. You think fudge, bike riding, horseback and a hint of nostalgia. What you may not think of is the UP being a safe haven for African Americans during slavery.
Museum Educator Douglas McCray said this was the case in the late 1800’s. He said unwelcoming terrain and having to cross the river kept many bounty hunters from traveling that far North.
McCray said William Washington Gaines, the offspring of a Virginia shipbuilder and an enslaved woman, traveled to Keweenaw County first for work in the copper mines. Gaines and his wife moved to Marquette where they lived as freed slaves and had one son.
McCray has been unable to locate family members of Gaines and said William Gaines senior is buried in Marquette at Park Cemetery.
