It was a time of intrigue, suspense and secrecy. A time of slavery in the United States. A time when those enslaved realized that their life was wrong and who tried to flee northward to a country that would accepted them … Canada.
On February 8th (2025), in recognition of Black History month, the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre in Southampton (ON) hosted the documentary, ‘Secret Agents of the Underground Railroad’ for a capacity audience in the Bruce Power Theatre. It was neither underground nor a railroad, but it became the symbol of freedom for many ‘black people’ trying to escape slavery.
Produced by Executive Director, Richard Jean-Baptiste, for The Nature of Things, the film released in 2023, tells of the little known history of Cataract House at Niagara Fall US, where wealthy American families would come to stay with their ‘black’ servants.
“It was one of the two largest hotels in Niagara Falls, operated by Parkhurst Whitney from 1825-45, and by his son Solon Whitney and sons-in-law James Trott and Dexter Jerauld from 1845 until the late nineteenth century. It was a magnet both for southern slave-holding tourists and for African American waiters, many of them southern-born. In 1850, more than sixty percent of African Americans working at the Cataract listed their birthplaces as a southern state or unknown/unlisted, suggesting that many of these people had escaped from slavery. The Cataract House was also the site of many escapes from slavery, and the staff of African American waiters (under head waiter John Morrison and others) helped enslaved people escape to freedom.” (Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Centre/Museum).
It was an opulent retreat for wealthy Americans, with marble fireplaces, velvet draperies, fine china, a waiting staff second to none, and that was at least four stories high and covering more than a city block. It was also one however, that held a secret harboured in the kitchen, under the auspices of John Morrison. It was an escape route for Freedom Seekers from the south wanting to reach Canada.
An archeological dig was organized to try to unearth parts of the Cataract House which had been destroyed by fire in 1945. Of particular interest was to try and discover the kitchen. The dig, that took part in what is now Heritage Park in Niagara Falls (US) in 2021/22 and that lasted approximately six months, discovered many artifacts that are now in the Heritage Museum.
Following the documentary screening, audience members had the opportunity to vitually ask producer, Jean-Baptiste, questions about the film. “I was very impressed with the ‘secret agents’ as it took a lot of logistics for a resistance that was similar to the resistance in France during World War II. It was organized with a rigour bordering on military precision.”
For a more in-depth look at the history of the Cataract House, the secret agents and the Freedom Seekers who passed though it to escape slavery, CLICK HERE.
