The public is invited to join cemetery supporters and public dignitaries as they gather to celebrate the National Park Service’s designation of the Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The ceremony will honor the four Freedom Seekers buried at Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery who make this designation possible. After the program, guests will have the opportunity to participate in a self-guided audio tour of the burial plots for the Freedom Seekers, along with eleven other African American Civil War veterans.

This ceremony takes places at Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery at 2945 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, 55407. The cemetery gates on Cedar Avenue and Lake Street will be open that afternoon; with parking available on both streets. Parking within the cemetery is reserved for those with accessibility needs. Tours of the caretaker’s cottage are also available. Light snacks will be provided. The cemetery is open until 4 pm that day.

The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom was created in 1998, and honors, preserves and promotes the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, which continues to inspire people worldwide. Through its mission, the Network to Freedom helps to advance the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression.

To learn more about the cemetery, stop into Hennepin History Museum to see our exhibit, In Memoriam: Residents of Pioneers & Soldier’s Cemetery.