Underground railroad network on track

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program application form is now available.

Eligible Underground Railroad sites, educational and interpretive programs, and museum and archival facilities are encouraged to apply for inclusion in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Application deadlines are Jan. 15 and July 15 each year.

The new National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom was mandated by Congress in 1998 to create a nationwide system of comparable sites, programs, and facilities. The network is a diverse collection of elements comprised of historic sites and properties, and facilities and programs that have a verifiable association to the Underground Railroad.

The network incorporates a broad range of elements that have been nominated and evaluated for their association to the Underground Railroad and have met certain established criteria.

Membership in the new network will provide national recognition to authenticate historic sites, programs, and facilities, and will foster coordination among them. Members will be featured on a network database on the Underground Railroad program’s Web site.

The NPS will work with Underground Railroad partners to provide technical assistance and identify potential funding for identification, documentation, preservation, and commemoration activities related to the Underground Railroad.

Members will have the privilege to use and display the new Underground Railroad Network logo.

For more information, or to obtain an application and assistance with its completion, contact the NPS Underground Railroad regional coordinator for your state.

Additional information on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program can be found on the program’s Web site at www.cr.nps.gov/ugrr/.