Published Monday, Feb. 16, 1998

The former Mark Twain Manor, also called the Gibson House, is known as a stop on the Underground Railroad in Jamestown. Stops were typically one night's coach ride apart during the height of the system, which was neither a railroad nor underground, in the mid- to late 1800s. The main station in the county was at Indian Run, where East Lackawannock and Springfield townships converge. (Jean Neice/Herald)

MERCER COUNTY

`Slaves were harbored here at stops along Underground Railroad`

By Jennifer Hall
Herald Staff Writer

Black
History
Month

The Hanna House at South Pitt Street and Beaver Avenue is one of three documented stops on the Underground Railroad. (David E. Dale/Herald)

Underground Railroad conductor John Young had his fair share of run-ins with slave owners.

Young harbored runaway slaves at his Indian Run home during the mid-1800s, according to a history at the Mercer County Historical Society. Indian Run is the area where East Lackawannock and Springfield townships converge.

Slave owners often followed their ``property'' into the area, the history says. But Young, who was respected in the community and dedicated his time and energy to the abolitionist cause, had friends who warned him when the runaways were being pursued.

Quickly he would moved his ``passengers'' to the home of his brother, David. Slave owners questioned John Young but ``he could truthfully answer that he had no slaves in the house,'' the history says.

As the slave owners converged on David's house, the passengers were returned to John Young's. Slave owners would search David Young's house, the history says, and return to John Young's home.

But Young, the vice president of the local anti-slavery society, had successfully moved his passengers again. The slave owners came up empty-handed and after three days moved their search north, the history says.

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Young died in 1888, 25 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

``His indignation at the inhumanity of slavery and at the apparent apathy of his fellow Christians found him debating this subject at every opportunity,'' according to the history. ``His zealous stand won him and his cause friends as well as enemies.''

Indian Run and two other stops in Mercer County were part of the Underground Railroad. The system received its name because of the method of swift passage for runaway slaves from the South to Canada and freedom. Another stop in Brookfield also has been documented.

Many other stops are rumored throughout Mercer County but because of the secrecy of the system, the sites remain undocumented, according to a story in the February issue of Early American Homes.

The roles of homeowners in Indian Run, Mercer, Jamestown and Brookfield also have been documented in the abolitionist movement, which moved hundreds of slaves to freedom.

``Some of the most radical abolitionists were found in the Indian Run territory,'' according to the history at the historical society.

The fugitives faced danger in their journeys north but the closer they got to Canada, the less danger, the magazine article says. Slaves could not easily flee north because the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 imposed heavy penalties on people who aided slaves or impeded their capture.

The railroad had no formal organization, according to the World Book Encyclopedia. The most heavily traveled routes were in Indiana, Ohio and western Pennsylvania with slaves reaching Canada through Detroit or Niagara Falls.

Typically ``the valuable pieces of ebony'' spent their days hiding and were moved at night, usually in wagons or under stage coaches, according to information at the historical society.

Stops along the railroad were usually far enough apart to equal one night's travel by horse.

Hanna House at South Pitt Street and Beaver Avenue in Mercer was considered a way station.

There, the Rev. Edward Small housed runaway slaves, who were quietly dropped off by wagon. The foundation of the Hanna House contains a tiny opening to a room big enough for several people under the kitchen floor, the history says.

In Jamestown, the Gibson House also housed runaway slaves on their journey to Canada. A 5-by-6-foot room, with a 5-foot ceiling, is believed to be the spot where the slaves were hidden, according to the historical society. The room was discovered in 1956 when the house was being converted to the Mark Twain Manor.

Gibson House, which is for sale, was built by Dr. and Mrs. William Gibson.

Slaves came to Brookfield from Youngstown, Canfield and Poland, Ohio, and stayed in a secret chamber at a boarding house owned by Alec McIntosh. A barn in the northwest section of the township also could be used, according to ``The Brookfield That Was,'' published in 1994.

The constant movement of people made it difficult for conductors to keep the Brookfield station secret. According to the history, a number of slaves were caught and returned to their owners.

The Underground Railroad in Brookfield was shortlived, the history says, citing two reasons: Many did what they could to continue slavery and transportation of slaves by harvest wagon during the off-season was easily detectable.

But with all the evidence, no record has been found of those slaves who traveled through the area.

``There are no recorded interviews with anyone who made it through the area with the assistance of the Underground Railroad,'' the historical society information says.

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Updated Feb. 16, 1998
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