The Unveiling of Towards Freedom @ Lexington Traditional Magnet School

Dignitaries expected include Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and members of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.

The Lexington Freedom Train, in partnership with LexArts, is proud to announce the unveiling of Towards Freedom, a powerful new monument by internationally renowned sculptor Basil Watson.

The sculpture honors Lewis and Harriet Hayden—two formerly enslaved Lexingtonians who became nationally recognized abolitionists—and commemorates the bravery of all those who journeyed to freedom via Kentucky’s Underground Railroad.

Towards Freedom is more than a tribute—it’s a step toward healing. The monument acknowledges Lexington’s painful history of slavery, honors those who resisted it, and preserves the stories that have too long gone untold.

We thank the Kentucky Historical Society, whose America250Kentucky grant provided funding for the Lyceum educational programs throughout the project. Additionally, LexArts, serving as fiscal sponsor of the Lexington Freedom Train, helped secure two national grants to support this project, including the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant.

For more than 30 years, Lewis and Harriet Hayden were enslaved in and around Lexington. After Lewis lost his first wife and child when they were sold to the Deep South, he chose to flee slavery with his second wife, Harriet Bell, and their son, Joseph. With the help of Delia Webster, a local schoolteacher, and Calvin Fairbanks, a minister from Ohio, the family escaped via the Underground Railroad—passing the home where Lewis was once enslaved, located within view of where the monument now stands.

The Haydens eventually settled in Boston, where they set up a very busy stop on the Underground Railroad. Harriet maintained their home, which sheltered 100’s of freedom seekers, and she dedicated her life to advocating for equal rights for all. Lewis became a leader in the abolitionist movement, advocated for the inclusion of Black soldiers in the Union Army, and later served as the first Black legislator in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Harriet left her estate of nearly $5,000.00 to Harvard Medical School for Black medical students, the only university bequest known from a person who had been enslaved.

This monument ensures their courageous story—and those of others who fought for freedom—is no longer lost to history.