I wonder if the invisible train in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" was inspired by the notion of an "underground railroad?" I'm not talking about trains that ran underground like subways, but rather the escape routes of slaves from southern states toward Canada prior to and during the Civil War. People have escaped slavery for as long as slavery has existed, but the the term "underground railroad" didn't exist until the early 1800s when locomotives became available in the U.S. to transport passengers.

Most maps of the Underground Railroad, like this one, bypass Maine altogether. Or, the arrows give it a glancing blow. Like most things historical, Maine seems to fall off the pages of the book. If it didn't happen in Massachusetts, it seems, it didn't happen at all. Okay, I exaggerate. Fortunately, a number of Mainers have dedicated years of their time to document and commemorate this history with Portland's Freedom Trail project.

Mainers owned slaves, like other inhabitants of the British colonies. Fortunately, they got around to embracing abolitionism and threw their Yankee ingenuity and maritime cunning into the effort. Portland hosted quite a few resident abolitionists. As I have been exploring with students, one of them, Charlotte Thomas, had strong ties to Peaks Island. She liked to spend her summers on the island at the Valley View House, pictured here. Since she hosted the likes of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, I wonder if she ever gazed back at Portland from Trefethen landing with them at her side?