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Guests Hear Stories on Exchange Street
Abyssinian Meeting House
Comparing historic photos to modern Portland
Exchange Street in the Old Port
Learning about Portland's first Black firefighter

Portland, Maine: Black History Guided Walking Tour

By Portland by the Foot
10 out of 10
Free cancellation available
Price is $49 per adult
See tickets
Features
  • Free cancellation available
  • 2h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
Overview

Trace the steps of the Black Portlanders who moved our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality. Maine’s earliest settlements couldn’t have existed without Black labor, skill, and insight. You'll meet the Black Yankees who founded Maine communities, overturned slavery statewide, drove our maritime industries, gained political influence, crossed color boundaries, and expanded Mainers’ rights in the modern era.

Stepping on granite cobblestones crooked with age — that once saw footfalls from national heroes like Frederick Douglass — you’ll pass storefronts once home to Black-owned barbershops where abolitionists whispered intelligence to Underground Railroad conductors.

Enjoy 2 hours of entertaining and enlightening historical narration over a 1.5-mile route. Owner and guide, Dugan Murphy, dug through the archives to present an amazing constellation of stories left out of most tours. TripAdvisor named him Portland's #1 guide!

Activity location

  • Downtown
    • 04101, Portland, Maine, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • First Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist
    • 425 Congress Street
    • 04101, Portland, Maine, United States

Check availability

Portland Black History Tour
  • Activity duration is 2 hours2h
    2h
  • English

Duration: 2 hours

Language options: English
Starting time: 10:00am
Price details
$49.00 x 1 Adult$49.00
Total
Price is $49.00
Until Sun, Jun 8

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's included10% off water tours with Portland Paddle (instructions at confirmation)
  • What's includedWhat's includedTwo hour fully narrated guided tour.
  • What's includedWhat's includedDonation toward restoring the Abyssinian Meeting House, America's third-oldest standing Black church
  • What's excludedWhat's excludedA tip for your guide!

Know before you book

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Pets are not allowed on tours unless medically required.
  • Portland is a hilly city. Participants will walk uphill sometimes, including a staircase of 17 steps.

Activity itinerary

Downtown
  • 50m
Your guide Dugan will lead you to the locations relevant to Black Mainers and their achievements. We'll trace the steps of the folks who resisted indignity and realized power to move our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality.
Lobsterman Park (Pass by)
Discover the hidden Black history that predates slavery in Maine.
Congress Street (Pass by)
Be surprised by the story of a largely unknown but well-connected international activist from the 19th century hiding in plain sight.
The Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception (Pass by)
Hear the complicated history of racial passing at the highest levels in 19th-century Catholic Maine.
Commercial Street
  • 20m
Dugan will guide you to where Black leaders and laborers shaped Portland's waterfront and earned a seat at the table when the odds were against them.
Mariner's Church Banquet Center (Pass by)
Portland's maritime history may not be what you think it is. Discover the Black skill and labor too often overlooked.
United States Custom House (Pass by)
Marvel at the architecture and hear how antebellum Black Portland built and wielded political power at a time when the vast majority of Black Americans were denied suffrage.
Bell Buoy Park (Pass by)
Visit the Black social scene of WWII Portland and meet the important people who came out of that period to impact our lives today.
Old Port
  • 50m
Follow Dugan through the Old Port to a historically-Black section on the eastern end of the waterfront, uncovering Black history hidden all around us. You'll hear about the people who founded Maine communities, overturned slavery statewide, drove our maritime industries, swung elections, founded houses of worship, crossed color boundaries, and expanded Mainers’ rights in the modern era.
Exchange Street (Pass by)
Learn the story of an enterprising Black man who forged his own destiny in spite of those who tried to hold him back.
India Street (Pass by)
Find the brave folks who risked federal prosecution by aiding and abetting freedom seekers from the South via the Underground Railroad.
The Abyssinian Meetinghouse (Pass by)
Marvel at the achievements of a small, tight-knit community, who worked together to improve their lives and the lives of others.
Portland Observatory (Pass by)
Learn how important Black Portlanders were to the maritime economy in the age of sail.
Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church (Pass by)
Visit the beating heart of the civil rights movement and hear the stories of the leaders whose impacts are still being felt today.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIESDowntown
    • 04101, Portland, Maine, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLEFirst Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist
    • 425 Congress Street
    • 04101, Portland, Maine, United States

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