Portland Black History Walking Tour

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!

Meeting Point

First Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist

425 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Meet at the front steps of First Parish Church. Your guide will be holding a sign that says "Portland by the Foot." Check-in time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled tour time. The church is one half mile from the cruise ship terminal.

What's included:

• 10% off water tours with Portland Paddle (instructions at confirmation)
• Two hour fully narrated guided tour.
• Donation toward restoring the Abyssinian Meeting House, America's third-oldest standing Black church

Not included:

• A tip for your guide!

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Downtown

Downtown, Portland, ME 04101, USA

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.

50 minutes

Lobsterman Park

1 Temple St, Portland, 04101-4011, Maine

Discover the hidden Black history that predates slavery in Maine.

Pass by without stopping

Congress Street

Portland, Maine

Be surprised by the story of a largely unknown but well-connected international activist from the 19th century hiding in plain sight.

Pass by without stopping

The Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception

307 Congress St, Portland, 04101-3638, Maine

Hear the complicated history of racial passing at the highest levels in 19th-century Catholic Maine.

Pass by without stopping

Commercial Street

Portland, Maine

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.

20 minutes

Mariner's Church Banquet Center

368 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Portland's maritime history may not be what you think it is. Discover the Black skill and labor too often overlooked.

Pass by without stopping

United States Custom House

312 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

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.

Pass by without stopping

Bell Buoy Park

54 Commercial St, Portland, 04101-4704, Maine

Visit the Black social scene of WWII Portland and meet the important people who came out of that period to impact our lives today.

Pass by without stopping

Old Port

Commercial St, Portland, 04101, Maine

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.

50 minutes

Exchange Street

Exchange St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Learn the story of an enterprising Black man who forged his own destiny in spite of those who tried to hold him back.

Pass by without stopping

India Street

India St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Find the brave folks who risked federal prosecution by aiding and abetting freedom seekers from the South via the Underground Railroad.

Pass by without stopping

The Abyssinian Meetinghouse

75 Newbury St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Marvel at the achievements of a small, tight-knit community, who worked together to improve their lives and the lives of others.

Pass by without stopping

Portland Observatory

138 Congress St, , Portland, 04101-3608, Maine

Learn how important Black Portlanders were to the maritime economy in the age of sail.

Pass by without stopping

Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church

46 Sheridan St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

Visit the beating heart of the civil rights movement and hear the stories of the leaders whose impacts are still being felt today.

Pass by without stopping