Tower of Freedom (Windsor, Ontario)
Dublin Core
Title
Tower of Freedom (Windsor, Ontario)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Underground Railroad
Slavery-- Abolition
Slavery-- Emancipation
Resistance
Public art
Public sculpture,
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Underground Railroad
Slavery-- Abolition
Slavery-- Emancipation
Resistance
Public art
Public sculpture,
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Commemorative sculpture
Description
The Canadian counter-part to Ed Dwight's Gateway to Freedom, Tower of Freedom consists of a twenty-two-foot high granite tower, adorned with a bronze flame symbolizing the “Eternal Flame of Freedom.” Life-size bronze figures stand on opposite sides of the tower’s base. The cluster of four bronze figures facing the river include an African American woman holding an infant and a white woman, often identified as a Quaker “operative.” Behind the women, a man stands with his arms raised in a gesture of praise. On the opposite side of the tower, a singular figure of a woman looks back towards the river and the United States. Despite her age, she clutches a rag doll.
Creator
Dwight, Ed, 1933-
Source
Jim Shreve, Flickr; The City of Winsor
Date
Dedicated: October 20, 2001
Contributor
Detroit 300; The Underground Railroad Monument Committee of Windsor
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
Civic Esplanade, 200 Pitt St. E., Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Has Part
Bronze Plaque:
"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN CANDA
LE CHEMIN DE FER CLANDESTIN AU CANDA
From the early 19th century until the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara rivers were important terminals for the Underground Railroad. White and black abolitionists formed a heroic network dedicated to helping free and enslaved African Americans find freedom from oppression. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom-seekers resided in what is now Ontario, after secretly traveling north from slave states like Kentucky and Virginia. Some returned south after the outbreak of the Civil War, but many remained helping to forge the modern Canadian identity.
Du début du XIXe siècle à la guerre de Sécession, des villages le long des rivières Detroit et Niagara servirent de terminus au chemin de fer clandestin. Ce réseau d’ abolitionnistes blancs et noirs aida les Afro-Américains à fuir l’oppression pour atteindre la liberté. Ainsi, en 1861, près de 30 000 réfugies d’ascendance africaine, venant d'États esclavagistes comme le Kentucky et la Virginie, vivaient dans ce qui est aujourd’hui l’Ontario. Des Certains la guerre de Sécession certains repartirent vers le sub, mais beaucoup s’installèrent ici en permanence et contribuèrent à forger l'identité du Canada moderne// Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada"
"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN CANDA
LE CHEMIN DE FER CLANDESTIN AU CANDA
From the early 19th century until the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara rivers were important terminals for the Underground Railroad. White and black abolitionists formed a heroic network dedicated to helping free and enslaved African Americans find freedom from oppression. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom-seekers resided in what is now Ontario, after secretly traveling north from slave states like Kentucky and Virginia. Some returned south after the outbreak of the Civil War, but many remained helping to forge the modern Canadian identity.
Du début du XIXe siècle à la guerre de Sécession, des villages le long des rivières Detroit et Niagara servirent de terminus au chemin de fer clandestin. Ce réseau d’ abolitionnistes blancs et noirs aida les Afro-Américains à fuir l’oppression pour atteindre la liberté. Ainsi, en 1861, près de 30 000 réfugies d’ascendance africaine, venant d'États esclavagistes comme le Kentucky et la Virginie, vivaient dans ce qui est aujourd’hui l’Ontario. Des Certains la guerre de Sécession certains repartirent vers le sub, mais beaucoup s’installèrent ici en permanence et contribuèrent à forger l'identité du Canada moderne// Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada"
Inscription on the river-facing side of the monument:
“Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive”
Inscription on the reserve of the monument:
“International Underground Railroad Memorial”
“Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive”
Inscription on the reserve of the monument:
“International Underground Railroad Memorial”
Inscription on base:
“UNDERGROUND RAILRAOD AREAS OF SETTLEMENT AMERSTBURG
DRESEDEN
BUXTON
CHATHAM
COLCHESTER
LITTLE RIVER
NEW CANAAN
PUCE
SANDWICH
WINDSOR"
“UNDERGROUND RAILRAOD AREAS OF SETTLEMENT AMERSTBURG
DRESEDEN
BUXTON
CHATHAM
COLCHESTER
LITTLE RIVER
NEW CANAAN
PUCE
SANDWICH
WINDSOR"
The second Bronze plaque just in front of the memorial:
"Tower of Freedom By Ed Dwight Dedicated October 20, 2001, With companion work Gateway to Freedom In Hart Plaza, Detroit. A project of Detroit 300 and the Underground Railroad Monument Committee of Windsor."
"Tower of Freedom By Ed Dwight Dedicated October 20, 2001, With companion work Gateway to Freedom In Hart Plaza, Detroit. A project of Detroit 300 and the Underground Railroad Monument Committee of Windsor."
Extent
264''
Medium
Bronze; Granite
Bibliographic Citation
Nora Faires. "Across the Border to Freedom: The International Underground Railroad Memorial and the Meanings of Migration." Journal of American Ethnic History 32, no. 2 (2013): 38-67. doi:10.5406/jamerethnhist.32.2.0038.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Sculpture
Physical Dimensions
264''
Collection
Citation
Dwight, Ed, 1933-, “Tower of Freedom (Windsor, Ontario),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed March 28, 2024, https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1160.