Silhouette photo of man carrying candle lantern with lighted candle - underground railroad sites

Self-guided · city, Connecticut

Underground Railroad Sites in Bristol, CT

Homes, meetinghouses and crossings tied to the Underground Railroad and the people who helped freedom seekers move north.

Open the Connecticut map · All states

Photo: Julia Florczak on Unsplash

Every region holds some piece of the country's story. Bristol has a population of about 60,568. The markers and register listings are where those pieces are written down, and the closest ones to Bristol, CT are listed below.

A person holding a lit lantern in the dark - underground railroad sites — Photo: Subhro Vision on Unsplash

Portrait of Harriet Tubman - underground railroad sites — Photo: Library of Congress on Unsplash

Four brown wooden benches inside house - underground railroad sites — Photo: Tracy Jentzsch on Unsplash

On the record near Bristol, CT

The 12 nearest

15 listed sites on the record match underground railroad sites within 120 miles of Bristol, CT, out of 483 listed sites of every kind within 25 miles.

Oblong Friends Meetinghouse31 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Pawling · listed 1973National Register of Historic Places
Amawalk Friends Meeting House50 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Amawalk · listed 1989National Register of Historic Places
Matinecock Friends Meetinghouse65 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Locust Valley · listed 1976National Register of Historic Places
Quaker Meetinghouse67 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Adams · listed 1976National Register of Historic Places
Jericho Friends Meeting House Complex68 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Jericho · listed 2002National Register of Historic Places
Friends Meetinghouse73 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Uxbridge · listed 1974National Register of Historic Places
Smithfield Friends Meeting House, Parsonage & Cemetery76 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Woonsocket · listed 1982National Register of Historic Places
Friends Meetinghouse82 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Jamestown · listed 1973National Register of Historic Places
Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery82 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Portsmouth · listed 1973National Register of Historic Places
Friends Meetinghouse and School87 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · New York · listed 1982National Register of Historic Places
Friends Meeting House and Cemetery91 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Little Compton · listed 2007National Register of Historic Places
Swansea Friends Meetinghouse and Cemetery93 miles from the center of Bristol · Building · Somerset · listed 2014National Register of Historic Places

Distances are straight-line from the center of Bristol, CT. Many sites are private property or working buildings - view them from the public way. See them on the map.

Underground Railroad in Bristol, step by step

1
Read the short history of the period for this area
2
Open the map filtered to the sites from that chapter
3
Visit the nearest site and read its full record
4
Ask what the marker leaves out and look for the rest
5
Add the site to a route that follows the period in order

What people in Bristol, CT ask first

How much does it cost to visit these sites in Bristol, CT?

Most listed sites can be seen from a public road or sidewalk at no cost, and the app is free to use. Some sites are private homes, working churches or museums with their own hours and fees. The record for each one says what it is, so you know before you go.

Where does the information on these sites come from?

From published records: the National Register of Historic Places, the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark program, and the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Department of Natural Resources marker program. Every site on the page names its source.

Are the hard parts of this history included?

Yes. The record is shown as published, and the stories behind the markers include what happened, who it happened to, and how it was remembered. Leaving the hard parts out would make the stop less worth the trip.

Why are there so many of these sites near Bristol, CT?

Most areas have more than people expect, because the registers list every surviving building and site tied to a period, not just the famous ones. The list on this page shows exactly what is on the record nearby.

How a visit works in Bristol

Step 1
Find the place
Every stop starts as a pin with real coordinates. In Bristol, CT the map shows what is listed around you and how far each one is, so the first decision is where to go, and it takes a few seconds.
Step 2
Read the story
The record behind each marker is kept whole: what happened there, when, who was involved, and why it was worth a sign. You read it standing where it happened, which is the part a textbook cannot give you.
Step 3
Get there under your own power
Walk it, run it, hike it, ride it or drive it. Stops in Bristol, CT are chained into routes that fit the way you move, so a lunch break, a long run or a Saturday drive can all pass through history.
Step 4
Collect it and come back
Each stop you reach counts toward a badge, and a photo or a correction you send makes the record better for the next person. The map remembers where you have been, so the next trip starts where the last one ended.