1850: Shadrach Minkins & Fitchburg
Minkins escaped slavery in Virginia and was working in a coffee house in Boston. He was arrested and taken to a Boston courthouse due to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. At the courthouse, Minkins was freed by a large contingency of the Black Boston Vigilance Committee who overpowered the marshals. Minkins was then transported to the Drake House in Leominster and taken to the home of Samuel Crocker in West Fitchburg.
Resources
Shadrach Minkins by Gary Collison
Resolve and Rescue by Mark Bodanza
The City and the River by Doris Kirkpatrick
The Liberator August 9, 1850
Commentary
There is some debate about whether Minkins visited Fitchburg. Gary Collison does not give credence to the description in The City and the River since it is only supported by a monograph from Barbara Crocker of Leominster some 50 years after the fact. Collison believed that Minkins went from Leominster directly to Canada by horse. That path would have taken a long time and Minkins would have arrived later than he is documented to have arrived in Montreal. The faster route was via train. John Allen another formerly enslaved person passed through Leominster on their way to Canada only a few months before Minkins (see August 9, 1850 Liberator) and he bought a ticket to Canada at the train station in North Leominster. It’s likely that Minkins followed the same path and therefore passed through Fitchburg on the train. Whether he stopped in Fitchburg or not is not well documented.
Suggestions for Further Research
Look for train schedules on the dates Minkins left to confirm a train was available to Canada at that time. Confirm whether it stopped or not.