Edgartown Harbor was recently named a site on the Underground Railroad as part of 12 new listings made this year.
The National Park Service reviews applications twice a year, it said in a press release, and added Edgartown Harbor as one of more than 650 sites in 40 states based on an incident in 1743.
Recounting the story, the press release said in July 1743, Esther, an enslaved Native American woman, was being transported from Boston to North Carolina aboard the sloop, Endeavor. While the sloop sat in Edgartown Harbor, Esther jumped ship despite being tied down in the hold. Her eventual fate remains unknown but the incident shed light on the enslavement of native people in colonial America, the release said, in addition to the involvement of the Underground Railroad on Martha’s Vineyard.
The African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard nominated the site.
“This is the first site to be so honored on Martha’s Vineyard, and everyone is thrilled,” said Elaine Cawley Weintraub, the heritage trail co-founder and director. “At least Esther will now be remembered.”
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