Cyrus Gates Farmstead
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Cyrus Gates Farmstead
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Cyrus Gates Farmstead, 1963
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| Nearest city | Maine, New York |
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| Coordinates | 42°14′50″N 76°2′19″W / 42.24722°N 76.03861°WCoordinates: 42°14′50″N 76°2′19″W / 42.24722°N 76.03861°W |
| Area | 130 acres (53 ha) |
| Built | 1848 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 98001549 |
| Added to NRHP | January 11, 1999 |
The Cyrus Gates Farmstead is located in Maine, New York. Cyrus Gates was a cartographer and map maker for New York State, as well as an abolitionist. The great granddaughter of Cyrus-Louise Gates-Gunsalus has stated that from 1848 until the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, the Cyrus Gates Farmstead was a station or stop on the Underground Railroad. Its owners, Cyrus and Arabella Gates, were outspoken abolitionists as well as active and vital members of their community. Historian Shirley L. Woodward states that through those years escaped slaves came through the Gates' station.
One runaway female slave, a 16-year-old girl named Margaret "Marge" Cruizer was so comfortable with the Gates family that she decided to stay at their station and live with them. Marge ended up spending the rest of her life with the Gates' and is buried in the cemetery next to the house. (Woodward 1973 pp 52–53). Margaret was also known as the wife of Thomas "Old Bay Tom" Crocker. Mr. Crocker was famous for being the first African-American to be elected as mayor of Binghamton, New York, albeit a protest vote that was reversed in the election of 1872. (Smith 2014).
Owning a station or being a conductor on the Underground Railroad (UGRR) was most certainly illegal behavior, although not considered unethical behavior by many people. In light of this, participation in the Underground Railroad was very secretive; records were not usually, if ever kept of the comings and goings at stations. It would be an unwise act to record illegal behavior, especially in New York where the Northern Democrats were strong. In fact Cyrus' own brother William Gates was an ardent Copperhead and after an argument with Cyrus over "breaking the law" moved out of the family house. In light of this it is easier to see why much of the history of this vast network of stations has been passed down through oral history.
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