To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

Seeking freedom from their chains, many slaves received a secret welcome from the congregation of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights. In the mid 1800s, the basement of the house of worship was just one of many stops on the stretch of the Underground Railroad that ran through Brooklyn.

"Because there were many members involved in working with the underground railroad, really took it unto themselves to disobey what was the federal law by hiding fugitive slaves here and seeing they were moved on up to Canada," said Plymouth Church History Director Lois Rosebrooks.

For those with more questions about the role the city and the borough played during abolition, the first ever guided tour by Urban Park Rangers has some of the answers.

"I found a neat map at Brooklyn Borough Hall which listed all the sites in New York City that were in the underground railroad and I saw a cluster in Northern Brooklyn. I said, 'No way.' You hear about it in school but you think it's down south and up to Canada and I realized, 'Wow this was a hot bed for it,' and I figured other people don't know about it and would like to hear about it," said Urban Park Ranger Anne Reid.

"As an African American male he [my son] needs to be aware of his history and where he comes from in order to help in the future," said Abolition Tourist Nicole McNeil.

As part of their trip through the past, a group of tourists on Sunday went from Weeksville, a neighborhood founded by freed men in what is now Crown Heights, to Plymouth Church and finally to Lafayette Presbyterian Church in Fort Green.

"So many people in Brooklyn were involved in rescuing runaway slaves and that it wasn't just an isolated incident. It was years and years of people conspiring to release as many people as possible and that literally thousands of people came through here," Redi said.

Urban Park Rangers are hoping thousands more will join them for this modern day ride and learn more about the historic fight against slavery this spring when the tours start again.