Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515188
14 B M & T ••• January/February 2024 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com with GLOW Tours, who work in partner- ship with Cayuga County Tourism, to tell the 'untold story of Auburn and the story you've been waiting for'. There won't be one dry face in the room, as elder Ted Freeman, also the author of God's Free Man: An American Tale of Perseverance & A Life In Service, personally recounts how Auntie chose Auburn as her hometown; the story of how she took a stroll down the hill to meet long time friends and supporters Francis and William Seward, then United States Secretary of the State who invited her to Auburn, to make a payment of $1200 for the 32 acres of land she was to purchase from them and was hoodwinked, beaten and robbed that day; what the New Guinea Settlement meant to us as Africans in America then; her sweet infectious love story with Nelson Davis; and family tales passed down generation after generation about the care his great, great grandfather, William Freeman, provided for Harriet Tubman Davis in post war years until her passing in 1913. Since 2020, September has been ear- marked as International Underground Railroad Month, however, whether or not you visit during that season or not, once you do, you and your attendees will be forever changed. GLOW T OURS glowtours315@gmail.com (315) 949-8507 Remarkable excursions complete with Michelin quality "Bib Gourmand" dining experience from superb Black owned cater- ers. I CONIC SITES Auntie Statue "North Star" center of town 1st Grist Mill placed at Owasco River by John Hardenbergh and Harry Freeman1st Settlement by Harry and Kate Freeman The New Guinea Settlement – the progenitor of the Underground Railroad Movement, 1794.The Seward House home of Francis and William H. Seward. Soule Cemetery resting place of Harry and Kate Freeman. Nelson and Harriet Tubman Davis homestead. Tubman Home For The Aged Fort Hill Cemetery grave sight of Harriet Tubman Davis and Nelson Davis C AYUGA COUNTY TOURISM groups@tourcayuga.com (800) 499-9615 The local Underground Railroad early documented connec- tions in Cayuga County numbered well over 100 with nearly half of them in Auburn, NY, including safe house stations. Contact to Tour Cayuga for an in depth breadth of resources and attractions from walking, self guided tours to bespoke group possibilities. L OCAL HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS Hilton Garden Inn 74 State Street Auburn, NY 13201 (315) 252-5511 Holiday Inn Auburn-Finger Lakes Region 75 North Street Auburn, NY 13201 (315) 253-4531 Days Inn by Wyndham 37 William Street Auburn, NY 13021 (315) 370-9004 L OCAL INNS Inn at the Finger Lakes 12 Seminary Avenue Auburn, NY 13021 (315) 712-4000 Springside Inn 6141 West Lake Rd Auburn, NY 13021 (315) 252- 7247 F INGERLAKES MALL EVENT CENTER marketing@fingerlakesmall.com (315) 255-1188 30,000 sq. ft. and can comfortably hold up to 2,000 Visitor's at the home of William H Seward home photo credit: Erica Manners. Fingerlakes Mall Event Center Gravesite with descendant photo credit: Erica Manners.