The Barney Ford House in Breckenridge became the second Colorado site to be added to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.

It joins more than 800 sites, facilities and programs in the network that provide insight into freedom seekers who escaped slavery and allies who assisted them.  

The new listings look to tell the stories of coast-to-coast efforts of freedom seekers and their allies.

Barney Ford, who lived 1822–1902, escaped slavery in 1848 and became a civil rights leader in Chicago with his co-founding of the Vigilance Committee. He later found success in the West as a hotelier, restauranteur and gold miner. His 1882 home in Breckenridge is now preserved as a museum to honor his legacy.

Created by Congress in 1998, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom serves to honor, preserve and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. It includes listings in 41 states, plus Washington, D.C., Canada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through its mission, the network advances the idea that all humans should have the rights to self-determination and freedom from oppression.