Throughout January and February, Americans celebrate the history and accomplishments of African-Americans with Martin Luther King’s birthday in January and Black History Month in February. Here is a colleciton of B&Bs that were once “conductors” or “stations” on what came to be known as the Underground Railroad. Relive history with a stay at one of these 10 historic B&Bs.
This list was compiled from the B&B listings of BedandBreakfast.com. Full reservations and room information can be found there.
Hall Place B&B, Glasgow, KY: Here is one place where the Underground Railroad was literally underground. A cave under this B&B linked to a network of other caves that eventually surfaced at a nearby spring. Access to the caves through this B&B and a number of other nearby homes gave this area the nickname “Cave City”. Judge Christopher Tompkins, once a teacher for Abraham Lincoln and an Underground Railroad supporter, built Hall Place for his daughter. When he died, his will provided lifetime care for each of his slaves.
Amelia Island Williams House, Fernandina Beach, FL: According to family stories, Marcellus A. Williams bought this home in 1859, allowing escaped slaves following the Underground Railroad to use his home as a haven during their journey to freedom. Built in 1856, this mansion included a trap door in the dining room closet, offering access to a secret room where slaves could hide.
The Steamboat House, Galena, IL: Built by a steamboat captain and his physician wife, the couple raised 10 children in the house. She participated in the Underground Railroad before and during the Civil War. A tunnel still remains under the house, which offered an escape route for slaves.
Mason House Inn and Caboose Cottage, Bentonsport, IA: During the Civil War, the Mason House was used as a “holding hospital” for wounded soldiers awaiting transport by train or boat to the hospital in nearby Keokuk. It was also a station on the Underground Railroad. Contemporary accounts describe delivering food at night to the farm’s hayloft where escaped slaves hid.
Cambridge House B&B, Cambridge, MD: Here’s a great lodging choice for those seeking to learn about Frederick Douglass and locally born Harriet Tubman. Visit the Harriet Tubman Museum, the Bethel Methodist Church where her family worshipped, the Stanley Institute — a 19th-century African-American schoolhouse — and follow the Underground Railroad trails through Dorchester and Caroline Counties.
Whispering Pines B&B, Nebraska City, NE: A short stroll away from the inn is the Mayhew Cabin (aka John Brown’s Cave), one of the oldest buildings in Nebraska and currently Nebraska’s only recognized National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site. In 1855, Allen B. Mayhew, with the aid of his father-in-law Abraham Kagi, built the cabin out of cottonwood logs. The Mayhew Cabin became a stop on the Underground Railroad in the late 1850s, used by slaves escaping to Canada.
1830 Hallauer House B&B, Oberlin, OH: Many clues demonstrate how residents in this house aided slaves as they traveled on the Underground Railroad from Wellington through Oberlin and north to Lake Erie. A dry cistern with an adjacent thick-walled secret room and a concealed opening offered shelter on moonless nights. Just above the hidden room, a rectangular opening concealed by a wooden plug offered the family access to communicate and provide food to those hidden below.
Speedwell Forge B&B, Lititz, PA: During Black History Month, stay here and explore the plight of escaping slaves with the nearby Bethel AME “Living the Experience” tour. This eye-opening and spiritually moving experience begins and ends at the Lancaster Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a station on the Underground Railroad. Learn how the Amish played a part, crafting quilts that led people to safety.
Great Valley House of Valley Forge, Valley Forge, PA: Owner and innkeeper Pattye Benson avidly shares many interesting stories of hidden rooms at this circa 1690 inn where she has lived for 23 years. A tunnel from the main house, originally built to store vegetables, was later prepared as an escape should the British attack during the Revolutionary War. Although not needed then, in the 19th century it was used to house slaves moving north along the Underground Railroad. Two green doors remain as an important tribute to this escape route.
Golden Stage Inn, Proctorsville, VT: Under the ownership of Universalist preacher Reverend Warren Skinner, the inn was a stop on the Underground Railroad for fleeing slaves making their way to Canada. Skinner was known locally for his sympathetic views on slavery.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
