Escaping to Freedom in the Bahamas

Escaping to Freedom in the Bahamas (HM1IEC)

Location: Key Biscayne, FL 33149 Miami-Dade County
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Country: United States of America
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N 25° 39.959', W 80° 9.404'

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Inscription
In the early 1820's, enslaved Africans, runaways, and "Black Seminoles" seeking freedom from slave catchers and plantation masters, secretly worked their way down to CAPE FLORIDA. They met with bold captains of sloops from the British Bahamas who offered transportation across the Gulf Stream. In 1821 as reported by eyewitnesses, some 300 freedom seekers bartered for passage aboard 27 sloops, or chose to sail Indian dugout canoes 107 nautical miles to secluded Andros Asland. The construction of the CAPE FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSE by the Federal Government in 1825 effectively blocked the escape route.

Bahamians descendents, some of whom still call themselves "Black Seminoles," live in the Red Bays settlement on Andros. Cuba, Haiti and other islands in the Caribbean region were additional destinations along the Florida Underground Railroad.

BILL BAGGS CAPE FLORIDA STATE PARK takes its name from a visionary Miami newspaper editor and civil rights activist from the 1960s.
Details
HM NumberHM1IEC
Tags
Year Placed2004
Placed ByNational Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, December 18th, 2014 at 9:01am PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17R E 584631 N 2838964
Decimal Degrees25.66598333, -80.15673333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 25° 39.959', W 80° 9.404'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds25° 39' 57.54" N, 80° 9' 24.24" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)305
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Cape Florida Park Blvd, Key Biscayne FL 33149, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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