Buffalo Quarters / Lillion Batchelor Collection
Lillion Batchelor founded Buffalo Quarters Historical Society in 1995. Her purpose was to increase national and international awareness of the significant role Buffalo played in the Underground Railroad movement. The Society presents annual recreations of historical events through drama and music culminating in the Niagara River Crossing into Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.
Ms. Batchelor has worked to bring about a sense of hope, pride, and recognition to Western New York by presenting historical truths, honoring unsung heroes, expanding historical research to include the significance of Buffalo in the Underground Railroad. She has brought this about through the sharing this rich history in drama, music, and literature.
Through her research she had begun the development of the Broderick Park Project, which lies at the foot of West Ferry Street, was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before slaves crossed the Niagara River into Canada. The continued effort to transform Broderick Park into an International Freedom Memorial Park has been taken over by several groups including Buffalo MicroParks.
Buffalo Quarters Historical Society utilizes the Niagara River to promote the history of the Underground Railroad in the Buffalo area in partnership with the Canadian government. Under Lillion Batchelor’s leadership, the organization has received accolades from United States and Canadian leaders.
Among her numerous awards, Ms Batchelor has received the Civic Empowerment Award (2000); Outstanding Planning Project - Underground Railroad Freedom Memorial (1999); The Municipal Council of the Town of Fort Erie Award of Appreciation (1998); the William Wells Brown Award (1996); Proclamations from the State of New York (1997), City of Buffalo (1995), and the City of Fort Erie, Ontario (1995).
Click here for the collection's finding aid.
Accomplishments, Awards and Biography of Lillion Batchelor
Buffalo Quarters
Broderick Park Slave Memorial Funding
By-Laws
Certificate of Incorporation
Contracts with City-State Entities
Funding Requests
Incorporation and Taxes Paperwork
Letter to Governors - Feb 7, 2001
Meeting Minutes
Membership
Newsletter
Sponsored Events
Magazines & Books
African American Resource Guide 2001
African Americans in New York State History-Oct 1990
African American Selected Bibliography
American Educator-Winter 2000-2001
American Legacy Summer 1996
American Legacy Spring 1998
American Legacy Summer 1998
American Legacy Winter 1999
American Legacy Summer 1999
American Legacy Fall 1999
Anti-Slavery Melodies for the Friends of Freedom 1843
Guiding Light of the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman Day Celebration, March 10, 2003
Having Our Say program – Studio Arena 1998
Hippocrene Guide – The Underground Railroad
Liberty and Anti-Slavery Song Book 1842
Negro Spirituals (Reprint) Atlantic Monthly, June 1867
Progressive National Baptist Convention program, Aug 1997
Secrets along the Niagara 1999
Sketches of the Underground – Chapters 26 and 27
Slavery and Freedom in Niagara
Miscellaneous
129th Anniversary Banquet of Queen Esther Household of Ruth #10 of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows – April 19, 1997
Historically Speaking Newsletters
Melinda and Children Certificate of Freedom
Niagara Black History Association Calendar 2007
Postcards
Prayer Vigil Guest Record, August 26, 1995
Newspaper Articles
1992-1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Miscellaneous Articles
Undated Articles
Personal Correspondence
1970-1979
1990-1999
2000-2009
Photos
Personal Photos
Research on the Underground Railroad
Along the Mason-Dixon Line
Background Information of the Development of the Underground Railroad Terminal (Canada, circa 1991)
Colored Cemetery-Little Africa in Fort Erie, Canada
Ferried to Freedom
Harriet Tubman Home pamphlet
Landmarks (article from American Visions, April-May 1999) By Carol Moseley-Braun
Liberty Passage
Maps of the Underground Railroad Routes
Miscellaneous Research on the Underground Railroad
News Articles (circa 1990s) on Canada, Slavery and Underground Railroad
Niagara’s Freedom Trail (circa 1990s)
North American Black Historical Museum Education Program (Canada, circa 1991)
North American Black Historical Museum pamphlet
Preserving the Heritage (Canada, circa 1991)
Reclaiming Your Heritage – Getting to Western New York and Canada
Samuel H. Davis Quotes from Address given in Buffalo – August 1843
Seven Sites on the Road to Freedom Tour – Canada
Sources for Underground Railroad Research
Survey of Underground Railroad Activities
The Niagara Movement pamphlet
There’s a Movement Afoot – The Underground Railroad
Trail of Brooklyn’s Underground Railroad
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site pamphlet
Underground Railroad Committee pamphlet
Videos
Channel 4-Special Report: Road to Freedom 1998
Channel 4-Special Report: Road to Freedom 2000
Channel 4-Special Report: Beyond the Road to Freedom 2002
UB Center for the Arts: The Living Room Project 2001
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