Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum

My husband and I attended a 1pm tour and we were not disappointed. The knowledge and facts of our history told here was appreciated and understood. If you haven’t been it’s a must. Affordable wisdom that is truly priceless.

Beautiful place!! My only disappointment is that we were not able to take the 3 hour tour (3/12/19). We were told it's only for groups on 10 and it has to be scheduled in advance. It's not clear on the website. The day we visited, there was enough people for 3 buses which would could have clearly generated a lot of money at $43 a person for the tour compared to $13 a person for the museum visit. Other than this, I was very pleased. I wish they would just have scheduled tours throughout the day. Just my opinion....

What a chaotic mess! First, let down, NO PICTURES. As an avid traveler and photographer, this was very disappointing. Secondly, you have to wear a mask. You can purchase on-site for $2.00. Why do you have to wear a mask? Well, they cram you into the main entrance and all the rooms 25-30 people deep. There is absolutely no way a person that is eight feet away can really appreciate what is being shown. Although I was wearing a mask the gentleman that was working there just wanted us to cramp in together. This causes me severe anxiety and streas. I have been to museums around the world and this was not a good experience. I myself was not able to see the underground railroad due to the amount of people. 4 of us @ $12each. There were so many interesting facts that I would have loved to document and take pictures of to show my friends and family that can not come to Memphis and marvel over this part of Black history and American History. We also brought family from Dallas, Texas, and they were mutually disappointed and disillusioned. Get a better system going. Tablets like Graceland? Less people at a time? Break up tour and audio? Allow people to walk around?

The light skinned young lady working there has a personality of gold, she's very knowledgeable and you can tell she enjoys what she does. I just hate that you can't take pictures once you enter, so you have to enter ready to listen and not have distractions. I took pics when I left out, just to bring back some memories. It's good learning the history of slaves, and what our ancestors had to go through for freedom if they had the courage to flee. It was a lot to take in in such a short time, the whole tour took maybe 1 hour, but it's well worth the visit.

I arrived at 1 but they were filled for the day. But the guide was pleasant. She offered us some brochures to take should we ever come back to visit. She never came back though with the brochures. We did take pics outside.

It was absolutely moving. As you walk through listening to the narration of the curator, the hair on the back of my necks stood up. Knowing that I was standing in the footprints of those that come before me to make that great passage of the Mississippi River. Absolutely must see!

I would give this place 20 stars if I could!! Amazing, amazing experience where I learned SO much and it really helps give you perspective. Elaine Lee Turner gave us a fantastic tour!! This place was formally Jacob Burkle’s estate where he was an abolitionist that helped the enslaved escape. He even intentionally made his house with hiding places underneath and holes to let in light and air for the enslaved hiding beneath. We had the honor of standing in the basement space and they turned the light off and you immediately got a sense of what they felt being down there and adjusting to the darkness&thankful for the light that was coming through the holes. It was such a humbling experience. All these horrid acts led to the enslaved inventing Amazing ways to resist: -Drums were a form of communicating -Singing was a form of communicating too •The song Swing Low Sweet Chariot, had a metonymic double meaning. These double meanings allowed enslaved people to safely communicate messages of hope, freedom, and specific plans for escape to one another under the watchful gaze of their captors. For example, the song stood for Swing=run, Low=hide, etc etc -Quilts were a form of communicating by the secret patterns in the quilt pictures that were a guide to get to Canada. One could hang the quilt for a whole week. The first picture was of a mucket wrench which meant get your tools ready&to brake the shackles. Get ready mentally as well&learn the songs&the routes&signs of nature. Wagon wheel is a symbol of a free spirit and it turns north towards Canada. Cleveland Ohio had lake eerie that crosses over into Canada . Once you cross into Canada, You will be free but you will never see your family again.

This is the same place as the Burkle Museum, so I am entering the same review here. I enjoyed the tour, even though it's a small house it has displays in each room and well done pre-recorded audio with some history and stories on slavery in the US. At the end you see a small cellar and the crawl space below the house where they hid people. No pictures allowed inside. Free on-site parking.