Michigan's Crossroads to Freedom

In the early to mid-1800s, Jackson County was home to two branches of the Underground Railroad, a secret network that funneled fugitives from slavery in the South to freedom in the North. Many Jacksonians participated in this network, risking their lives to feed, lodge and transport fugitives passing through their county to Canada, where slavery was outlawed. Local agents included a preacher who was almost lynched, an editor whose office was fire bombed, and a farmer who was surrounded by an armed posse. Where did these brave residents live and work? What were their secret methods of operation? What were their motives? This book will answer those questions and open a window into the personal lives of those profiled, enlivened by first-person accounts. It also will describe the diversity of agents within the local system, and identify landmarks connected to the anti-slavery movement.