Stories of the Underground Railroad

The small Quaker town, an hour and a half south of Marion, was a major stop on the underground railroad during the Civil War. Loree Dee will share many stories about the Lewelling Quaker Museum in Salem and her great-great-grandfather, who was caught helping a slave.

The Quakers used a number of tricks to spirit slaves out of Salem, including hollow loads of hay or beneath grain sacks filled with bran. Their odd habits of the group disguised the midnight trips and mysterious routes they took. It’s believed no slave was retaken from this small town.