This selection of sites, memorials and writings represent the connections between Louisiana and Solomon Northup while enslaved in the State for nearly 12 years. Additional sites may be seen in California, Canada, Nebraska, New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia among others.
The Northup Trail
Louisiana Byways and Trails
The Northup Trail marks twenty-two sites telling the journey of Solomon Northup during his years of enslavement. The trail follows 83 miles through Rapides and Avoyelles Parishes in Louisiana beginning in Alexandria and ending in Marksville.
The original trail concept was founded by the late Dr. Sue L. Eakin whose lifelong research and fascination with Northup’s narrative inspired the guide Backtracking: Twelve Years A Slave in the 1970’s which was funded by the Endowment of the Humanities and sponsored by the Avoyelles Commission on Tourism. A decade later, a second trail guide was created under the title Northup Trail Through Central Louisiana and funded by the Louisiana Committee for the Humanities. In 2014, the Northup trail was re-envisioned to include new trail markers and an expanded tour from the original 11 to 20 sites giving way to a more in-depth perspective of Solomon’s years of enslavement in Louisiana. The Northup Trail is now under the administration of the Louisiana Scenic Byways.
This marker is located in front of the Avoyelles Parish Courthouse in Marksville, Louisiana. It was installed in 2018 to commemorate the 165th anniversary year of Northup’s freedom and the publication of his autobiographical memoir that in 1853.
TRAIL RESOURCES:
Louisiana Byways & Trails Map
Northup Trail Guide Book
NORTHUP LECTURE HALL – LSU ALEXANDRIA
The Solomon Northup Lecture Hall located in Mulder Hall at LSU Alexandria, Rapides Parish, LA. was dedicated by the
LSU Board of Supervisors in 2013.
LOUISIANA FILM TRAIL
Filming of ‘12 Years A Slave’ in Louisiana
134 minutes | U.S. Release: November 8, 2013 | Producers: Plan B Entertainment, River Road Entertainment, Film4, Regency Enterprises
Principal photography began in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 27, 2012. After seven weeks, filming concluded on August 13, 2012 as reported Various locations in Louisiana were used includin
SOLOMON NORTHUP “TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE” HISTORICAL MARKER
AT MARKSVILLE, LA
SOLOMON NORTHUP “TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE” HISTORICAL MARKER
AT NEW ORLEANS, LA
Located in the Faubourg Marigny, from the corner of Esplanade Ave. and Chartres St., is the former site of Theophilus Freeman’s notorious slave pen (demolished after the Civil War) where Solomon Northup, a free man of color from New York, was sold into slavery in 1841. The marker was dedicated in June 2017.
SELECTED WRITINGS RELATING TO SOLOMON NORTHUP
THE NARRATIVE THAT STARTED IT ALL – PRIMARY SOURCE
Twelve Years A Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and Rescued in 1853 from a Cotton Plantation Near the Red River in Louisiana by Solomon Northup; David Wilson, Editor. Publisher: Derby & Miller; Published: July 15, 1853.
AUTHENTICATED EDITIONS
Solomon Northup – The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years A Slave
by David Fiske, Clifford W. Brown, Rachel Seligman. Publisher: Praeger; Published: August 2013. Format: Hardcover, 225 pgs.
Twelve Years A Slave – The Norton Critical Edition
by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor, Harvard University), Kevin M. Burke (Editor, Harvard University), Solomon Northup Author). Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, New York. Published: December 15, 2016. Format: Paperback, 432 pgs.
ANNOTATED EDITIONS
Twelve Years A Slave – Edited by Sue Eakin & Joseph Logsdon
by Solomon Northup 1808-1863; Sue L. Eakin (Editor), Joseph Logsdon (Editor)
Library of Southern Civilization – reprint of the 1853; Publisher: LSU Press; Published: March 1968. Format: Softcover, 312 pgs.
Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years A Slave: 1841-1853
by Sue Eakin. Publisher: Pelican (Gretna, LA); Published: 1998. Format: Softcover.
Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years A Slave: And Plantation Life in the Antebellum South
by Solomon Northup, Sue L. Eakin. Publisher: Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Published: 2007. Format: Hardcover, 362 pgs.
Twelve Years A Slave – Enhanced Edition by Dr. Sue Eakin Based on a Lifetime Project
by Sue L. Eakin; Publisher: Eakin Films and Publishing [The Woodlands, Texas]. Published: September 2013. Format: Paperback, 362 pgs.
CHILDREN’S EDITIONS
Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years A Slave: 1841-1853 re-written version for young readers by Sue Eakin (Adapter), Solomon Northup; Publisher: Pelican Publishing; Published: October 31, 1998. Format: Paperback, 224gs.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The experiences of Solomon Northup have been researched and historically authenticated in several publications.
Several archival documents to have survived including the Brig Orleans Slave Manifest (National Archives and Records Administration) and the Bill of Sale for his purchase at the New Orleans slave market of Theophilus Freeman in 1841 (Orleans Clerk of Records) among others.
Further history, artifacts and sites connected to Solomon’s lifelong journey may be sought in Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. among others.
A variety of teaching resources may also be located online.