The Underground Railroad

Prior to the Civil War, Vandalia Michigan, was the junction where slaves, fleeing to freedom found shelter and help from Quakers; many stayed to build a unique black community. Anglo-Saxons, mostly Quakers and impassioned over injustices of slavery, concealed fugitives in underground tunnels, churches, hidden crevices of houses and dense woods as they plotted along their journey. A Carriage house (I have a picture of this house on the hauntings page) was built in 1840 and was known as the "terminal" for the underground railroad. Routes were harbored by Quakers. According to Henry H. Way he brought the first former slave here in 1836. By 1843, many of the 15,000 quaker residents helped forged the Underground Railroads "Quaker Route" that started at the Ohio River near Kentucky and snaked up through Indiana and St. Joseph County, finally crossing into Vandalia Mi.
The Illinois Route started at the Mississippi River, near St. Louis, cut across Illinois, Indiana and into Michigan through Niles, the Vandalia and met the Quaker Route. Some 1,500 fugitives are believed to have traveled through Cass County Mi. by 1848 on their way to Canada. By 1860, Cass had the largest black population in the state, only second to Wayne County. William Jones, who lived on Gards Prairie Road, was a Quaker who transported wagonloads of slaves from the South.
Another historiacal site is the Chain Lake Missionary Babtist Church, on Chain Lake Road, that became a "freedmen's church" in 1838. It's considered among the first such churches in the North.

How it Operated:
The Underground Railroad was usually run at night and the African-American slaves were the human freight, unloaded at a station and carefully concealed. Each station agent knew the name of the agent ahead of him, but not the one behind. The conductors, when applying for their hospitality passengers, either at regular stations or occasional stopping places, invariably used as a password the question; "Can you furnish entertainment for myself and another person?". The form of the question never changed. At the stations and stopping places, the travelers would stay and work a few days in exchange for food and clothing. In Cass county, the houses of Ishmail Lee, Stephen Boque, Zackariah Shugart and Josiah Osborn (all Quakers) were stations of much importance. William Jones of Calvin and Wright Modlin of Williamsville were famous slave runners and made frequent trips to the Ohio river and Kentucky to assist and guide slaves to freedom. This activity placed their families and property in jeopardy.