Texas 60-Mile Walk Highlights Underground Railroad to Mexico
If you’ve never heard of the Underground Railroad to Mexico, you are not alone—but a group of dedicated advocates, historians, and descendants of enslaved people aim to change that. They’re planning a remarkable 60-mile walk in South Texas, set for March 3rd to 9th, to shed light on this often-overlooked route to freedom.
Dubbed “Walking Southern Roads to Freedom,” the journey kicks off at La Sal del Rey, a historic salt lake in Hidalgo County, Texas. The walk winds through significant sites believed to have been vital stops along the Underground Railroad to Mexico. Not just Texans, but faith leaders, descendants of freedom seekers, artists from as far away as Philadelphia and Kansas City, and representatives from Maryland’s Harriet Tubman Museum will all be participating. This unique gathering underscores how widespread and important this history truly is.
According to Roseann Bacha-Garza, program manager at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Community Historical Archaeology Project, the walk aims to
increase awareness about the resilience and resolve of freedom seekers of African ancestry who participated in underground railroad-like activities from south Texas to Mexico.
Why choose Mexico? It’s simple. Mexico had abolished slavery by the 1830s, offering hope and refuge to many enslaved Black people from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Alabama who fled southward. Historical records, slave escape advertisements, and oral histories all point to Mexico as a beacon of freedom.
The journey will conclude in McAllen, Texas, but not before making a special stop in Mexico, highlighting the country’s essential role in helping enslaved people reach freedom.
This event follows recent recognition by the National Park Service of two significant landmarks—the Jackson Ranch Church and Martin Jackson Cemetery in San Juan, Texas—as official sites on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. These locations once served as critical gateways to liberation, connecting Texas to Mexico. Nearby, Silvia Hector Webber, affectionately known by historians as the “Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad to Mexico,” operated a ferry landing along the Colorado River, aiding countless escapees.
Coinciding with the walk, the Plano African American Museum will open an exhibit titled “Risking It All For Freedom: Women Who Crafted The Underground Railroad Into Mexico” on March 6. Descendants of Webber herself are helping organize this impactful tribute.
This walk isn’t just about retracing history—it’s about reclaiming and remembering it.
