Thanks to Marlene and her brother, Bob, I learned today where the house was located that Dorothy lived in as a child. It was in the empty spot just below the top house in the pic. Yesterday, Dorothy told me that her father said the basement of their house had false walls with rooms behind them to hold runaway slaves.
Today, I learned from Marlene that when the house was still standing, Bob and his friends used to play in the tunnels. He said they went everywhere including up the hill. Talk about a super home as a safe house! The runaways could move around in the basement, and then when the signal was given they could slip behind the fake wall and be safe. If all else failed, they could escape up the tunnels to the hill and no one would be the wiser and catch them.
It's amazing the effort this family went to to ensure the runaways safety. Imagine the amount of time it took to dig these tunnels! They didn't have machinery that would do the digging for them. This was all done by hand with a shovel.
Then, there's engineering the false walls that would fool bounty hunters, slave owners, and the local constable! That as well took time and skill. I'd love to know who all was involved in making this the safe house it was.
I hope to talk to Bob myself. I have a lot of questions about what the tunnels were like. I've tried to find the phone number for Paul R., another kid who played in the tunnels. He's unlisted. So, I'll have to try where he works.
Thursday, when the museum is open, I'm heading in to work my way through the census records from 1940 or '50, back to 1850. I want to know everyone who lived there during the time of the underground railroad, and see if I can learn their story.
Every abolitionists story is important. They risked everything to help runaway slaves, and their story should be told. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that for as many as I can.
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