Solomon Northup on New York's Canals
Solomon Northup on New York's Canals Earlier this year, a traveling statue titled "Hope Out of Darkness" went on view at Saratoga Spa State Park. Designed by artist Wesley Wofford, the statue honors Solomon Northup, the author of Twelve Years a Slave . You may already be familiar with this notable New Yorker and his memoir, which was adapted to film in 1984 and in 2013. Northup’s story, which recounts his time enslaved in the swamps of Louisiana, has some interesting connections to New York’s canals. The "Hope Out of Darkness" Statue on on view at Saratoga Spa State Park earlier in 2025 Solomon Northup was born in Minerva, NY, in 1808, the son of a free Black couple. He married Anne Hampton in 1829. As the young couple worked to build a life for themselves and their growing family, they, like many others of the time, found opportunity along the state's newly established canals. "During the winter I was employed with others repairing the Champlai...
