Shipbuilding

Historical marker location:

150 Black River Street, South Haven, Michigan

( Marker is on Black River Street, 0.2 miles south of Dyckman Avenue, on the left when traveling south.)

Michigan played a key role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by slaves to escape to freedom in the 19th century. Detroit was an important hub for the movement, and Michigan was the first state in the Northwest Territory to outlaw slavery in 1837.