UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

STATIONS by Sean
The Underground Railroad was not a real railroad, but paths to freedom for slaves escaping from the south. Certain houses were called "stations." These stations were houses of safety for the slaves. In Oxford, Ohio, a small farm town north of the Ohio River, there were many Abolitionist (people who believed in freedom of slaves); some were hiding slaves in their houses. Some of their houses still exist today. The stations in Oxford included: House of William H. McGuffey, 401 East Spring St., House of Alanson Roots, 131 East High St., and the "Gothic House" on Bonham Rd. McGuffey's house had a trap door in the floor, the Roots' house had a trap door under the kitchen floor, and the Kumler's house had a secret passage which led to a hiding place under the porch. Some of these hiding places cannot be proven because the houses may have been renovated, and they may just be legends.
The Gothic House (shown here) was built in 1833 as a hunting lodge. After six years of hunting wild turkey, the owner got bored with it and sold it to Isaac Gere in 1839. Gere and his family started to farm on their 106 acres. In the 1840's the Geres had the best swine farm in Ohio. It is believed that the Gothic House was a station on the Underground Railroad. In 1872, Isaac Gere died, and left the farm to his nephew, a Mr. Bonham. Bonham's swine farm was also one of the best in the state. Bonham Road was named after him. With the 14th amendment to the constitution, all slaves were freed.
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