By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published July 9, 2025
TROY — The Troy Historic Village recently opened its summer exhibit on the Underground Railroad, open now through Aug. 28.
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by Black slaves and their allies to reach abolitionist states and Canada. It existed from the late 1700s through the end of the Civil War.
The exhibit is the result of the Oakland County Underground Railroad Project — a multi-community effort to research local ties to the Underground Railroad.
The initiative is led by both the Birmingham Museum and the Oakland County Historical Commission, and partially funded by the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts.
“People want this information, and there’s no time better than the present to acknowledge the bigger history of our shared heritage and the early Black history of Oakland County,” said Leslie Pielack, director of the Birmingham Museum, in an email.
“We now can tell real stories of real people that give a personal glimpse of this difficult time in our history,” Pielack said. “We can point to places right in our communities where individuals did what they could to resist and overcome the inhumanity of slavery.”
Pielack coordinated the project, working with researchers, historical societies, genealogists and educators. Pielack is also compiling the findings in an illustrated book that will be distributed at no cost to schools and libraries later this year.
The traveling exhibit is hosted for two months at a time in settings where the public can see it for free, like libraries and municipal buildings. Since the original version launched in January 2024, it has been seen by more than 85,000 people.
“People are amazed at our findings,” Pielack said. “They are drawn to the stories of the freedom seekers who faced such hardships trying to get to Canada, and the determined abolitionists who struggled to help them and end slavery. This project shows that these people made a difference, and they were right in our own backyard.”
Attendees can view the exhibit on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Troy Historic Village is located at 60 W. Wattles Road.
The exhibit is included with general admission: $7 per adult, $5 per senior, $5 per youth, and free for children younger than 6. Admission is also free to members of the Troy Historical Society.
Thanks to a grant from the Troy Community Foundation, the Village is also offering two free lectures.
The first will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 15. Billy Wall-Winkel, field curator at the Detroit Historical Society, will discuss how the city of Detroit, codenamed “Midnight,” was a vital station on the Underground Railroad.
The second presentation will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7. Heather Bruegl, curator of political and civic engagement at the Henry Ford, will discuss the important role that Indigenous people played in assisting others in the Underground Railroad.
“We’ve been hosting a summer exhibit for the last five years, and they are a great way for us to share history that is outside the scope of our historic buildings,” said Jen Peters, executive director of the Troy Historic Village, in a press release. “Temporary exhibits, like the Underground Railroad in Michigan, offer a new experience for returning visitors, too.
“This year, we were awarded a grant from Troy Community Foundation to offer additional programs for free to the public,” Peters added. “We hope this exhibit teaches people of all ages how they can play an important role in their community.”
The exhibit will travel to the Ferndale Public Library in September and October.
For more information, visit troyhistoricvillage.org.