The Underground Railroad passed through this tiny Ohio town. The historic safe houses, and the home buyers who have restored them, are carrying on its legacy.
When Gregg Courtad first noticed a listing for a stately red-brick Georgian Colonial in Salem, Ohio, a small town east of Canton, he was attracted by the asking price: $174,900 for the beautiful mansion on more than half an acre along a shaded street just blocks from downtown.
But it was the house’s history that compelled him to buy it. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the system that helped escaped slaves find freedom, there was a tunnel under the cellar floor, accessed beneath a grate in the kitchen. “To know that this house played a role in fighting slavery is thrilling. It imparts in me a deep responsibility to take care of the house, to honor the people who lived here,” says Dr. Courtad, 60, a Spanish professor at the University of Mount Union in nearby Alliance. He has spent thousands of dollars restoring the five-bedroom house since he bought it for $169,000 in 2017, with a current focus on its two-story portico held up by 17-foot white columns.
There are dozens of such former safe houses in Salem, the former headquarters of the Western Anti-Slavery Society and a hot spot of the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements in the 19th century. Residents, many of whom were Quakers, opened their homes to the freedom-seekers headed toward Canada. It was an act of courage in an era when the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 imposed harsh penalties on those who helped escapees.
Located halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Salem was founded in 1806 and became rich from manufacturing and agriculture, fueled by companies making everything from engines and plumbing fixtures to china plates. Its economic decline started in the 1970s, when businesses began moving out as part of the broader deindustrialization of the region.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Simone Biles Wins A 7th National Championship & Sets Another RecordSimone Biles continues to be unstoppable, winning her seventh national championship and becoming the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history.
Read more »
Watch Simone Biles Make History as the First Woman to Land a Yurchenko Double Pike Vault at the US ClassicAt the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday night, Simone Biles just made some major history as she became the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike in competition.
Read more »
Amorous cicada blamed for causing car crash in CincinnatiPolice are blaming an amorous cicada for causing a car crash in Ohio
Read more »
Morning Glory Breakfast CookiesThink of these textured, dense treats as chewy muffin tops that forgot to be unhealthy.
Read more »
How America Inc is coping with rising inflationInflation in America rose at an annual rate of 4.2% in April, the fastest since September 2008. Will this increase be as enduring as it was 50 years ago?
Read more »