Slave Haven Underground Railroad

My spouse and I came here while we were in Memphis. For anyone who is interested in American history, especially in the south. This is one spot you will want to check out as this was a house that was used during the underground railroad that runway slaves would come as a safe spot to hide before running off to the northern states. If you are in the area I would highly recommend visited it. [Review #722] (20th Review of 2024)

0 stars as this place is NOT open, IS abandoned and IS scary. The surrounding neighborhood is a little uncomfortable for two white women walking through. Seems to be a low income area. Yelp said this museum was open but clearly has not been for quite some time:

Stopped here last week and the business profile stated Open Now hours, but the museum grounds and bathrooms in back are in seriously disrepair. Wish we would have had the opportunity to take the tour but this place was closed and I suspect not currently in operation. There are a lot of nice murals in the area, be safe while driving around this area due to horse carriage businesses. Grind City Brewing is nearby, as well. Hope to visit when the Slave Haven museum and tour is open again.

This one of the most precious and beautiful places in Memphis. I hope the goodness and blessings of the people continue to pour here from generation to generation.

I would give this place 20 stars if I could!! Amazing, amazing experience where I learned SO much and it really helps give you perspective.Elaine Lee Turner gave us a fantastic tour!! This place was formally Jacob Burkle's estate where he was an abolitionist that helped the enslaved escape. He even intentionally made his house with hiding places underneath and holes to let in light and air for the enslaved hiding beneath. We had the honor of standing in the basement space and they turned the light off and you immediately got a sense of what they felt being down there and adjusting to the darkness&thankful for the light that was coming through the holes. It was such a humbling experience.All these horrid acts led to the enslaved inventing Amazing ways to resist:-Drums were a form of communicating-Singing was a form of communicating too*The song Swing Low Sweet Chariot, had a metonymic double meaning. These double meanings allowed enslaved people to safely communicate messages of hope, freedom, and specific plans for escape to one another under the watchful gaze of their captors. For example, the song stood for Swing=run, Low=hide, etc etc-Quilts were a form of communicating by the secret patterns in the quilt pictures that were a guide to get to Canada. One could hang the quilt for a whole week. The first picture was of a mucket wrench which meant get your tools ready&to brake the shackles. Get ready mentally as well&learn the songs&the routes&signs of nature.Wagon wheel is a symbol of a free spirit and it turns north towards Canada.Cleveland Ohio had lake eerie that crosses over into Canada . Once you cross into Canada, You will be free but you will never see your family again.

This tour is @ 1 hr long. It is very informative. It is not that cool inside so take a fan. It might not be suitable for kids because they have to heat an audio recording of all the pictures posted on the walls. The audio recording is @ 30 or more minutes long. It can get pretty long especially when you are with 24 other people taking the tour. There is free parking. It was nice experiencing the underground cellar where it is believed they kept the slaves that were escaping. You do have someone pointing to the various pictures as the audio recording is telling you the stories. I would've preferred someone telling the story live instead of a recording and for the ac to function properly because it was 96 degrees outside. Website info https://slavehavenmuseum.org/They do not allow you to take pics or videos inside.

Just took an awesome tour of the historic #burkleestate, now called #slavehaven, in #memphis. The home was built in 1849 and was lived in by descendents of John Burke until 1978 when John Burkle's granddaughter passed away. Due to the nature of the #undergroundrailroad there is little hard evidence to support it, but many local historians and local lore suggest this home was used to help hide and support runaway slaves to escape to freedom. John Burkle was a very wealthy landowner and businessman working as a baker and owner of the local stockyards. With the Mississippi River only a couple blocks away as an escape route, and atypical features built into the home it's very apparent this was used as a refuge for runaway slaves. The home was built two feet off the ground to provide an ample crawl space. There's a trap door in the floor of the home that opens into the crawl space. Underneath what used to be a back porch, there is a brick cellar with round holes were built into the walls which open into the crawl space under the home. Also, there's a small hidden staircase in the cellar that has since been walled off which would have led out behind the house.The magnolia trees pictured were the very first magnolia trees ever planted in Memphis, and as an evergreen, were used as a key for runaway slaves to find the home for safety.The home is filled with loads of #history, #antiques, memorabilia, quilts with encoded messages used by slaves to communicate, real slave shackles and chains, and articles and newspaper ads local to the area about the buying and selling of slaves, and the general history of #slavery. This is a fantastic #museum and the guided tour was very informative and made the experience worth it. Definitely a must-see in Memphis, stop by to help support this museum to further educate people to remember the the bad parts of our country's history and the strength and courage of those who overcame it, and to ensure we all do our part to ensure we don't repeat it.

Take this tour and bring your children. My husband and I were in Memphis for a wedding and were lucky enough to have time to visit Slave Haven. Being born and raised in New Orleans I learned of the horrors of slavery and the slave trade that happened in my own city. As the Underground Railroad was a very secretive society of amazing people - abolitionists and enslaved - all had to protect each other's identities for the system to remain operational. I guess it's for this reason that little is known of the actual homes and people involved. This is a rare chance to personally see a dwelling that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad and hear the stories of many amazing people who took action against the enslavement of human beings. Imagining the suffering souls who passed through on their way to some semblance of peace brought tears. I am humbled by their courage and perseverance. I can't imagine what it took to escape, I don't exactly know how to explain my personal experience. The tour was sobering, deeply sad, and informative.I believe we've come a very long way, and acknowledge we have far to go.

As I was researching for some tours, I ran across this one and it sounded very interesting and educational. The tour is partially done through audio and by a tour guide. The tour included walking through this little house which is actually a history museum. I had learned so much from slave trading to starting a new life in the North. Plan to spend about 90 minutes at this museum. I would highly recommend this tour.

Wow! Learned volumes. Great guides. So thankful we did this! It's only an hour tour but it's packed full of info!