Madison, an early 19th century river port city on the Ohio whose historic Georgetown section, located north of Main Street, is the only designated National Underground Railroad District in the country.

In the mid 1800s, Madison was one of the largest cities in the state with the largest number of free African Americans as well.

Many resided in a Madison neighborhood known as Georgetown which, just five blocks from the river, was the perfect spot for UGRR to thrive and became the center for UGRR activity – as well as the focal point for angry pro slavery groups from Louisville, Kentucky who tried to destroy the community – and slightly over 70% of the homes, churches and environments dating from 1830 to 1865 that the freedom seekers, conductors and abolitionists saw, still exist today.

George de Baptiste, a nationally known conductor on the Underground Railroad, lived in Madison from 1838 to 1846.