I was reading an article yesterday on President Lincoln. It
was a brief summary of the hardships he suffered through his life, the dead of
a wife, a child, the civil war and slavery. Got me thinking about the slaves
and their hardships. Not far from us in the town of Lewis, is a house confirmed
to be on the Underground Railroad. I have always found this fascinating since
we have always wondered if our house was safe haven for the slave and possibly
one on the chain. Our basement looks
like it could have been a place to hide slaves. It has your normal steps going
down but, at one time there was a brick wall closing off and hiding and
underground passage. It was removed when a new furnace was added many years ago.
 |
| Remains of original wall |
Behind that once present wall, is a dirt tunnel leading to
a ladder.
 |
| original ladder leading to closet |
If you climb up that ladder you would come out in a closet that is in
the dining room.
 |
| looking into basement from closet |
 |
| trap door in closet |
We always have wondered if this dirt area was a place to hide
slaves when needed. They would have been hidden behind the brick wall and out
of sight. Over the years, we have had school kids call and ask if they could
see our basement and take pictures of it for a school project on slaves.
Definitely food for thought.
Rose
Now that is completely fascinating! I think the evidence certainly tilts in your favor as this being a stop on the Underground Railroad. Is there any way to verify? What a great piece of history~
ReplyDeleteWow! What a mystery! How wonderful to live in a house that potentially saved lives, and helped others to freedom. That lifted my morning.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool discovery.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose,
ReplyDeleteI bet you are absolutely right about your home playing a part in history! How very cool. I saw the movie "Lincoln" and found it fascinating. I really should read up on Lincoln!
Hugs,
Kay
How interesting; I grew up in a house that was known to be a stop on the Underground Railroad...with a similar bricked-in area, etc...
ReplyDeleteSadly, this beautiful house with it's history...mahogany woodwork, stained glass, etc.. was badly neglected after we moved out and torn down a couple of years ago. =(
I have never seen anything like that. How odd that it remains that way. How old is your house?
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