Surviving homes of Underground Railroad settlers are difficult to find, as most of their modest houses have been replaced or greatly changed. Among the scarce survivors in Ontario is the George Taylor House, now preserved as part of the North American Black Historical Museum in Amherstburg. Originally built as one of several small cottages for army pensioners, this refugee family home illustrates the limited accommodation available in the small border towns that were receiving growing numbers of refugees in the mid-19th century. One can still get a sense of the refugee farming experience at the Griffin House near Hamilton. This restored rural home was occupied by the Griffin family for generations, and is now operated by the Fieldcote Museum in Ancaster. It is an excellent example of the many small Underground Railroad refugee farmsteads that once dotted the landscape of southwestern Ontario.

The growing city of Toronto offered more opportunities than many smaller centres. It was particularly attractive to women who had arrived alone or with small children and needed employment. Estimates of the size of the black population of Toronto during the Underground Railroad era vary. One 1859 estimate put it at between 1,200 and 1,600 out of an overall population of some 50,000. Many of the refugees

settled in the neighbourhood of the present City Hall, although they could also be found in scattered locations throughout the city. While colour prejudice did exist, black Torontonians of this time period were generally able to find work, establish businesses, send their children to integrated schools, worship and purchase homes where they chose. They developed a lively urban culture where debating societies, literary groups, women's associations and self-help organizations enriched the lives of the new immigrants.

Because of constant redevelopment activity, few early homes in the city centre have survived. An archaeological remnant of a first-generation house belonging to Thornton and Lucie Blackburn has been investigated. The Blackburns have been designated persons of national historic significance as representatives of the many Underground Railroad refugees who made Toronto their home. Like many others, the Blackburns found work, built a home and, in this case, established Toronto's first taxi business. Two later houses, one built for Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott and another for Toronto alderman William Peyton Hubbard, illustrate success stories from the second generation of this group.