NATCHEZ — Members of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program were in Natchez Wednesday, validating sites critical to the railroad’s function.

The group’s semi-annual meeting was conducted in Natchez this year and included trips to the Forks of the Road and antebellum home tours.

But the meeting was much more than a sightseeing tour.

On Wednesday, the group was reviewing applications to have sites from across the country deemed as historically relevant to the function of the Underground Railroad.

National Program Coordinator Diane Miller said of 24 sites that applied to be recognized, 18 were accepted.

“They have to be significant and relevant to the Underground Railroad,” Miller said.

Once it’s determined an application has met the necessary criteria for relevancy, the site is given a marker and is officially recognized as playing an important role in the Underground Railroad.

While no sites in Natchez were up for review Wednesday, the Forks of the Road, a former slave trading post, is recognized by the program.

And for Regional Program Manager James Hill, visiting spots like the Forks gives his work relevancy and importance.

“This makes it real,” Hill said of places like Natchez.

Hill said the chance to visit towns, which were once based on slave trade economies, is important.

“This is where people were escaping from,” he said. “And this helps us to understand what they were escaping from.”